By Terry Bell.
National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa). Photo Credit: Michel Bega.
The National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) congress, which was scheduled for Cape Town on Monday but interdicted, threatens to dissolve into chaos even before it has a chance to start. The Labour Court on Friday interdicted the congress, but word was allegedly not sent out to various delegations and hundreds of worker-delegates have already arrived.
“We are studying the judgment. We will communicate a way forward in due course,” Numsa’s official spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, said on the Labour Court ruling.
The union faces a multi-million rand financial hurdle as a result of the interdict. Deposits, at the very least, for hotel accommodation for out-of-town delegates as well as the rental and catering costs for five days at Cape Town’s International Convention Centre have already been paid and will almost certainly not be refundable.
There is also the cost of air fares, apparently for some delegates, as well as the hire of buses for delegates from KZN and other centres.
“But when the interdict was announced, the leadership should have notified everyone and cancelled all travel arrangements,” noted an “admittedly dissident” Gauteng Numsa member.
Some union officials, who admitted they feared that “this whole thing can get out of hand” have proposed that, while the interdict has to be observed, it may still be possible to convene a conference tomorrow; that delegates may gather, in legal terms, informally.
They could then discuss the not only the interdict, but the plethora of problems currently facing the union and its leadership.
However, both in legal and political terms, it is unlikely that such a suggestion will gain much traction overnight. In the meantime, the Numsa leadership will be seeking legal advice before making a statement.