Fresh from his expulsion from Cosatu, the labour federation's former secretary-general, Zwelinzima Vavi, will hit the ground running, asking union members if they want to join a new federation. All indications are that the new federation will be independent of the ANC.Tomorrow Vavi will be in Western Cape. Meetings in the Free State will happen this weekend.The seven unions sympathetic to Vavi - the Communication Workers' Union, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA, the SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers' Union, the SA Food and Allied Workers' Union, the SA State and Allied Workers' Union, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA, and the SA Football Players' Union - will hold their national executive committee meetings this month to decide whether to break away from Cosatu and align themselves with Vavi.Thulaganyo Gaoshubelwe, general secretary of the footballers' union, yesterday said the unions would ask for a fresh mandate from their members."The last mandate we had was to reverse the expulsion of the metalworkers' union and to defend Vavi, but that was frustrated and blocked."Now that Vavi has been expelled we must get a fresh mandate," said Gaoshubelwe.A metalworkers' official, declining to be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media, said it was a foregone conclusion that the seven unions would form a labour federation to rival Cosatu."There is no turning back. The only available option is to form a labour federation independent of the ANC."Unions that remain within Cosatu will lose members," he said...