Johannesburg - Congress of SA Trade Unions president S’dumo Dlamini warned the expelled National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) against disrupting the special national congress to be held in Johannesburg next week.
“They plan and organise on this, and are spending a lot of money,” Dlamini told delegates at the SACP special congress held in Soweto, south of Johannesburg.
“They have set aside R500 000 for what they call the Zingiswa Losi case, and R250 000 for what they call a special national congress,” he said.
Numsa had been questioning the eligibility of Cosatu second deputy president Zingiswa Losi. Losi was suspended in 2013 as Numsa shop steward at vehicle manufacturer Ford, in Port Elizabeth on charges of bringing the union into disrepute. She subsequently resigned from Ford.
Numsa argued that her resignation from Ford automatically disqualified her from being a Cosatu leader and wanted the special congress to attend to the matter around her appointment at Cosatu headquarters. Losi was viewed to be Dlamini’s close ally, and was accused by the union of engineering the suspension of former Cosatu general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi.
Dlamini added that Numsa wanted to influence workers to disrupt the congress.
“Our conclusion is that they will buy a lot of alcohol and even drugs and feed them to workers so they can cause disruptions at the congress. We are prepared for all these,” said Dlamini.
The country’s biggest trade union federation has been marred by disunity and factionalism.
Numsa was expelled in November last year, for bringing the federation into disrepute. This was followed by the expulsion of Vavi in March. Numsa’s subsequent court bid to be reinstated into Cosatu and to be allowed to participate in the special congress failed recently.
The other nine Cosatu affiliates who have aligned themselves with Numsa and Vavi, have vowed to bring Numsa’s case to the fore at the congress.
Dlamini said the congress would work hard to unite Cosatu again.
“Doomsayers have been saying Cosatu has split over the years. When Vavi was first suspended, they said the same thing, and repeated it again after Numsa was expelled,” said Dlamini.
“Only Cosatu shall be the one pronouncing a split within the federation if such a thing ever happens…no doomsayer will pronounce a Cosatu split.”
Contrary to reports that workers wanted Vavi back, Dlamini disputed this and said that no worker had indicated this in his presence.
“I have been to provincial congresses, and not even a single worker stood and said they wanted Vavi back into the federation. Comrades, let us move on and build Cosatu, the general secretary is gone…let us fight for a united Cosatu,” he said to a loud applause from the delegates.
The Cosatu special national congress would be held in Johannesburg from July 13 – 14. An ordinary congress would also be held at the end of November, which would coincide with its 30th anniversary celebrations.
ANA