No to Zuma’s May Day address
Unions don’t want president at celebrations
Workers do not want President Jacob Zuma to address the official May 1 celebrations taking place in Free State on Monday.
Congress of South African Trade Unions aligned unions have informed the federation they would prefer it if Zuma did not address their Workers’ Day commemorations, after unions agreed Cosatu should call on Zuma to step down as president of the country at its central executive committee meeting last month.
The ANC’s succession race is weighing on its allies, both in Cosatu and the SA Communist Party.
Cosatu has openly come out in support of Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to succeed Zuma, and the SACP is understood to also be backing him although it has not taken an official position on it – it has, however, called on Zuma to step down.
Anti-Zuma forces in the alliance have been emboldened by Ramaphosa’s hardline stance on state capture and corruption, which he took in a Chris Hani memorial lecture delivered last weekend, that was billed by insiders as the unofficial launch of his campaign for the ANC presidency.
Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini, who is a Zuma loyalist, is increasingly being isolated in the federation with calls from insiders for his removal.
This was after Dlamini had pronounced at Zuma’s 75th birthday celebrations that “workers loved” Zuma and were behind him.
This was in contrast to the Cosatu decision for Zuma to step down – which has since been backed by shop stewards across the country.
Sowetan understands that Cosatu was advised by allies in the ANC and the SACP not to axe Dlamini at an upcoming central committee meeting.
“Let us not have another Madisha moment,” a senior Cosatu leader who wished to remain anonymous said.
Willie Madisha was removed as Cosatu president when he supported former president Thabo Mbeki in the run-up to the ANC’s Polokwane conference that saw Zuma ascend to the helm.
While Dlamini may have escaped removal, he is likely to be increasingly sidelined in decision-making in the federation.
The ANC is currently finalising deployments for the May Day celebrations to take place in Mangaung in the Free State – a province loyal to Zuma.
Two Cosatu affiliates have written to the federation indicating they would prefer it if Zuma did not address them.
Unions are concerned their members may react negatively to the president.
However, it is understood that the ANC in the Free State is pulling out the stops to ensure its own members are able to counter any anti-Zuma sentiment at the rally.
Cosatu spokesman Sizwe Pamla on Tuesday said the federation invited alliance partners, the ANC and the SACP, to the celebrations.
It is up to the organisations themselves who among their leaders should be deployed to the gathering.
“They have a right to deploy whoever they want.”
He would not be drawn on whether Cosatu affiliates had indicated their members did not want Zuma to address the gathering.
[ANC and SACP] have a right to deploy whoever they want Sizwe Pamla COSATU SPOKESMAN