Numsa says adios to 'good as dead' Cosatu

10 November 2015 - 02:02 By Neo Goba

The National Union of Metalworkers of SA has given up all hope of reuniting with Cosatu. This emerged at a Numsa press briefing at its head offices in Johannesburg yesterday.Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim briefed reporters after the union's three-day national executive committee meeting, which took place over the weekend, marking a year since its expulsion from Cosatu."The dismissal of Numsa has effectively spelt the end of a militant, revolutionary, anti-imperialist, socialist-orientated and Freedom Charter-championing Cosatu."Cosatu, to the working class, is as good as dead," said Jim.He said one of the reasons the union would not be reuniting with Cosatu was because "Numsa would have no delegation present at the November 2015 Cosatu national congress and would thus not be able to present constitutional and procedural reasons for why Numsa's expulsion was unconstitutional, unprocedural and unlawful."There is no point in pursuing an appeal since the July Cosatu special national congress demonstrated the extent to which the [Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini] clique and its cohorts would go to undermine the federation's constitution," Jim said.Numsa will also drop any process to reconcile through the courts.Jim revealed that among things discussed at the NEC was the fast- tracking of building an alternative federation - the United Front.He said Numsa office-bearers would engage with the United Front's national working committee on:A voluntary debit-order campaign;The policy perspectives of the United Front in defining what the new labour federation is all about; andHow contesting next year's local government elections ought to be approached...

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