Johannesburg - The so-called "Nine Plus Unions" are sinking, Cosatu President Sdumo Dlamini said on Thursday.
Cosatu held a two-day special central executive committee (CEC) meeting, attended by 14 of its affiliates, Dlamini said.
He was addressing reporters in Johannesburg.
Four unions - the Food and Allied Workers Union, SA Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union, SA State and Allied Workers Union and the SA Football Players Union - did not attend the meeting.
Fawu was the only one which wrote a letter to the CEC explaining that it needed to get a mandate from its structures on whether it should continue to boycott Cosatu meetings.
"[The] CEC said the national office bearers ought to write to these affiliates indicating that the CEC expects them to be part of the CEC and that the CEC's patience is waning," Dlamini said.
"We can't be reckless and careless in that approach... Up to now, we have been doing well in getting all the Cosatu unions to come in."
The "Nine Plus Unions" is a group of affiliates which wants former Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi and expelled metalworkers union Numsa reinstated. The group had also called for the special national congress.
Cosatu held its special national congress last month.
Dlamini said: "We are at a phase where we are moving forward as the federation. We've been hell-bent for two years on issues of infights, disunity of Cosatu and Cosatu unions."
He said the CEC had focused on Cosatu programmes and preparations for the normal congress to be held in November.