SHOPFLOOR DIVISIONS HEADACHE FOR NEW FEDERATION
THE new federation to be set up by former Cosatu boss Zwelinzima Vavi and 50 other unions could be engulfed in internal battles over organising territory if it does not resolve its policy on where its affiliates should organise.
Vavi and the interim leadership of the new federation will have their hands full to avoid future shop floor contestations among the unions, as many of them were organising in the same industries, especially those in the public service.
At the weekend the unions, including the National Council of Trade Unions – a federation with 21 unions – resolved at a workers summit to the formation of a new federation to rival Cosatu.
The summit was held in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, and was followed by the announcement of the plan to form the new federation on May 1.
This followed a long process which was sparked by the expulsion of metalworkers union Numsa and Vavi from Cosatu.
One of the main reasons for Numsa ’ s expulsion was that it breached Cosatu’s principle, which compelled all affiliates not to organise in sectors where its sister unions are organising.
Yesterday Vavi said the federation’s steering committee was looking into the principle of having one union in one industry but that it wanted to cement solidarity and cohesion among unions first.
“But we are not going to follow the structure that was defined by Cosatu in 1981 because if we do that we are going to divide unions,” Vavi said.
While the unions that attended the workers summit resolved on 10 founding principles for the new federation, the issue of shopfloor division among unions was never resolved, according to acting Numsa national spokesman Patrick Craven
Vavi said while the federation would look into the possibility of merging the many unions that organised in the same industries, that was not immedi- ate.
Among the existing founding principles for the new federation are:
Independence from political parties and employers;
Worker control and democracy where affiliates will have autonomy but not independence from the federation; and
Socialist orientation to counter capitalist exploitation, inequalities and poverty.