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Johannnesburg - Members of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), who picketed outside the Cosatu congress venue asking to be allowed to participate, are demanding that Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini address them.
Dlamini, however, says the affected Satawu members have not addressed him on the matter.
Said Dlamini on Monday: "We don't know what's happening outside, we know what's happening inside. No one has asked to speak to me."
Dlamini was speaking to reporters in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, during an impromptu media briefing outside the Congress of SA Trade Union's special national congress.
A small group of Satawu shop stewards sang and danced outside the venue calling for Dlamini to allow them to be part of the congress.
Satawu's Kempton Park secretary Lucky Zondo said on Monday morning a court decision was made which ruled that 15 of their members had been suspended illegally.
"We are not being allowed into this [congress], we already have a court ruling saying we must resume our constitutional duties, that the union does not have powers to suspend us except certain disciplinary hearings in the union," Zondo said.
"Yesterday we were pepper sprayed at our hotel, three provinces (Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal shop stewards) together with a bunch of members from Gauteng.
"They were sidelined simply because they wanted answers about R60 million [that went missing], they cannot be allowed into Satawu because they are not falling within the right faction."
Zondo said the trade union federation had told them that Satawu was already being represented by 40 delegates. There had reportedly been a disagreement during a meeting on Sunday night about who should represent the union at the congress.
Those allowed in the gathering represented one faction within Satawu, he said.
He said if those who were reinstated by the court were not allowed in, the union would reconsider its alliance with Cosatu.
"He needs to come out and tell us if he is allowing those who have been reinstated, is he allowing us into this congress or is he not? So that we can seek other allies because we have really been patient. I think enough is enough. We have been waiting all day to get in."
