Johannesburg - The group of rebel Cosatu unions said it would attend the upcoming special national congress to register discontent with the federation’s handling of a number of issues.
At the top of their list was for the congress to discuss the dismissal of Numsa and former general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi from the federation.
The eight unions - including the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu), the Communications Workers Union (CWU), and the Footballers Union (Safpu) - were however still concerned that the special congress risked “turning into a farce”, which would split the federation.
“The main reason for calling the SNC was to avoid a disastrous implosion of and split within the federation. Yet the current leadership is now trying to manipulate the congress in a way which will accelerate such an implosion or precipitate such a split,” read a statement released by the group.
The eight unions, together with the Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) which has since abandoned the faction, called for the special congress, eventually resorting to the courts to force Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini to convene the gathering.
They had hoped to bring about a change of guard at the congress, but the probability of that happening lessened when Cosatu expelled Numsa for contravening the constitution of the federation.
“We are determined to talk to members of other unions and fight to save the federation from collapse and turn it back into a militant, socialist-oriented, worker-controlled and democratic force, capable of uniting all workers behind the resolutions of Cosatu’s 11th National Congress held in September 2012,” said the unions.
Labour Bureau