Johannesburg - Now that the dust has settled in Cosatu, the federation has turned its attention to rebuilding itself and attracting new members.
Cosatu leaders said its recruitment drive would include attracting new members around campaigns which would push for the government owning 50% of all mining companies and opposing the Treasury’s austerity measures which have stopped vacancies from being filled in the public service.
The federation’s organisational well-being has taken a back seat since its last congress in 2012 when divisions between the leadership began to spill out in public. Cosatu’s expulsion of metalworkers union Numsa and mass retrenchments have also negatively affected the federation’s numbers.
Although Cosatu president, S’dumo Dlamini, said on Thursday that the formation of a new labour federation was not something that was discussed at a high-level Cosatu meeting this week, the challenge represented by the new organisation will serve to focus Cosatu leaders’ minds. The fact that the new venture is spearheaded by Cosatu’s longest serving general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi and Numsa, now the country’s largest union, only serves to amplify the threat.
Cosatu general secretary, Bheki Ntshalintshali, told reporters on Thursday it had been agreed that a special central executive committee (CEC) would be fotrmed to deal with organisational issues only, including resolving those of affiliates.