Cosatu has given itself the deadline of May 2023 to decide whether it will dump the ANC and support the South African Communist Party (SACP) for the 2024 general election.
This is the furthest Cosatu has gone in its love-hate relationship with the governing ANC.
The trade union federation has over most of the 28 years of democracy bemoaned how the ANC has leaned to the right and supported policies that Cosatu saw as anti-working class.
Cosatu’s first fallout with the ANC over policy direction came in 1996 when the governing party ditched the Reconstruction and Development Programme and replaced it with what the federation termed the neo-liberal Growth, Employment and Redistribution policy whose aims include privatisation of some state entities and the removal of exchange controls.
Since then, relations between the worker organisation and the ANC have been increasingly frosty, with every Cosatu conference threatening to leave the alliance or not support the party in forthcoming national or local government elections.
Last month Cosatu and its rival federation, Saftu, marched to the Union Buildings in what they said was to pressure the ANC government to abandon its neoliberal policies and adopt more pro-worker and pro-poor policies.
Matters came to a head this week when some of the 1,800 delegates to the 14th national Cosatu congress at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand heckled ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe, preventing him from giving the party’s message of support as is tradition with alliance members.
While addressing delegates yesterday, outgoing Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali announced that general secretaries of the different affiliates had met in the early hours of yesterday morning to discuss a way forward regarding Cosatu possibly contesting the 2024 general election.
It’s understood not everyone was on board regarding the decision as the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) insisted the matter be concluded during congress.
The National Union of Mineworkers, the SA Municipal Workers Union as well as the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union supported the motion, moved by the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu).
On Tuesday, SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila declared that Cosatu was ready to contest the elections.
Speaking yesterday, Ntshalintshali told delegates that general secretaries had reached a consensus on how to move forward regarding the motion.
“The resolution was in three parts. We want Cosatu affiliates to consult towards [regarding the] future electoral support [of Cosatu]. We had a meeting believing there’s a need for all affiliates to consult members and structures on a way forward regarding Cosatu’s posture towards future electoral support [of Cosatu].
“We resolved towards broad internal consultation regarding this matter... regularly evaluate and assess the progress of these consultation processes... convene a special national congress in May 2023 to take a final decision on a way forward regarding this matter,” Ntshalintshali said.
Some union members said not everyone was happy about the decision but for the sake of things moving forward, conceded to the resolution.
Sadtu, the mover of the motion, did not object to the congress resolution of reconvening in eight months to deliberate on the electoral support. Sadtu, with 258,685 members, is Cosatu’s second- biggest affiliate after Nehawu.
Day three of the congress is also expected to announce the results of the election. Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi, first deputy president Mike Shingange and treasurer Freda Oosthuizen were all nominated unopposed and will be re-elected for a second term.
Deputy general secretary Solly Phetoe was nominated unopposed to replace Ntshalintshali. The only contested position is that of deputy general secretary, where Moses Lekota and Gerald Twala will face off for the position.
Speaking on the sidelines of why he did not contest, Ntshalintshali said there was a time to go. “I’ve been in the secretariat now for 22 years. I’m not [former Zimbabwean president Robert] Mugabe. I cannot be here forever. There will be a time when there is a need to do something different,” Ntshalintshali said.
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