Cosatu warned it could face a split

INLSA

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe speaks to Cosatu leaders at the start of the union federations four-day national conference in Boksburg. Picture: Giyani Baloi

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Johannesburg - ANC Secretary-general Gwede Mantashe did not mince words when he ardently told the leadership of Cosatu that they were divided and on a “dangerous downward slope”.

A former trade unionist himself, Mantashe said Cosatu was “not only divided but it is saying so itself, and thus weakening itself in the public eye”.

If that was allowed to persist, “there will be no Cosatu in a year’s time”.

Mantashe urged the beleaguered trade union federation not to look any further than its alliance partner, the ANC, for advice.

Speaking at the opening of Cosatu’s collective bargaining, organising and campaigns conference in Boksburg on Tuesday, Mantashe told delegates how he had accepted nomination to his current position at the 2007 ANC elective conference in Polokwane, only to find a battling organisation to administrate.

“When I arrived (at the ANC) there was no organisation. (It was) polarised, fragmented and very weak.

“The ANC has recouped some lost ground among the public since Mangaung. With some experience on how a divided organisation becomes so weak, we are prepared to share the experience.”

Mantashe further warned Cosatu of the dangers of splits in leadership, saying this could end with some members following its president, S’dumo Dlamini, and others following the general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi.

“Then we’ll have S’dumo union and Vavi union, no more Cosatu,” he said.

Cosatu’s four-day conference began on a slow note on Tuesday amid delays, tensions, and a lack of the federation’s usual vivacity.

Vavi, Dlamini and other union leaders had earlier disappeared, and the conference got under way only on their return from what is believed to have been a serious caucus meeting.

It is understood that the presidents and secretaries of Cosatu affiliates met on Monday to discuss what had come out in the media as allegations of Vavi being investigated for financial impropriety relating to the sale of the old Cosatu House, and the purchasing of new premises in Braamfontein.

Cosatu was mum on the outcome of the meeting, which was plagued by divisions among affiliate unions.

It is understood the meeting ended in a stalemate.

While Cosatu’s leadership had forcefully dispelled the Vavi allegations, more reports have followed, suggesting internal strife in the leadership as well as a plan to get rid of the outspoken Vavi.

Shortly before Mantashe’s straight talk on Cosatu’s division, Vavi and Dlamini made apparently conflicting statements.

“If anybody outside there thinks we’re going to have a divided Cosatu at end of this conference, continue dreaming on,” Dlamini said.

“This federation remains a force of unity, a formidable force that will challenge anybody who seeks to destroy the unity of the organisation.”

Vavi, however, admitted that the conference was taking place during trying times, saying the federation was faced with “very serious challenges, both internal and external, some of which are self-inflicted and some are being pursued by our class enemies to fatally weaken us.

“We are convinced that we can rise to the occasion, but how we deal with these challenges could determine the future of the labour movement for the next 20 years,” he told delegates.

Vavi spoke strongly against corruption, saying it was not a government problem, but was also seen in unions.

“We must leave no stone unturned to find out the truth in every instance where an allegation is made.

“We must accept that where trust is low, relationships in the organisation, and the organisation itself, becomes unstable (and) transparency in all matters of money in our affiliates is a must,” he said.

Seemingly not fazed by the spotlight currently focused on him, Vavi took a swipe at the government for using the Freedom Charter as a service delivery barometer.

“We will never be liberated unless we achieve the comfort that is promised by the Freedom Charter, unless we uproot the conditions that make us have hands that are trembling with starvation,” he said.

poloko.tau@inl.co.za

The Star