Vavi earns R500k a year

Congress of SA Trade Unions general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi earns R500 000 a year, he has revealed.

"That is coming strictly from the subscriptions of Cosatu members," Vavi told a gathering in Sandton, Johannesburg, organised by The Daily Maverick online publication.

"Not a single cent of it comes from any other source," Vavi said.

Vavi has publicly condemned people who amass wealth through political connections and corrupt means.

He has called for lifestyle audits, frowned upon by Cosatu's ally, the ANC.

Vavi has spoken out against "political hyenas" and the "predatory elite" who don't see anything wrong with "reducing women to trays".

This was in reference to a party held by a prominent businessman during which sushi was served off the half-naked bodies of women.

Vavi said Cosatu supported Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) but the narrow definition at play in South Africa spoke merely to the transfer of shares.

"I think it was a mistake that we interpreted BEE as just the exchange of shares and nothing else," he said.

Vavi spoke ahead of ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe.