Fears that infighting in Numsa could lead to another schism

Is the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) heading for a split at its elective national congress next week?

That’s the ensuing debate in the union and among external observers as 30 suspended members and officials of the union and Numsa top brass would face off in a power battle at the Labour Court in Joburg tomorrow.

The disgruntled members are challenging their suspensions along with union second deputy president Ruth Ntlokose – who also wants the court to declare her suspension invalid. She claimed the move was aimed to prevent her from standing and being elected as Numsa president.

Observers believe the infighting could lead to another split. If it does, it will be the second since various former steel, iron, metal, automotive and engineering industries unions were merged to form the militant Numsa.

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Previously the Liberated Metalworkers’ Union of SA broke away from Numsa and remained an affiliate of the Congress of SA Trade Unions while Numsa was one of the founding affiliates of the new SA Federation of Trade Unions.

The feud among leaders is a sequel to a dispute lodged by some members who challenged the alleged failure of the Numsa Investment Company (NIC) to account for funds it allegedly unprocedurally spent on certain individuals.

The NIC had not been giving financial reports for a number of years despite the Numsa constitution requiring it to account to the National Manufacturing Workers Investment Trust, which owns NIC.

“We are going to court on Friday to ask for our suspensions to be lifted. Failing this, we are asking the court to rule that the Numsa national congress, scheduled to start on Monday, cannot go ahead,” said Kwanda Khanyile, suspended chair of Numsa Meyerton Local.

“We will be arguing that the Numsa Central Committee, and other regional structures and leaders, have acted beyond their powers. The constitution gives them no powers to suspend us.”

He said Numsa’s decision to ban the entire Mpumalanga region from attending the national congress was unconstitutional. The central committee also violated the union constitution by failing to appoint a Credentials Committee to accredit delegates. But Numsa’s general secretary Irvin Jim rejected the allegations.

“The suspensions took place within the constitutional structures of the union,” he said in a statement.

But the 30 members, from five of nine Numsa regions, believe the suspensions were an attempt by Jim to prevent them from participating in the elective congress, scheduled to begin on Monday in Cape Town. They want the Labour Court to nullify the Numsa decision to suspend them.

They accused Jim and his faction, known as “Amajita”, of purging them. But Numsa rejected what it called “attempts to isolate Jim and to paint him as a dictator”. It said the leadership, made up of leaders of all nine Numsa regions, took the decision to suspend the members.

“We reject attempts to reduce the democratic decision-making process in the union, to a faction. The same arguments which are being advanced in the media were made in the Special Central Committee and in the special NEC and they were defeated…” said Jim.

“These rogue parties are attempting to subvert a democratic process by appealing to the media. The media is not a structure of the union. They are trying to impose their will onto the organisation, using the media.”

Numsa could not confirm the exact number of suspended members.

“But even if we assume that there are indeed 30, Numsa represents over 350 000 workers all over the country. The fact that a small number of approximately 30 people are being suspended, and is described as a purge, is actually quite nonsensical when you compare it to the number of workers we represent,” he said.

Jim said Ntlokose was suspended pending disciplinary action against her. He said she undermined Numsa’s unity and had defined herself outside the national collective leadership.