Is Vavi on the ropes again?

Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi File picture: Neil Baynes

Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi File picture: Neil Baynes

Published Oct 20, 2014

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Johannesburg - Cosatu will hold a three-day special central executive committee meeting in Johannesburg, where general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is rumoured to face suspension once again.

City Press on Sunday reported that well-placed sources in Cosatu told the paper it was inevitable that Vavi would be suspended again.

Vavi was suspended from Cosatu for having an affair with a junior employee. He was put on special leave in August last year, pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing relating to the affair. He returned to work on April 7 following a court ruling which overturned his suspension.

There was also talk of a split between Cosatu and its biggest affiliate, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa).

Numsa and Cosatu had been at loggerheads since the trade union federation suspended Vavi. This was after a woman alleged he had raped her at work. She had not reported it to police. Vavi said they had an affair.

Numsa had been a staunch Vavi supporter during his suspension and instituted the court proceedings against the trade union federation, insisting that insisted Vavi be reinstated.

Numsa was one of the unions calling for a special Cosatu congress, at which it wanted new leadership elected.

At its special congress in December the metalworkers' union took the decision not to support the ANC during the general elections. This was despite being an affiliate of Cosatu, which is an alliance partner of the ruling party.

An African National Congress task team was formed in April to help solve problems within Cosatu.

Just after Vavi returned to work in April, a special CEC was held where the task team brokered an agreement between Cosatu, Vavi, and some affiliates.

However, City Press reported that the task team was expected to tell Cosatu this week that it had failed to resolve the dispute, paving the way for a split.

Despite the rumours, Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven on Monday said there were two items on the agenda for this week's meeting.

The meeting was expected to receive the ANC task team's report and Vavi's draft secretariat report. Vavi's report would be handed to the CEC, expected to be held next month.

November's CEC would be a mid-term policy review.

According to reports, issues shelved in April ahead of the general elections were expected to be raised in this week's meeting.

Sapa

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