Cosatu a 'factional shell'

The gloves came off yesterday as Cosatu affiliates pulled out of its executive meetings following the federation's expulsion of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA.

Though the ANC still holds on to a slim hope of reconciliation among the warring affiliates, the ruling party is also preparing for a split and repercussions.

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said yesterday the expulsion was bad for Cosatu, the ANC, the tripartite alliance and society.

Speaking on behalf of the affiliates who withdrew from executive meetings, the general secretary of the Food and Allied Workers' Union, Katishi Masemola, said the expulsion of Numsa had reduced Cosatu to a factional shell.

"This has been a sad and shameful week for the South African trade union movement and the working class in general," he said.

The current Cosatu leadership had become "paralysed by factionalism".

"The fate of Cosatu is at the heart of the current division."

Mantashe presented a public defence of the ANC's track record since coming to power in 1994, after Numsa had accused it of having abandoned the Freedom Charter.

He said the ANC remained a "disciplined force of the Left, biased towards [the] working class and the poor".

"The attacks on the ANC by Numsa are unfounded. The ANC remains committed to and continues to pursue the implementation of the Freedom Charter. The ANC has scored remarkable achievements in the past 20 years and acknowledges that much more needs to be done," he said.

The party said the National Development Plan "is by no means a neo-liberal ideological programme, but a plan to implement the ideals of the Freedom Charter" as it would create jobs and eliminate poverty.

Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said a reconciliation of Cosatu affiliates was "near impossible".

"We need to look at whether Cosatu is in a position to heed the conditions set by Numsa and my answer is no ."

Mathekga said though Numsa members would not automatically abandon the ANC in favour of a yet-to-be-formed workers' party, the ruling party had cause for concern: "We need to be realistic. It will not be business as usual for the ANC. I think it will shed a significant number of votes."