Share

Dlamini: Threats to split Cosatu will fail

Johannesburg - Attempts to cause divisions in the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) will fail, said president Sidumo Dlamini, while denying that he was involved in underhand tactics to discredit suspended general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.

"You must know that we will defend Cosatu from both organisational and ideological threats, whether such threats are coming from within or outside or own ranks," he said at the SA Democratic Teachers' Union's national general council in Kempton Park on Friday.

"If you work to undermine Cosatu, yet you are Cosatu yourself, who do you work for?"

In August, the Cosatu put Vavi on special leave pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing, after he admitted to having an affair with a colleague.

The National Union of Metalworkers of SA has brought a high court application to have the suspension overturned.

The union has also reportedly threatened to break away from Cosatu.

Dlamini said Cosatu had been quiet about internal matters for some time.

"We are not going to be quiet anymore because the danger is that members get confused. You [unions] give people platforms to undermine organisational decisions. Stop that."

He said it was hard to be quiet when members were lying about the union federation.

"In the last CEC [central executive committee] we spent nearly three hours trying to adopt an agenda," Dlamini said.

"That CEC endorsed all the decisions of the previous special CEC [which decided on Vavi's suspension], which we are still trying to defend in court."

He said workers were suffering while unions spent money in court on organisational matters in Cosatu.

Vavi previously said one of the reasons he was challenging the suspension was that Dlamini had circulated an "intelligence report" that aimed to destroy him.

Dlamini said on Friday the delay in the last CEC was because unions wanted a motion of no confidence in him to be a part of the agenda, because of the claims surrounding the report.

"I told them to put it [on the agenda] but then we will prove to you the president did not distribute the document. The one who distributed the document is the one crying foul."

He said some "comrades" previously tried to march to Cosatu house to undermine the "federation's decisions".

"How do you march to yourself, because Cosatu is yourself?"

Dlamini said leaders who criticised members of the SA Communist Party and Cosatu for serving on the ANC's national executive committee (NEC) were misleading members.

"Call us sell-outs, call us spineless. The truth is that we were all in the same basket [as nomininees for the NEC]," he said.

"The truth will set you free from the pocket of a person... it will set you free from being beholden to an individual. Go to the leaders and say why did you lie to me?"

He said Cosatu would hold a national protest against e-tolling and labour brokers from November 12 to 14.


We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.97
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.97
-0.3%
Rand - Euro
20.48
-0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.4%
Platinum
911.60
+1.6%
Palladium
1,012.97
+1.1%
Gold
2,214.54
+0.9%
Silver
24.90
+1.0%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.9%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.9%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders