For the good of workers, union leaders must unite

Several alliance leaders have talked about unity but done nothing, and the Cosatu and Saftu leaderships must understand that workers suffer while they dither.

Protesters during a march in the Johannesburg CBD by Saftu during their general strike held on the 25th April 2018. Picture: Nigel Sibanda

The unnecessary tension between the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the new and growing kid on the labour block, the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), will not help to advance the struggles of workers.

The two giants, instead of working together, appear to be competing against each other for membership and political dominance.

With Cosatu membership at about two million and Saftu’s at 800 000, the two are a major part of SA’s socioeconomic landscape. At its establishment, Saftu overtook both the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) and the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) – two long-existing labour federations – in size, to occupy the second space after Cosatu. More unions are moving from Cosatu to join the new federation and others have joined the queue.

Saftu, therefore, cannot be ignored.

Trying to exclude it from the National Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) is not only counterproductive, but unwise. Having Saftu in Nedlac will strengthen the voice of labour in the forum which brings together workers, business, civil society and government.

The stand-off between the Saftu and Cosatu leaderships is known and understandable, but it stands in the way of the interests of workers.

Yet, there is common purpose between them in the current bus strike, with the Cosatu-affiliated SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union and those affiliated to Saftu, including the militant National Union of Metalworkers of SA, forced by circumstances to stand together.

Similarly, as a public sector strike looms, the unions could again be forced to stand together.

If the top-four of Cosatu, Saftu, Fedusa and Nactu could get off their high horses and sit around the table and thrash out their differences, unity could be achieved.

During the Jacob Zuma-era, a divided Cosatu (one without Zwelinzima Vavi) was important for Zuma’s political survival. Vavi’s anticorruption stance within the tripartite alliance made him unpopular and it disturbed the state capture project. Those who supported the former president closed ranks against Vavi and they found an excuse to get rid of him.

With the new ANC leaders elected at Nasrec committed to unity, unifying Cosatu and Saftu should be explored. Also, this would be a test for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s sincerity in his call for unity, which he later extended to include Julius Malema’s EFF and the UDM of Bantu Holomisa.

Several alliance leaders have talked about unity, but done nothing. Recently, former trade union leader and top SACP member Thulas Nxesi alluded to the need for unity among workers.

Nxesi said worker leaders must put aside their egos and think about the plight of poor workers. He told mourners at a funeral, in the presence of Vavi, that workers must unite regardless of their federation affiliation.

Nxesi echoed a sentiment expressed by Sizwe Pamla of Cosatu about the same issue. Pamla had said Cosatu derived no joy in exchanging words of insult with Saftu.

It’s high time Nxesi and Pamla put their money where their mouths are. The Cosatu and Saftu leaderships must understand that workers suffer while they dither, many get a pittance in wage increases while others are simply told there is no increase at all this year.