Numsa’s expulsion may split Cosatu down the middle

IRVIN Jim, the general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), remained defiant until the end when his union was expelled from Cosatu yesterday morning.

In a marathon meeting that ended at about 3am yesterday, Jim told the central executive committee that it was chasing Numsa out because of its loyalty to the ANC and the SACP.

This did not endear him to the majority of committee members, who voted in favour of Numsa’s expulsion.

Voting took place at about 1am. The voting was 33-24 in favour of expulsion.

Numsa’s expulsion might lead to a split in Cosatu because some affiliates might decide to follow the union should it form its own federation.

Numsa’s closest ally, the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu), said it would consult its members about whether to leave Cosatu.

General secretary Katishi Masemola said that although Fawu would continue to fight for Numsa’s membership in Cosatu, he could not exclude the possibility of a split.

“I can’t rule out leaving with Numsa, but we may decide to stay and fight.”

Jim did not beg his opponents to keep his union in Cosatu when he made his presentation on Friday.

He lambasted Cosatu leaders for their continued loyalty to the ANC even though the party had adopted anti-workingclass policies.

“We have reviewed the socalled charges against us — as far as we know what they are — and we have shown that at the bottom of them all is one thing: the Cosatu leadership remains loyal to the ANC-SACP alliance despite all the evidence that this loyalty is misplaced,” Jim said.

“You want to expel us because we constantly remind you how you are failing to protect the interests of the working class,” he added.

A union leader who voted in favour of Numsa’s expulsion said Jim and his union showed no remorse.

“They came there with an attitude that they are leaving,” he said.

It was a heated meeting that started at 11.30am on Friday

You want to expel us because we remind of how you are failing to protect the working class

and finished at 3am yesterday. All the decisions, including the credentials and the agenda, were put to a vote.

This was a strategy by the anti-Numsa group to close loopholes so that these decisions could not be reversed by a court.

Jim was not available for comment.

Numsa is expected to receive a letter from Cosatu officials informing it of the expulsion. The union would have 30 days to indicate if it would appeal the decision at Cosatu’s national congress, scheduled for next year.

The union could also challenge the decision in court.