Cosatu’s slow and painful fracture does not bode well for the future of SA labour relations, which are already at a low point, says Amy Musgrave.
Many on the Left will welcome the expulsion of Numsa from Cosatu last week. Freeing a radical, workerist union from the confines of the alliance could be the first step down the path of radical socialism, the argument goes.
But the slow and painful fracture of the country’s largest union federation does not bode well for the future of labour relations, which are already at a low point in South Africa.
It has been proven that a unified workforce is bound to achieve more not only on the shop floor and during wage negotiations but also politically.
And while there are opposing views on whether the 350 000-strong Numsa should have remained in the Cosatu fold, as the situation stands, the metals and engineering sectors are bound to become a breeding ground for volatility.
With the expulsion of Numsa, there is now a chance that a union formed by Numsa dissidents will be given the opportunity to find a home in the federation.
Although Cosatu president S’dumo Dlamini has denied that the Metal and Allied Workers Union of SA (Mawusa) had applied to be affiliated to the federation, it is no secret that this is the plan of some in the union federation.
It is still too early to assess what kind of traction Mawusa will have in the engineering, motor, auto/tyre and electronics sectors, but any contest for space in workplaces is likely to have an effect.
The chances for volatility are higher when unions compete for the same employees, particularly unions that share the same or similar backgrounds.
Until now, Numsa and Solidarity have mostly organised in the metalworker sectors. The relationship between them has not been tumultuous as Numsa focuses on blue-collar workers and Solidarity’s membership base is largely white, higher-paid employees.
With Mawusa joining the fray, there is going to be competition for Numsa’s large support base.
To make matters worse, the metal and engineering sector is facing retrenchments, which means Numsa has to fight two battles to keep its membership numbers and even increase them.
The five-month strike in the platinum belt in the North West and Limpopo is an example of just how unpredictable the situation can get when there is competition for the same workers.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) breakaway, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), promised workers better wage settlements and allowances than what the NUM was settling on.
Workers frustrated with low pay and mining companies not sticking to deals to improve working and living conditions for employees left the NUM in their droves to join Amcu.
The Amcu was eventually given recognition rights and became the majority union in the platinum sector, meaning that employers had to take their demands more seriously.
However, the path which eventually led to lower-paid employees getting R12 500 was marred by violence, threats and many deaths.
Tensions did not cease following the wage deal, with animosity remaining high between Amcu and the NUM.
This week Cosatu deputy general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali told reporters the federation was extremely concerned about the potential for violence.
However, Cosatu was more worried about the metalworkers’ union extending its scope and organising in its non-traditional sectors.
The most serious charge which led to the union’s demise was “poaching” members from sister affiliates.
Numsa applied months ago to the Labour Department to extend its scope along value chains. However, this has not been granted yet.
But the department has reportedly been quicker in registering the Numsa rival Mawusa as a union in the metals sector.
“There is a reason why the federation wants one union, one industry,” says Ntshalintshali.
“It’s exactly what we know from the Cosatu experience… when workers are competing against one another in an establishment, one union decides to go on strike and one decides to go to work.
“The workers will fight, clash and some will lose their lives… that’s why Cosatu will always at all costs protect this principle of one union, one industry.
“We can’t compromise on the principle… because we know the pains of it, we know people who have lost their lives… and unions know that unless you address this thing with care, it can lead to a very difficult situation,” Ntshalitshali said.
Another feature that we are likely to see is that as unions which are considered more militant, such as Numsa, and Amcu to a certain extent, win more concessions on the shop floor, unions competing with them for members will have to adopt the same tactics.
This particularly applies to Mawusa which will have to adopt the same radical approach if it wants to make a real dent in Numsa’s membership base and attract workers from other unions or who are not unionised.
Employers will be only too keen to take advantage of the new situation, because they will see an opportunity to further divide the workforce.
In the metal and engineering sector, relationships between unions and bosses are already on a knife-edge, with the fate of central bargaining at stake.
The sector recently saw a month-long strike, which turned violent sporadically.
While unions and the majority employer body, Seifsa, agreed to a 10 percent pay hike, the National Employers Association of South Africa (Neasa) has turned to the courts to stop Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant from extending the agreement to its members as legally required.
It says it will pay only 8 percent.
Neasa, backed by the Free Market Foundation, is urging for an end to collective bargaining which it believes prolongs strikes.
It believes wage negotiations should happen at company level, a stance calculated to further weaken worker bargaining power.
An end to centralised bargaining would essentially result in labour having to rely on the goodwill of employers to implement wage and working condition agreements.
Any disunity in labour will make it much easier for bosses to play employees up against one another.
And more unions will put further strain on the collective bargaining system due to the inevitable proliferation of disparate and incompatible views.
The expulsion of Numsa, which is essentially the first step in the eventual breakup of Cosatu itself, will have unpredictable and in the main negative consequences in the workplace and in the labour market generally.
* Amy Musgrave is Group Labour Editor for Independent Media.
Sunday Independent