By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) general secretary Irvin Jim has threatened to pull out of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) congress should four suspended national office bearers not be allowed to stand for election.
Yesterday, 376 delegates voted against the motion beating out 325 others who voted in favour.
The four had been removed from office after they sent general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi a notice of intention to place him on suspension in March – he had been accused of financial misconduct.
Tuesday night’s outcome revealed Vavi to have the upper hand, despite Numsa and close ally, the South African Policing Union (Sapu), making up 54% of the voting delegates.
Jim’s union has fielded candidates for the other five positions against Vavi’s slate, with Mac Chavalala taking on Ruth Ntlokotse for the position of president.
Voting will take place on Wednesday afternoon with results due on the final day of the conference.
In a heated debate, Vavi’s faction insisted the suspended national office bearers do not qualify to stand for renewed terms.
But Jim told the congress that should their candidates be barred from contesting, Numsa will be left with no choice but to go to pull out of the conference outcome. When he dropped the microphone, chaos ensued with the factions threatening violence against each other.
The conference will close on Thursday.
Numsa constitutes by far the biggest voting bloc at the conference. But this is no guarantee of unanimity since some of the union’s regions, notably in the Eastern Cape and Free State have expressed severe reservations about Jim’s stewardship of the union.
At stake is, to a large degree, the short- and medium-term future of the South African labour movement.
The prime issue is whether trade unions should be independent organisations defending the democratically decided demands of workers or whether they should be adjuncts of political parties. But, in this case, not of any already established political structures: a coalition is being sought that hopes to rally the trade unions to a new political formation that would promote a form of state capitalism, China being something of a model.
Vavi has consistently supported the concept of independence while Jim also heads the Socialist Revolutionary Workers’ Party (SRWP). Although Numsa claims in excess of 300 000 members, the SRWP polled just 24 439 votes in the 2019 elections.
Many Numsa members are also not happy about allegations that the SRWP has sought an alliance with the SA Communist Party (SACP).