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Cash-strapped Cosatu to hold two conferences

Johannesburg - The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) will hold two conferences this year - a special national congress and its ordinary congress towards the end of the year.

This was announced following a special central executive committee (CEC) meeting held in Johannesburg this week.

The decision could be seen as a ploy by the trade union federation to doorstop attempts to have the expulsions of National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi overturned and the election of new leadership in the July special national congress.

Cosatu deputy general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali on Thursday confirmed that the federation would be holding its special national congress on July 13 and 14, in Midrand.

"The Cosatu ordinary national congress will be held back-to-back with the 30th anniversary celebration at the end of November 2015," he told reporters in Johannesburg.

Asked whether Cosatu, which is said to be having financial problems, could afford to hold two conferences, Dlamini said cuts had been made.

"We have discussed this matter and we have acknowledged the federation is indeed battling through a difficult financial situation owing to a number of reasons," he said denying that it was because Numsa, which was its biggest affiliate, was no longer there.

"If Cosatu unions... paid their dues every month this question wouldn't arise."

'Reverse resolutions'

Dlamini said cuts had been made on a number of budgeted areas and the treasurer had presented a financial report to the CEC on Wednesday.

"The CEC was confident it could hold both if it separated them... obviously through cutting and compromising some very critical campaigns of the federation."

Numsa would only be allowed to appeal it's expulsion from Cosatu at the ordinary congress.

The metalworkers union has taken the matter of its expulsion to court in a bid to have it declared invalid and unconstitutional.

Numsa deputy general secretary Karl Cloete said the union would approach the courts on an urgent basis to have the matter heard before the special national congress.

"We are now approaching the Deputy Judge President to secure a date before the special national congress because when we were in Cosatu, we formed part of those unions who made the request for a special national congress and we've subsequently been expelled," he told News24.

"We are making a case... to convene on an urgent basis or allocate on an urgent basis a judge to hear the case before [the special national congress]" he told News24.

Ntshalintshali on Thursday said the CEC reiterated that the expulsion of Numsa was done properly.

"Numsa has a right to appeal at the ordinary congress," he said.

"If Numsa wants to come back, all they must do is to reverse all resolutions they took in opposition to Cosatu."

Cloete said Numsa had also written to the CEC last week Friday as did other affiliates supporting the metalworkers union, saying that its expulsion, the ousting of Vavi and the election of new office bearers should be part and parcel of the special national congress.

'Hell-bent on creating instability'

Seven Cosatu affiliates have joined forces to support Numsa and Vavi. They were among the unions calling for the special national congress because they wanted new leadership elected.

The seven had been warned since November to stay away from Cosatu meetings.

Cosatu president Sidumo Dlamini said 14 unions participated in the CEC and four boycotted. This meant three of those who were part of the grouping had returned.

"[Those unions] took a conscious deliberate decision to come back... only four are still outside.

"This says the unity work we are engaging on is yielding results," Dlamini said.

The four unions which boycotted were the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu), SA Football Players Union (Safpu), South African State and Allied Workers Union (Sasawu) and South Africa Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu).

Ntshalintshali said the CEC expressed concern about the absence of the unions.

He said Fawu was in five months arrears on its payments to Cosatu and Sasawu were 10 months in arrears.

"Fawu has an obligation like all unions in its position to meet with the Cosatu leadership as part of the process of addressing their organisational challenges, including their state of their finances.

"The Special CEC further expressed a concern that the absence of the other affiliated trade unions such as Safpu, Sasawu and Saccawu was without basis, given the longstanding commitment to holding the special national congress...

"It is now clear that the call for the special national congress was not genuine. Instead, by their current conduct, they have the hallmarks of people hell-bent on creating instability within the federation," Ntshalintshali said.


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