Cosatu split: There must be another way’

Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi last night broke his silence on the expulsion of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) from the labour federation.

In a letter to Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini, affi liated general secretaries and provincial secretaries, Vavi warned against decisions that “could destroy what we have jointly built for so many years”.

At the weekend, Cosatu’s central executive committee (CEC) voted 33 to 24 to expel Numsa.

Last night Vavi said: “I believe there will be no winners if we allow the federation to fracture permanently. We are in imminent danger of destroying what was painstakingly built through the blood and sweat of workers for many decades.”

Earlier Cosatu reiterated at a press briefing it was not changing its stance on Numsa and warned all its structures to accept and abide by the CEC decision. Vavi was conspicuous by his absence at the press briefing.

Vavi’s colleague claimed he could not attend the briefing because he was meeting with lawyers on an urgent matter, but the general secretary revealed that he was absent because he did not support the action against Numsa.

“I have to say that I view the decisions that were taken as ones that could destroy what we have jointly built for so many years. In advancing this I am not in any way suggesting that there should be no discipline in the organisation.”

Vavi added: “The decisions made by our sovereign democratic structure, the Workers Parliament, cannot be undermined or manipulated.

“These are the reasons why I have decided not to participate in the NOB press conference of this afternoon or to conduct interviews or participate in any activity that will exacerbate division further, or will further jeopardise any chance of the federation committing suicide by jumping off the cliff. There must an alternative to this.”

Vavi’s comments came after seven other unions rejected the CEC decision to expel Numsa. They also said they would not participate in CEC matters until the impasse was resolved.

Numsa has warned it will resort to court action if its expulsion is not reversed.