Cyril’s ceasefire ‘destined to flop’

A COSATU political ceasefire brokered by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa is destined to fail, with a group of affiliates stating their determination to have a “defiant” Numsa expelled from the federation.

This is according to union leaders who attended the federation’s two-day central executive committee meeting this week. They said there was “consensus” among the majority of unions that the metalworkers’ union be kicked out of Cosatu because its leaders were behaving “like they have already left”.

Ramaphosa and ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte had asked the warring factions in Cosatu to put their differences aside for the next four weeks as they consult more affiliates in a bid to find a solution to the federation’s problems. As a result, Cosatu boss Zwelinzima Vavi and his opponent, federation president S’dumo Dlamini, displayed a united front at a press conference on Thursday.

Numsa was ordered to put its plans to form a workers’ party on hold and to stop recruiting members from its sister unions. It was also asked to write to Cosatu committing itself to the agreement. Failure to do so would lead to a special executive meeting, which could decide to expel it.

A union leader opposed to Numsa said its expulsion was inevitable. “If they do write a letter to Cosatu making the commitment, it will just be on paper, but their programmes will continue,” said the leader, who attended this week’s meeting.

Numsa’s leadership is scheduled to meet today and tomorrow to discuss Ramaphosa’s intervention.

A number of union leaders said this week’s meeting proved that a split in South Africa’s biggest labour federations was bound to happen.