MR GINA’S SHELF UNION LIES EXPOSED!
04 May 2015
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) in KwaZulu-Natal has been vindicated by the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), after false accusations were made by a ‘shelf union’ led by Mr Cedric Gina.
The CCMA was meant to ‘arbitrate’ and rule on Mr Gina’s challenge of the existing recognition agreement, signed in 2001 by Numsa and Toyota-SA, on the required threshold number for any union to be recognised at the plant to represent workers. The ‘arbitration’ would have included the verification of membership and a demand for the employer to collect his ‘shelf union’ subscriptions.
Mr Gina’s ‘shelf union’ had publicly made unsubstantiated and false claims that Numsa was machinating with Toyota – SA to block them from recruiting and organising workers at its Prospecton plant, South of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. This is the very same plant that was politically targeted by sharpless Blade Nzimande’s SACP during the May 07, 2014, election campaign to garner support for the fading African National Congress (ANC). Again this is the same plant that Sidumo Dlamini spectacularly failed to influence its Shopstewards to revolt against the elected leadership of Numsa.
Mr Gina’s ‘shelf union’ approached the CCMA to ‘arbitrate’ on the false basis that his ‘shelf union’ had a substantial number of potential or members at Toyota-SA, and therefore on those circumstances they should be recognised as a legal ‘union’. The Toyota-SA procedurally and in line with the existing recognition agreement refused to recognise Mr Gina’s ‘shelf union’ informed by its failure to meet the 30% threshold.
Last-week, Thursday 30 April 2015, Mr Gina’s ‘shelf union’ withdrew its ‘arbitration’ request at the Durban’s CCMA offices. The decision by Mr Gina to withdraw the arbitration is an admission of their peddled lies that there cannot back-up with legitimate and correct information.
Mr Gina’s ‘shelf union’ is nothing else but a front union for the ANC/SACP faction that has successfully paralysed and weakened Cosatu, in order for the Federation to support neoliberal embedded policies of the ANC/ SACP government, and continue to use workers as a voting fodder; whilst anti-working class policies that eat away worker’s standard of living, reproduces apartheid income inequalities, are steam-rolled unabated by the fading ANC-government.
No union in history has managed to live to expectations by recruiting workers on the basis of their political affiliation or allegiance, such unions, like Inkatha’s United Workers of South Africa (Uwusa) decapitated and disappeared to the dustbin of history. Mr Gina’s ‘shelf union’is an apron string of Uwusa, which is in the pockets of the politicians, and it shall be rejected by workers of our country.
We publicly demand the following explanation from Mr Gina;
- Where his ‘shelf union’ does have recognition agreements?
- Which companies his ‘shelf union’ is sourcing out subscription dues from workers?
- Which National Congress elected his ‘shelf union’ leadership collective?
- How many members have their recruited thus far?
- Where his ‘shelf union’ does gets funding, since there is no subscriptions income?
The current crisis in Cosatu, calls on workers to unite beyond the logo’s or t-shirts colours of their respective unions and confront with revolutionary precision the neoliberal onslaught being waged by White monopoly capital and their friends in bourgeois parliament. As Numsa, we commit ourselves in building an independent, militant, class orientated, democratic and worker-controlled trade union centre that will be free from political manipulation by our class opponents and politicians.
We call on Mr Gina, on his lone and self-journey of political suicide to desist from misleading the public, especially workers, since his ‘shelf union’ has no membership base or support in all the sectors organised by Numsa. Numsa’s members remain loyal to the correct resolutions taken by our groundbreaking Special National Congress, in 2013. Numsa members will jealously guard against any individual that poses as a threat to their unity.
Statement issued by Mbuso Ngubane, NUMSA Regional Secretary, May 5 2015
