Jacquie Golding-Duffy
THE Congress of South African Trade Unions cannot count on the support of its main affiliate, the 300 000-strong National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), in its planned anti- privatisation strike on Tuesday.
Although, as a Cosatu affiliate, the NUM is bound to some degree by the federation’s decision to strike, ambivalence is being displayed among some key NUM members.
The strike, aimed at what Cosatu terms the “unilateral restructuring of state assets”, could fail, with one senior unionist, who wished to remain anonymous, describing Cosatu general secretary Sam Shilowa’s militant stance as “mere posturing”.
NUM general secretary Kgalema Motlanthe was tight-lipped about the strike, saying it was “inappropriate to comment”, since talks between Cosatu and various other parties could “succeed in reconciling differences” and possibly reach agreement on the objectives of restructuring within the public and other
“All federation decisions are binding on affiliates,” Motlanthe said.
However, should the NUM, as a backbone union of the federation, fail to render its support, Cosatu’s “show of strength” will not make an
Cosatu spokesperson Nowetu Mpati said she did not doubt the NUM would support the strike, especially as it participated in the decision- making process. “The strike will continue as planned, and we have distributed pamphlets in all the regions,” Mpati said, adding Cosatu’s affiliates had pledged “strong support” for the strike.
The strike is, however, ill-timed, with factory workers returning a day before Cosatu plans to show its “force of strength”. The Federation of South African Labour Unions (Fedsal) also indicated last week that it had no intention of participating in the strike.