South African Municipal Workers Union NW calls on COSATU National Office Bearers to resign

20 February 2014

The South African Municipal Workers in the North West Province is calling on COSATU National Office Bearers to convene a Special National Congress as constitutionally requested by affiliates by no later than the end of April 2014 or opt to tender their resignations.

All manner of reasons, coupled with substantial motivations and the COSATU Constitutional provisions have been advanced by the nine unions on why a Special National Congress is necessary.

It is sad and more worrying that this noble call has once again fallen on deaf ears.

We are calling on the COSATU National Office Bearers to resign or convene the Special Cosatu Congress because of the following hard realities:

The COSATU National Office Bearers have dismally failed the federation's broader membership in this country while eagerly awaiting government deployment.

When some of these leaders speak, we no longer know or are certain as to which side of the fence/organization they are representing.

COSATU is definitely no longer strongest workers' federation in the country as it used to be since the suspension of the General Secretary Comrade Zwelinzima Vavi.

The COSATU National Leadership has failed to deliver on the 2012 mandate; by and large have closed their eyes as if nothing is happening in the federation.

They have allowed the federation to collapse in front of their own eyes whilst the workers' federation is gradually collapsing.

The question that needs to be asked is "Where is their conscience; and are they able to sleep at night?"

The COSATU National Office Bearers should do the honourable thing and resign for the sake of millions of; not only COSATU members, but all South African communities who had faith and trust in COSATU.

If this leadership does not resign or convene the Special National Congress on or before the end of April 2014, as SAMWU, we will embark on a campaign which will do amongst others some of the following:

1. Mobilising all our members to boycott all COSATU activities and to openly campaign for the immediate removal of all the COSATU National Leadership.

2. Collapse all COSATU programs and terminate any engagements with COSATU at all levels.

3. Picketing and mass mobilization of our members to the National COSATU House to withdraw President Sdumo Dlamini and all the other remaining national leadership.

Lastly, it is unacceptable and embarrassing that this leadership went out of its way to employ/hire very expensive Advocates of Law to deal with Comrade Vavi's case; the Senior Counsel that has up until cost COSATU around R10 Million and an average cost of R30 000 per day.

The money that has been utilised to deal with Comrade Vavi's matter is coming from workers who are earning miserable and poor salaries and wages every month.

Workers are harassed, dismissed, intimidated, killed and are working terrible and unacceptable working conditions almost every day of their lives whilst the COSATU Leadership is busy using their hard earned money to fight and create more divisions in within COSATU instead of running the campaigns of the federation.

Rampant corruption in private and public institutions has become the order of the day yet the labour federation is nowhere near dealing with these challenges.

Workers and community members are shot and killed during service delivery protest whilst the labour federation is looking on as spectators; nowhere near dealing with these challenges.

The COSATU leadership that creates more divisions and factions in our federation can never be true revolutionaries and should not be allowed to lead our federation.

They are more worried about other organizations' programs on when and how they will be deployed in posh government positions.

For these reasons, they should not be allowed to lead our federation.

Our call is critically clear.

Our revolution is under attack.

It is about time that we call on those who are not doing what they are supposed to be doing to do the honourable thing: "Call The Special National Congress Or Resign Now!!!"

Statement issued by Lekoba Jacob Modimoeng, SAMWU North West Provincial Secretary, February 20 2014

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