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IT'S not about the sex.
It’s not about the political enemies. They’ve always been there. It’s not about anything other than betraying that which Zwelinzima Vavi represents as the general secretary of trade union federation Cosatu.
Vavi represents a Cosatu that’s meant to fight for workers' rights, and equality between men and women workers.
He represents a Cosatu that champions proper labour practices, including employees not being placed in tricky positions by their superiors.
He’s led strikes halting the economy in striving to get better deals for workers.
But now, while he has denied allegations of rape, Vavi has admitted to having sex with a female subordinate. In her office. During working hours.
The rumour also circulating is that he appointed the woman irregulary to her position at Cosatu. She used to work at a South African Airways check-in desk, where she first ran into Vavi. She claimed in a weekend newspaper that Vavi made the arrangements for her new job at Cosatu.
According to her own statement placed in the Sunday Times, she said: “Around a month or two later he arrived back at the check-in counter, this time in the company of his wife.
"He told her: 'This is the girl I was telling you about, the one we should hire.' I didn't really believe it, but this time he put my cellphone number into his phone."
"A week or so later he called and asked me to come and see them about the job. He said there were obviously processes to follow. I was nervous but also excited about the prospect of this new job.
"We met at his office, just me and him. We discussed the salary package, but no paperwork was signed at that stage. There wasn't even an interview. Vavi said he would inform the other office-bearers that I had been hired and told me to report for duty on January 9 [2012].
"My new colleagues were suspicious of me or the circumstances around which I was hired, but I just wanted to do my job. They signed an initial six-month contract with me and I was subsequently employed,” the woman said.
Even if this is untrue and she was appointed properly, Vavi had sex with a subordinate.
Will he ever again be able to talk to any employer on behalf of labour and demand fair labour practices? Will he ever again be able to lambaste anyone about abuse of labour practices? If he does, Cosatu will look pretty hypocritical.
Vavi’s actions also add fuel to the fire threatening to rip Cosatu apart, a fire that other union groups - such as the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union - have lit. Some of these have been claiming for months that Cosatu has lost touch with the workers.
And that’s why I think Vavi is in greater trouble than we think.
He’s lost the moral high ground. In the words of Olivia Pope, he’s lost the white hat.
- Fin24
*Follow James-Brent Styan on Twitter at @jamesstyan. Views expressed are his own.
It’s not about the political enemies. They’ve always been there. It’s not about anything other than betraying that which Zwelinzima Vavi represents as the general secretary of trade union federation Cosatu.
Vavi represents a Cosatu that’s meant to fight for workers' rights, and equality between men and women workers.
He represents a Cosatu that champions proper labour practices, including employees not being placed in tricky positions by their superiors.
He’s led strikes halting the economy in striving to get better deals for workers.
But now, while he has denied allegations of rape, Vavi has admitted to having sex with a female subordinate. In her office. During working hours.
The rumour also circulating is that he appointed the woman irregulary to her position at Cosatu. She used to work at a South African Airways check-in desk, where she first ran into Vavi. She claimed in a weekend newspaper that Vavi made the arrangements for her new job at Cosatu.
According to her own statement placed in the Sunday Times, she said: “Around a month or two later he arrived back at the check-in counter, this time in the company of his wife.
"He told her: 'This is the girl I was telling you about, the one we should hire.' I didn't really believe it, but this time he put my cellphone number into his phone."
"A week or so later he called and asked me to come and see them about the job. He said there were obviously processes to follow. I was nervous but also excited about the prospect of this new job.
"We met at his office, just me and him. We discussed the salary package, but no paperwork was signed at that stage. There wasn't even an interview. Vavi said he would inform the other office-bearers that I had been hired and told me to report for duty on January 9 [2012].
"My new colleagues were suspicious of me or the circumstances around which I was hired, but I just wanted to do my job. They signed an initial six-month contract with me and I was subsequently employed,” the woman said.
Even if this is untrue and she was appointed properly, Vavi had sex with a subordinate.
Will he ever again be able to talk to any employer on behalf of labour and demand fair labour practices? Will he ever again be able to lambaste anyone about abuse of labour practices? If he does, Cosatu will look pretty hypocritical.
Vavi’s actions also add fuel to the fire threatening to rip Cosatu apart, a fire that other union groups - such as the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union - have lit. Some of these have been claiming for months that Cosatu has lost touch with the workers.
And that’s why I think Vavi is in greater trouble than we think.
He’s lost the moral high ground. In the words of Olivia Pope, he’s lost the white hat.
- Fin24
*Follow James-Brent Styan on Twitter at @jamesstyan. Views expressed are his own.
