Shanti Aboobaker
and Amy Musgrave
JOHANNESBURG: Reinstated Cosatu general-secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi yesterday warned against a split of the trade union federation on his first day back at work.
His comments come amid the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), his fiercest ally, which has been arguing for a breakaway union by exploring the formation of a workers party outside the tripartite alliance.
Numsa has been wooing unions outside Cosatu and other labour federations, such as National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) and Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa).
Vavi, who enjoys Numsa’s vocal backing took a dim view of splitting the federation.
“Those who declare themselves to be haters… those who are recklessly saying they are prepared to start afresh as if they don’t know what lead to the formation (of Cosatu) I say: We can’t undo what our forefathers (did) to gather the 25 000 shop stewards who built (Cosatu),” Vavi told a workers outside the federation’s headquarters.
Political analyst, Professor Steven Friedman, said Vavi’s comments could be interpreted either way depending on what he thinks his prospects are in Cosatu. Vavi’s return to the federation does not guarantee that he retains his position uncontested. His detractors in the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) appear determined to continue their campaign against him, and warned last week that it was time to “split the splitters”.
Vavi’s warning against “unity at all costs” in the federation could set him on a collision course with those unions who campaigned for him to be removed.
“There will be no unity with people who condone corruption. There will be no unity with people who defy the decisions of the federation, who refuse to take up the struggle against e-tolls,” he said.
The heat inside the beleaguered Cosatu will be turned up a further notch today when the federation holds a special central executive committee (CEC) meeting. The powwow is meant to discuss calls by nine of Cosatu’s 19 unions to hold a special national congress. They believe the congress is the only forum that can put an end to the divisions that have been plaguing Cosatu for more than a year. The unions have accused Cosatu president Sidumo Dlamini of dragging his feet on the matter. According to the Cosatu constitution, Dlamini is meant to set up the congress if more than a third of the federation’s affiliates request the meeting. But it is likely that today’s CEC will not run smoothly. Last Friday the SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) sent a letter to Cosatu deputy general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali questioning the agenda of the CEC.
The letter, seen by Independent Newspapers, says additional items have been added on to the agenda without agreement. “… the meeting amounts to asking the CEC delegates to deliberately condone violation of the constitution. According to our recollection of deliberations of the CEC meeting held from February 24 to 26, the only issue on the agenda of the special CEC meeting should be tabling and consideration of the president’s report on modalities towards the special national congress,” the letter reads.
Although Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven could not confirm what was on the agenda, it is understood that some also want the CEC to discuss the recent reinstatement of Vavi, calls for Numsa to be suspended or expelled from Cosatu, a forensic report into Vavi’s alleged financial maladministration as well as a report into how to unify Cosatu.
If the agenda is changed, unions could argue that the CEC should not go ahead as they did not get a mandate from their members on the new issues. However, there could be a push for it to happen if the majority of unions support the add-ons, even though the Cosatu constitution does not allow for an agenda to be changed at a meeting.
It is rumoured that some anti-Vavi unions may push for him to be suspended again.
Nehawu initially called on Cosatu to appeal against a court ruling last week that Vavi’s suspension be lifted because a CEC meeting did not follow the constitution in taking action. CEC members gave verbal input on his suspension instead of voting on it.
Nehawu spokesman Sizwe Pamla said the union had changed its mind on the appeal, because the judge ruled on a technicality which would be difficult to fight.
However, he said Nehawu would stick to its guns at today’s meeting that action should be taken against Numsa and Vavi. Numsa is in trouble with Cosatu for withholding electoral and financial support for the ANC in next month’s elections.
Vavi was suspended after he had sex in Cosatu’s offices with a junior colleague. He is facing nine charges, which include financial irregularities relating to the sale of Cosatu’s old building and the purchase of its new one, and bringing the federation into disrepute.
But there may be a change to the charges because the South Gauteng High Court also ruled that disciplinary action resulting from his suspension could not go ahead because the CEC meeting behaved in an unconstitutional way.