Cosatu on road to recovery, says 1st woman president Losi
Women ready to lead, take responsibility – Cosatu’s new president
NEWLY-elected Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi says the federation has seen its share of troubles in recent times, but will now claim its rightful place in society.
Losi became the first female president of Cosatu, and the first female to lead a trade union federation in Africa. In her speech following Cosatu’s four-day congress, Losi said: “Comrades, I’m humbly standing in front of you, now even more confident and convinced that indeed this militant trade union movement of Elijah Barayi (first president of Cosatu) is once again rising. ” She said the alliance – Cosatu, SACP and the ANC – should commit to the goal of winning a two-thirds majority in the 2019 elections to ensure land redistribution without compensation. |
NEWLY elected Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi has described her rise to lead the country’s biggest union federation as a clear signal that women are ready to take over any leadership responsibilities.
Losi – the first female president of the federation – was addressing the closing of Cosatu’s four-day national elective conference, which was held in Midrand, Joburg.
She said her unopposed election was proof that the women within the federation were gearing themselves to occupy the front ranks and coalface of the struggle.
“Cosatu is communicating a clear message for the world and the country to know that women within the ranks of this radical trade union movement are ready to take the responsibility at the sharpest end of the struggle for emancipation.
“Our new leadership reflects who we are as a federation, and we shall together lead this federation to grow from strength to strength,” Losi said.
She said the federation, which lost 317 000 members in the past three years, from above 1.9 million in 2015 – was on a recovery trajectory, and that the outcomes of the conference gave it a fighting chance.
“We have emerged from the worst chapter in the gallant history of Cosatu. It is now closed and we are still here, strong and confident of our future, and we shall use this bitter experience in the interest of our federation and affiliates,” Losi said.
“Our challenges and difficulties are many, but the resolutions that we have adopted provide us with a clear, practical way forward, and they place us on a realistic medium-term platform to forge a strong and fighting weapon for all workers,”Losi said.
While a number of Cosatu affiliates had lost members due to job cuts in the industrial sector, many suffered a decline as a result of protracted internal fights by union leaders over control. Cosatu has itself accused leaders of its affiliates of destroying unions through corruption and fights over the subscription of members.
The congress has now resolved to strengthen Cosatu’s powers to intervene in embattled unions.
Losi said she was confident that the new leadership would arrest the federation’s decline.
“This congress has issued a clear directive to all layers of leadership in our ranks – to our provincial leaders, organisers, officials and shop stewards – to let us build and deepen unity, fight corruption and factionalism within the organisation,” she said.
“Together as this collective leadership and with the leadership of all the affiliates, we are saying in one voice that we shall steer our federation to new heights. We cannot remain static or stagnant,” Losi added.
Re-elected Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said that while the federation had resolved to back the ANC before of next year’s general elections, it would back the SACP at future polls if the governing party refused to grant its demand for the reconfiguration of the alliance.
The SACP has been calling for the ANC-led alliance to be reconfigured to end the ANC’s monopoly on government deployments and policy direction.
“We should be working together with the SACP to ensure the reconfiguration of the alliance. We call on the SACP to deepen the implementation of its roadmap for the working class contest of future elections if the alliance is not radically reconfigured,” Ntshalintshali said.