Women led charge to oust Vavi
Action followed tense meeting
WOMEN trade unionists were the most vocal of those who forced Zwelinzima Vavi’s suspension during a heated Cosatu meeting on Wednesday.
Several trade unionists who attended the special central executive committee meeting in Johannesburg told the Sunday Times that female unionists wanted the federation to discipline the general secretary, saying failure to do so would mean it condoned his actions.
The special meeting, which was held in Cosatu House in Braamfontein, was convened following a sex scandal involving Vavi and a junior staff member.
According to those at the meeting, the South African Medical Association’s Phophi Ramothuba led the charge in calling for Vavi’s suspension. She was supported by a number of other women activists.
“Most of those who spoke were women. They said Cosatu has rules and it is important that disciplinary action be tak-
The meeting, which lasted more than 12 hours, began with bickering
en. Cosatu could not be seen to be condoning what happened,” said a trade unionist who attended the meeting but preferred to speak on condition of anonymity.
The tense meeting, which lasted more than 12 hours, began with bickering over which affiliates were allowed to attend.
In terms of the federation’s rules, affiliates that are three months in arrears with their subscription dues to Cosatu are not allowed to move motions or vote at central executive committee meetings.
Vavi’s backers at the meeting argued that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) — both major opponents of the Cosatu boss — were more than three months overdue with payments.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the Food and Allied Workers’ Union demanded that the NUM and Nehawu be excluded from the meeting.
The NUM alone, they argued, owed R2.3-million in subscriptions to the federation.
Numsa, supported by the South African Municipal Workers’ Union, called into question the constitutionality of the meeting, arguing that Cosatu’s national office-bearers had no power to convene it.
With the meeting headed for a stalemate over the issue of credentials, leaders of affiliates held a separate meeting with Cosatu officials to try to resolve the impasse.
The leaders agreed that the meeting should continue as planned and that a report into the sex scandal be dealt with.
The report, presented by Vavi’s deputy, Bheki Ntshalintshali, outlined the original complaint to Cosatu officebearers by the 26-year-old accuser and Vavi’s admission that he had a “brief” sexual encounter with the woman in her office.
Ntshalintshali’s report concluded that any decision on sanctions against Vavi and his accuser be left to Cosatu’s central executive committee. It also said leaders of the labour federation should investigate the accuser’s lengthy leave of absence from work.
The South African Democrat- ic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), a vocal critic of Vavi, was the first to recommend that he be suspended. Itwas supported by seven other affiliates, including the NUM, Nehawu and police union Popcru.
The Communication-Workers’ Union (CWU) and the Gauteng branch of Cosatu proposed that Vavi be disciplined immediately by the central executive.
It suggested that he be given one month’s suspension, but this was dismissed on the basis that the CWU could not move a motion because it was not in good standing and owed R268 000 in subscriptions to Cosatu.
Another insider said Cosatu vice-president Zingiswa Losi defended the legitimacy of the meeting, saying federation office-bearers had been within their rights to convene it.