Cosatu: Can Anyone Put the Federation Together Again?
New NUM general secretary criticises expulsion of Numsa while sending message to Cosatu that their problems won't go soon
STEVEN FRIEDMAN
11 JUNE 2015
Could Cosatu’s members save it from its greatest current enemy — itself?
Until recently, the divisions in the country’s largest trade union federation seemed destined for a certain end — a split, after which two federations would compete for the same members. But two events have opened the possibility that Cosatu might evade that fate, even if the odds are probably still against this. If it does avoid the split, it will have the courts and its members to thank, not its current leadership.
The first possibility was opened when Judge Frans Legodi ordered Cosatu to hold a special congress in the middle of next month — the second was the election at the weekend of a new National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) general secretary, David Sipunzi, who has criticised the expulsion of Cosatu’s largest union, the National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa), and the dismissal of former general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
Both, in principle, provide Cosatu members with a way of reversing the two decisions which, if they stand, seem certain to ensure that it will have to compete for support with a new rival formed by Numsa and those in Cosatu who sympathise with it.
A special congress gives Cosatu members an opportunity to challenge the decisions — and the leaders who made them. They were taken by Cosatu’s central executive committee, which consists of union presidents and general secretaries. Numsa and its allies have insisted that these officials are ignoring their members who, they insist, want Numsa and Vavi to stay. A special congress would consist of delegates elected by union members, and so might take a very different attitude to that of the leaders who threw their opponents out.
Until last weekend, it seemed that the court ruling might not have much practical effect. Numsa is still expelled and, if it does not attend the special congress, its camp would be deprived of many votes.
It is not clear whether Numsa’s supporters who are still inside Cosatu will attend the congress — they may stay away in protest at its exclusion. In that case, the only way the decisions could be reversed is if the members of the unions whose leaders supported the expulsions rebel against them.
Sipunzi’s election suggests that this is a real possibility. NUM’s leaders have been at the front of the charge against Numsa and Vavi — if most of its members reject this, it becomes possible to imagine all the unions whose leaders wanted Numsa and Vavi out doing the same. The special congress would then elect a new leadership and vote to readmit those who were ejected.
Some perspective is needed. Sipunzi beat previous general secretary Frans Baleni by only nine of the about 700 votes cast. Most of the leadership who worked with Baleni were re-elected: only three posts changed hands. And the congress did pass a resolution supporting Numsa’s expulsion if it continues to compete with other unions, including NUM, for members. The inclusion of a commitment to support Numsa’s return to Cosatu if it stops competing for members suggests that the resolution was the result of a compromise — but that it was passed shows that there is still strong support for Numsa’s expulsion.
The clear message from the congress is that NUM is split down the middle; it may well be that all of Cosatu’s unions are in the same position. If unions are this divided, it cannot be assumed that Numsa’s sympathisers will enjoy a majority at the special congress.
That said, Sipunzi’s election should have sent a clear message to Cosatu’s leadership — that
expelling Numsa and Vavi will not end their problems, whatever the outcome of the special congress.
The NUM vote confirms that Cosatu is not divided between a majority of unions united in support of the central executive and a minority opposed to it — the division runs through every union (including Numsa and its allies).
And so, if the decision to expel Numsa and fire Vavi stands, Cosatu seems likely to face one of two futures, neither particularly attractive. The first is, of course, tough competition from a new federation launched by Numsa and its allies. The other is that the rival federation is not launched or fails to pose a serious challenge: Cosatu will then still have to contend with a serious gulf between its leaders and many of its members.
If it does nothing else, the NUM vote should remind Cosatu leaders that union members have ways of making themselves heard and that it is highly unlikely that throwing out dissidents will silence those unionists who complain that Cosatu leaders have become members of the cosy elite club which they once opposed, and from which their members are still excluded. Further conflict can be avoided only by a deal that would see Vavi and Numsa return, the latter possibly in exchange for a commitment not to compete with Cosatu unions for members.
Whatever happens at the special congress, Cosatu’s leaders have been reminded that ignoring the wishes of members and silencing dissenting voices does not make them go away — they simply ensure that they come back in a new form.
Friedman is director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy
This article first appeared in Business Day
STEVEN FRIEDMAN
11 JUNE 2015
Could Cosatu’s members save it from its greatest current enemy — itself?
Until recently, the divisions in the country’s largest trade union federation seemed destined for a certain end — a split, after which two federations would compete for the same members. But two events have opened the possibility that Cosatu might evade that fate, even if the odds are probably still against this. If it does avoid the split, it will have the courts and its members to thank, not its current leadership.
The first possibility was opened when Judge Frans Legodi ordered Cosatu to hold a special congress in the middle of next month — the second was the election at the weekend of a new National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) general secretary, David Sipunzi, who has criticised the expulsion of Cosatu’s largest union, the National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa), and the dismissal of former general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
Both, in principle, provide Cosatu members with a way of reversing the two decisions which, if they stand, seem certain to ensure that it will have to compete for support with a new rival formed by Numsa and those in Cosatu who sympathise with it.
A special congress gives Cosatu members an opportunity to challenge the decisions — and the leaders who made them. They were taken by Cosatu’s central executive committee, which consists of union presidents and general secretaries. Numsa and its allies have insisted that these officials are ignoring their members who, they insist, want Numsa and Vavi to stay. A special congress would consist of delegates elected by union members, and so might take a very different attitude to that of the leaders who threw their opponents out.
Until last weekend, it seemed that the court ruling might not have much practical effect. Numsa is still expelled and, if it does not attend the special congress, its camp would be deprived of many votes.
It is not clear whether Numsa’s supporters who are still inside Cosatu will attend the congress — they may stay away in protest at its exclusion. In that case, the only way the decisions could be reversed is if the members of the unions whose leaders supported the expulsions rebel against them.
Sipunzi’s election suggests that this is a real possibility. NUM’s leaders have been at the front of the charge against Numsa and Vavi — if most of its members reject this, it becomes possible to imagine all the unions whose leaders wanted Numsa and Vavi out doing the same. The special congress would then elect a new leadership and vote to readmit those who were ejected.
Some perspective is needed. Sipunzi beat previous general secretary Frans Baleni by only nine of the about 700 votes cast. Most of the leadership who worked with Baleni were re-elected: only three posts changed hands. And the congress did pass a resolution supporting Numsa’s expulsion if it continues to compete with other unions, including NUM, for members. The inclusion of a commitment to support Numsa’s return to Cosatu if it stops competing for members suggests that the resolution was the result of a compromise — but that it was passed shows that there is still strong support for Numsa’s expulsion.
The clear message from the congress is that NUM is split down the middle; it may well be that all of Cosatu’s unions are in the same position. If unions are this divided, it cannot be assumed that Numsa’s sympathisers will enjoy a majority at the special congress.
That said, Sipunzi’s election should have sent a clear message to Cosatu’s leadership — that
expelling Numsa and Vavi will not end their problems, whatever the outcome of the special congress.
The NUM vote confirms that Cosatu is not divided between a majority of unions united in support of the central executive and a minority opposed to it — the division runs through every union (including Numsa and its allies).
And so, if the decision to expel Numsa and fire Vavi stands, Cosatu seems likely to face one of two futures, neither particularly attractive. The first is, of course, tough competition from a new federation launched by Numsa and its allies. The other is that the rival federation is not launched or fails to pose a serious challenge: Cosatu will then still have to contend with a serious gulf between its leaders and many of its members.
If it does nothing else, the NUM vote should remind Cosatu leaders that union members have ways of making themselves heard and that it is highly unlikely that throwing out dissidents will silence those unionists who complain that Cosatu leaders have become members of the cosy elite club which they once opposed, and from which their members are still excluded. Further conflict can be avoided only by a deal that would see Vavi and Numsa return, the latter possibly in exchange for a commitment not to compete with Cosatu unions for members.
Whatever happens at the special congress, Cosatu’s leaders have been reminded that ignoring the wishes of members and silencing dissenting voices does not make them go away — they simply ensure that they come back in a new form.
Friedman is director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy
This article first appeared in Business Day
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