Cosatu first deputy president Mike Shingange at Cosatu’s 15th national congress for the election of office bearers, Gallagher Conference Centre, Midrand, September 14. Picture: Business Day/ (Freddy Mavunda)
Cosatu first deputy president Mike Shingange has taken his fight to lead Cosatu to the labour court after he was suspended for allegedly defying his union — the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) — over his presidential bid.
Shingange was suspended by Nehawu at the weekend after allegedly defying the union’s instruction to not sign a nomination form. Shingange, who is running for Cosatu president, has approached the labour court for relief and the matter is expected to be heard on Tuesday in Johannesburg.
This comes as the start of Cosatu’s national elective congress was delayed on Monday following a heated debate among delegates over who was in the room. Delegates refused to budge until the “correct” credentials were tabled, declaring that the conference “cannot” begin.
Some affiliated unions including the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) flatly refused to hand over their lists of delegates attending the conference, demanding that the congress first clarify Shingange’s status, the immediate former president of Nehawu, one of Cosatu’s largest unions.
The Cosatu unions supporting Shingange’s bid for the Cosatu presidency include the South African Municipal Workers Union, Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa, finance union Sasbo, South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union, and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
The NUM has also been stepping up its opposition to Eskom’s restructuring plans, with its central executive committee resolving in August to litigate against the utility in the Constitutional Court if necessary, and embark on a strike in the mining and energy sectors, in which it organises.
The decision came after President Cyril Ramaphosa had endorsed a report paving the way for Eskom’s restructuring. The NUM is staunchly opposed to the unbundling of the power utility into three entities responsible for generation, transmission and distribution, arguing that it is a step towards privatisation.
The union argues that privatisation would threaten job security, drive up electricity costs and undermine South Africa’s energy sovereignty. The NUM said electricity was a strategic national asset, and the government must halt all steps towards market liberalisation “until a comprehensive social pact is reached with labour and key stakeholders”.
The NUM and Shingange’s Nehawu were among Cosatu affiliates that called on the labour federation to dump the ANC and support the SACP in elections in 2024. The SACP will contest the upcoming municipal elections on November 4.
At other highly contested Cosatu congresses in the past, when there was a fight over credentials, the labour federation leaders usually proposed a compromise to allow the congress to begin with welcome speeches and messages of support, but this suggestion has not yet been put to the 15th national elective Cosatu conference.
By 11.30am on Tuesday, the congress scheduled to end on Thursday had not yet begun.
With Asitandile Kalashe