Cosatu congress in South Africa collapses over leadership dispute — TimesLIVE
In Midrand, South Africa, the congress of the country’s largest trade union federation, Cosatu, has collapsed. Delegates were unable to approve the credentials of representatives and begin the planned work because of a dispute over the election of new leadership. Federation leaders said the congress would be reconvened within 30 days in accordance with the constitution.
As TimesLIVE reports, the conflict escalated after the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) raised the issue of the status of Cosatu’s first deputy president, Mike Shingange. Two days before the congress, he was suspended by the Nehawu union. NUM and several other unions nominated Shingange as a candidate for Cosatu president instead of incumbent president Zingiswa Losi.
Dispute over delegates’ credentials
Shingange’s supporters said his suspension was an attempt to prevent his nomination. In protest, they refused to submit official delegate lists, meaning the congress could not form a quorum. After more than two hours of debate, Cosatu’s central executive committee began seeking a way out of the situation.
The following day, Cosatu General Secretary Solly Phetoe said that, according to legal advice received, Shingange was entitled to run for federation president despite his suspension at Nehawu. Nehawu itself also told delegates that it did not object to his participation in the election. However, NUM and its allied organizations did not change their position: they insisted on postponing the congress because delegates’ credentials had not been approved within three hours of the start of the meeting, as required by Cosatu’s constitution.
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Two camps in the fight for leadership
The congress split between two groups of unions. Nehawu, the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), Popcru and the South African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union support Losi’s nomination for Cosatu general secretary and that of Sadtu representative Mabuto Sele for president.
NUM leads a coalition of seven unions that includes the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa, the financial union Sasbo and the South African Municipal Workers’ Union. They support Shingange’s candidacy for president, Duncan Luvuno for first deputy president, and retaining Solly Phetoe as general secretary.
Late on Tuesday evening, the labour court overturned Shingange’s suspension. Earlier, the legal advice reported at the congress had recognized his right to run for Cosatu president.
