Durban - The new kid on the block, the Liberated Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Limusa), has described as a success its first national congress held in Durban at the weekend.
“The congress went very well and we are happy,” newly-elected general secretary, Cedric Gina, said on Sunday.
Gina was elected unopposed along with Sboniso Mdletshe as president, Akhona Dweba as first deputy president, Edwin Retlapane as second deputy president, Mawonga Madolo as deputy general secretary, and Sello Rapao as treasurer.
Gina said Limusa had a total of 7 771 members spread across nine provinces, except the Northern Cape.
Of the 250 delegates expected to attend the congress, about 176 turned up at the congress held at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Edgewood campus, where they slept at student residences and brought their own bed linen.
The union, which was expected to come up with resolutions on recruitment strategy, does not have organisers in its local structures where it has a presence.
Gina blamed the low membership and other challenges on the union still being new and saddled with limited resources, arising from inadequate membership subscriptions.
“We are all here wanting to grow the union. Our mandate is improve on the work we have done so far,” Gina said.
He was, however, confident things would change by the next congress.
The upbeat Gina said Limusa was exciting to metalworkers, who now have a voice within Cosatu, after its affiliation was endorsed in March.
“We promise, as leaders, that we are to continue to raise issues affecting workers in the metal industry,” he said.
Gina said Limusa would lobby government to make manufacturing the centre of economic strategy and for foreign auto companies to invest in the country.
Speaking on the sidelines of the congress, Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini said Limusa was not a “shelf” union, as its critics have claimed.
“We encourage them to build this union to be a strong, formidable union that would be the home of metalworkers in South Africa within Cosatu,” he said.
Dlamini also said Limusa would have to careful of attacks and challenges that they would face. “It is a union that comes from a sector where there is a strong rival, Numsa, competing in that space,” Dlamini said.
Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi said Limusa should exercise extreme discipline in its interaction with Numsa.
“Nothing is gained by lethal rivalry as we saw in the platinum belt, (because) this can only further entrench divisions among workers. Superior organisation and political example will be needed,” he said.
Nxesi, who is also SACP national chairman, was referring to the rivalry that had been witnessed between National Union of Mineworkers and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union.
“There is only one beneficiary of divided labour movement – monopoly capital. Those who are dividing and calling for another federation must know that they want monopoly capital to benefit,” Nxesi said.
Daily News