The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) moved to defend its political stance on Friday, saying it did not form part the ultra-left fringe.
”The allegations against Cosatu are extremely damaging and seemingly calculated to cast aspersions, make innuendoes and question Cosatu’s bona fides,” the labour federation’s general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said.
At the African National Congress (ANC) national policy conference last month President Thabo Mbeki referred to an ”ultra-left”, which he said was accusing the ANC of having abandoned workers. While not mentioning the name of any specific grouping, he said: ”This ultra-left works to implant itself within our ranks.”
Cosatu, which embarked on an anti-privatisation strike in October, does not support sections of the government’s economic policy which it says has led to numerous job losses.
Vavi said on Friday Cosatu had noted with concern the systematic public attacks launched against the federation and its leadership.
”Most of the attacks are geared towards discrediting Cosatu and shifting attention from the issues we are raising. Instead of engaging us in constructive debate on issues, the government has resorted to name calling and labelling.”
Vavi and Cosatu president Willie Madisha also came out against a weekly letter Mbeki wrote for the ANC’s website.
In the letter posted last Friday, Mbeki said there were people who had decided that both the ANC, and the masses who support the party, were misguided in their beliefs and policies.
He said ”to get their way” they had defied all advice and treated all views that differed with theirs with contempt, including advice from the ANC.
Although Mbeki did not mention Cosatu, he said this group had organised general political strikes, the latest being in October.
”They did this to drag the workers and the working people into a struggle against both their organisation, the ANC, and the government they elected in 1999.
”Thus they presented these masses with the extraordinary and strange challenge to fight against and defeat themselves, apparently in their own interest,” he said.
He went on to say that perhaps for the organisers of general political strikes, it was not the truth that mattered, ”but the goals of those who objectively seek to defeat the ANC and the revolutionary masses of our country”.
”The question cannot be avoided for too long — whose interests do they serve!”
Vavi said on Friday Cosatu had taken seven days to respond to the letter because it did not believe that the media should be used for arguments between the ANC and Cosatu.
”We are doing this press conference to set the record straight instead of getting into a dog fight with government,” he said.
”We want the president to exercise responsibility not just as the ANC leader, but as the overall leader of the very alliance, to provide leadership and not get involved in slinging the mud.”
Madisha said the main aim of Cosatu leadership, which has come under attack for wanting to force socialism on the ANC, was to carry out the wishes of its members.
He made it clear that the ANC and Cosatu were not enemies, but merely disagreed on certain economic policies.
He said that since the ANC had adopted its economic policy, Gear, in 1996, there had not been any settlement between the two on this issue.
Cosatu was not consulted when the ANC’s economic policy was drawn up and a meeting was needed on this before the ruling party’s December national conference, Madisha said.
Vavi said the name calling was an attempt to divert the attentions of South Africans on the real issues such as joblessness and poverty.
”We (Cosatu) are never good in the business of name calling… we are only good in policy questions. We leave the labelling to those who seemingly take joy in that,” he said.
In reaction to Cosatu’s denials of being ultra-left, ANC national representative Smuts Ngonyama said neither the ANC nor Mbeki had ever said Cosatu formed part of the ultra-left group. He explained that members of the ultra-left could be found in all the members of the alliance.
”But if certain Cosatu leaders believe that the shoe fits, they must wear it. We are going to make it very much uncomfortable for those who form part of the ultra-left,” Ngonyama said. – Sapa