By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Trade federation South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has suspended four of its National Executive Committee (NEC) members including its president, Mac Chavalala who led the suspension of the union’s General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
The union’s NEC has been briefing the media following its quarterly meeting on Saturday.
The NEC said the attempt by the SAFTU president to suspend Vavi was a “delinquent act”.
The NEC, which is the supreme body of SAFTU above the national office bearers, said there was no evidence produced regarding the alleged offences that Vavi had been accused of.
Saftu NEC member Vusi Ntshangase explained, “The four comrades willfully and intentionally usurped the powers of the NEC and acted wrongly in suspending the general secretary. In the process they brought the federation into disrepute. For two weeks the federation was subjected to ridicule and harassment.”
“The motion passed with 28 votes versus two and 11 abstained. Numsa did not vote because they are not in good standing,” said Ntshangase.
As a result, Chavalala and three other office bearers – 2nd Deputy President Thabo Matsose, Deputy General Secretary Phakedi Moleko and National Treasurer Motshwari Lecogo – were accused of bringing SAFTU into disrepute and were immediately suspended.
The NEC said the suspension would remain in force until the next Central Committee meeting. It also said the allegations levelled against Vavi would be investigated.
Vavi said head of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (NUMSA) Irvin Jim was behind the “trumped-up charges” that his Saftu colleagues have cited as reasons to suspend him.
Vavi, former general secretary of the Cosatu trade union federation, said his relationship with Jim soured after the Saftu leadership rejected his plea to endorse the Socialist Revolutionary Workers’ Party (SRWP), which was launched by Numsa to contest the 2019 elections. Numsa is a Saftu affiliate.
Jim and Vavi were close allies at Cosatu before they were both expelled in 2015, after which Saftu was launched. Before his departure from Cosatu, Vavi was accused of, among other things, having used a union credit card to pay for flights for his wife and ex-wife.
The divisions between Vavi and Jim were laid bare last week when messages exchanged in a WhatsApp group were leaked.
Read the full statement here: SAFTU’s National Executive Committee (NEC) Outcome.