GroundUp reports that as the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) prepares for its national protest action on 24 August, the participation of its largest affiliate, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), hangs in the balance.

Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim pulled the union out of attending Saftu’s special national executive committee meeting on Tuesday, and took aim at Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi for what he perceived as interference in the union’s operations. On Tuesday, Jim sent a letter confirming that Numsa would not be attending Saftu’s meeting, because an agenda item would discuss the court challenge to Numsa’s recent elections and Numsa’s decision, subsequently overturned by the courts, to suspend its erstwhile second deputy president Ruth Ntlokotse. On Monday, a letter sent by Numsa’s attorneys attempted to kibosh any discussion at Saftu’s meeting about the legal tussles surrounding the recently interdicted Numsa national congress. The letter claimed that since a court battle was underway “neither Numsa, nor Saftu, can in any way discuss the content of matters which are currently before the courts, since this would be against all legal principles”. In response to the lawyers’ letter, Vavi implored Jim to review Numsa’s decision not to attend, and said that since Saftu itself was not party to the court cases, discussion of the matters was permissible. There have been a series of increasingly tense exchanges between Jim and Vavi following Numsa’s national congress.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by James Stent at GroundUp

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