Cosatu game is far from over

WELL, that is a relief. Here we were, all concerned that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) was on the verge of being torn apart by internecine rivalries, and it turns out it was a media construct all along.

According to the official statement that followed Cosatu’s central executive meeting this week, the movement is not divided, general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is not under investigation, no one is conspiring to get rid of him and there are no “fundamental” disagreements among its affiliates.

There was a brief mention of “problematic ideological, organisational and administrative issues” that arose at the executive’s last meeting in February, and a warning of the “dangers of fighting silly small battles against one another”. But on the whole it seems Cosatu is one, big, happy family united in its determination to resist exploitation by greedy capitalists and as one in its support for the tripartite alliance.

But not so fast, Alice. Your looking glass is a cheap Chinese product that was imported before the recent duties were imposed, which may explain the distortion. Just this weekend, Cosatu’s biggest affiliates, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) came out with clear — and contradictory — positions on the question of whether Mr Vavi’s future in the movement is in jeopardy. NUM general secretary Frans Baleni said the corruption probe against Mr Vavi should go ahead as all Cosatu leaders were accountable for their actions. And Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said his union would reject any attempt to force a vote of no confidence in Mr Vavi’s leadership and “put up a fight” if anyone tried to remove him from his post.

Yet it is a matter of record that the February meeting referred to in the statement dealt with allegations of fraud and corruption against Mr Vavi, relating specifically to the sale of Cosatu’s old headquarters in Braamfontein. The result was a resolution that two facilitators be appointed to examine Cosatu’s political and organisational functioning and that an auditing firm be brought in to look at its books.

So what is actually going on? Why the obfuscation? In all likelihood, what happened in this meeting is that both sides — yes, Cosatu is divided, the main point of contention being its relationship with the African National Congress (ANC) and support for President Jacob Zuma — realised they could not win. Or, perhaps that the price for a civil war was too high.

What we have is a stalemate, much like the outcome of September’s national congress. Then, too, there was talk of a showdown between Mr Vavi and Cosatu president Sidumo Dlamini over the former’s criticism of the ANC and the latter’s acceptance of a position on its executive. But in the end everyone backed down and the two were re-elected to their positions.

Part of the reason for the repeated clashes and strategic retreats is that Cosatu really does appear to be evenly divided between affiliates that see Mr Zuma and his brand of nationalism as their ticket to prosperity and those who believe Cosatu should be guarding its independence and keeping the ANC in check. But there is also an election on the horizon, and the last thing either side wants is a heavyweight fight to the death in Cosatu that might cause the tripartite alliance to lose its political dominance.

So the ball has been kicked for touch, once again. But the game is far from over. The two mediators that have been appointed will have their hands full getting the affiliates to agree on the ideological, organisational and administrative issues that divide them, and the audit report is bound to be disputed.

Meanwhile, on the shop floor, Cosatu unions such as the NUM continue to bleed members, who have become disillusioned with their neglect and the cosy relationship with the government.