BusinessLive reports that according to Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali, the labour federation is at risk of divisions because of external political issues — including the fate of the SA Communist Party (SACP) and the ANC.
He said the debate around Cosatu’s agenda at the national congress in September could "destabilise" the labour federation if "it has to come to a push" and there should be no consensus among the workers. Over 2,000 Cosatu members will decide whether to support the SACP’s resolution to contest elections on its own and will analyse the ANC’s performance since the 2014 elections before deciding whether to support the governing party at the 2019 polls. The SACP has backtracked on the decision — for now — saying after the July alliance political council meeting that it would continue campaigning for the ANC ahead of the 2019 elections.
However, Ntshalintshali admitted that the union federation found itself in a predicament. "We need to decide at the congress if by choosing something different are we not going to divide Cosatu in terms of politics, and in that context ... making Cosatu apolitical, with other people saying we don’t want to be divided," he observed. There was also the possibility that because the 2019 elections were so close, Cosatu members could decide to put the decision on the SACP on hold, a turn of events that would allow the federation a "much needed breather", according to the general secretary.
- Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at BusinessLive
- Read too, Cosatu faced with an existential threat, at SA Labour News
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page