Joahnnesburg - The fate of Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi will be up for discussion at an extraordinary meeting of the federation on Wednesday.
The special central executive committee will discuss a number of issues, including the reinstatement of Vavi’s disciplinary process, which involves nine charges.
These range from maladministration linked to the purchase and sale of Cosatu buildings, to bringing the federation into disrepute by having sex with a junior co-worker in his office. Vavi is likely to find the central executive committee hostile towards him.
Earlier this month some anti-Vavi unions indicated that they would take a conciliatory stance towards the general secretary, but he has since angered many with his public backing of the metalworkers’ union, Numsa.
Vavi refused to attend a press conference with other Cosatu leaders last week on Numsa’s expulsion from the federation or sign a letter officially notifying the union that it had been given the boot.
He instead wrote to Cosatu’s affiliates imploring them to keep Numsa in Cosatu, warning that it could otherwise lead to the demise of the federation. The next day he said he did not care about the consequences of the letter.
Vavi will also have a difficult time at the central executive committee if seven of Cosatu’s 18 affiliates boycott the meeting. The affiliates, which are opposed to Numsa’s expulsion, announced last week that that they would boycott future meetings, which they said had become a “slaughterhouse”.
Food and Allied Workers Union general secretary Katishi Masemola, who is the spokesman for the seven affiliates, said yesterday that they were discussing whether to participate in the meeting. If they decide not to, they may be offering Vavi to the wolves, as the rest of the affiliates voted for Numsa’s expulsion.
On Monday, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union, which voted for Numsa’s expulsion, said it was “shocked” by the decision of the seven affiliates and Vavi.
Group Labour Editor