Vavi: Four lessons from Cosatu 'implosion'

Cape Town – The new ‘political home’ of the working class can take four lessons from the implosion of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), axed general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said on Thursday.

Unions loyal to Vavi agreed at a meeting on Monday to set up a steering committee to organise a workers' summit for the formation of a Cosatu rival.

In March Cosatu dismissed Vavi and accused him of several violations, including sowing division in the federation and diverting resources to the National Union of Metalworkers.

Vavi’s four lessons comprise the following:

1. Worker control and internal democracy;

2. Money – "the investment companies, service providers, and corrupt deals have killed us";

3. Service to members, recruitment and relevancy; and

4. How to relate to political parties, and what the current alliance tells us.

Vavi was speaking at the Alternative Information Development Centre in the build-up to a national march against corruption on September 30.