The Star reports that according to Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali, leaders of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) were running away from members and not accounting for the use of its money.  

He said the leadership of Samwu, the country’s biggest municipal union, were refusing to co-operate with the federation.  “We tried to set up a task team outside of the Cosatu national office-bearers and included leaders from other affiliates to deal with this issue, but the national office-bearers of Samwu are refusing to co-operate.  We can only consult them, but we have no legal power to intervene,” Ntshalintshali said.  With the union heading for a split, Ntshalintshali observed that there were no substantive or ideological differences within the union, except the fight over the use of its resources and issues of accountability.  Last week, Cosatu’s Gauteng secretary Dumisani Dakile reported to the provincial elective conference that a split was imminent in the union if there was no immediate solution.  He noted that the federation in the province had also not been spared from the internal conflicts within Samwu, as some of Cosatu’s leaders were from the union.  Currently, none of Samwu’s leaders and members are eligible to contest for positions in Cosatu because the union has failed to pay its subscription fees for years.  The Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union (Ceppwawu) was also flagged for being unstable due to internal battles.  Ceppwawu has also not been in good standing in Cosatu for the past two years.

• Read this report by Siviwe Feketha in full at The Star

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