Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi is heading to the 14th national congress without her base — the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu).
Satawu is not a union in good standing, which means Losi — who is seeking re-election — does so without her constituency as it will only be granted observer status and not allowed to vote.
However, Losi is poised to retain her position as some affiliates are only interested in replacing general-secretary (GS) Bheki Ntshalintshali with his current deputy Solly Phetoe.
Losi is the federation's first female president after succeeding former leader Sdumo Dlamini during the federation's 2018 congress.
She was previously a member of the SA Police Service but was later hired at the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA), where Satawu organises.
Speaking to some provincial leaders involved in lobbying, they affirmed their support of Losi's return as president in order to have a “stronger and united Cosatu”.
One provincial leader who did not want to be named said: “The federation understands the importance of unity. Everyone is geared towards that goal, particularly with the emergence of the Saftu [South African Federation of Trade Unions] which is a splinter group of Cosatu.
“Comrades agree we can't have divisions and there's general consensus to support comrade Losi for that purpose because we can't afford any divisions. Our goal is to work on rebuilding, particularly with the undermining of collective bargaining. The fight is for a solid view,” the leader said.
Another source involved in negotiations said they were supporting Losi's return but added there was also a concerted view for Phetoe to succeed Ntshalintshali.
“We’re supporting the return of Losi, first deputy president Mike Shingange, Solly Phetoe to become GS and then the other two positions... we're still consolidating those.
“We’re saying to Ntshalintshali we’re releasing him to be redeployed elsewhere. We need someone younger with new ideas to grow the federation to our new targets. The issue of GS is closed. I don’t think the issue of ... It’s a done deal. No other affiliate is coming with any other name. That one is clear,” the source said.
Speaking to Sowetan, Cosatu national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the congress was not about leadership succession but reflecting on the last term and looking for ways of building a stronger labour movement.
Pamla said over the last term, the federation had made great strides in a number of areas that include the fight for workers' portions of their pension funds, the revival of National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) and unity within unions and non-affiliates.
“We had a mandate to ensure the federation asserts itself — now retirement savings are invested, spent and also to make sure workers are the primary beneficiaries.
“The access to pension funds is a bailout scheme to help workers survive the burden of debt which at the same time the economy benefits. When there’s less debt, there’s enough to spend, access credit and participate in the economy.”
Pamla said following the 2018 congress, the federation reflected and made conscious efforts to “calm” unions both inside and outside Cosatu.
“Recently, we saw Amcu [Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union] and NUM [National Union of Mineworkers] working side by side at Sibanye and we've also invited Saftu to come to our national strikes and manage divisions. When divisions are managed, this brings stability to labour movements and allows us to better plan for the fights and struggles ahead,” Pamla said.
The 14th national congress will sit from September 26 to 29 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, where more than 2,000 delegates are expected to attend.
nkosin@sowetan.co.za
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