The Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) and the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) will merge early next year to create a ”super” labour federation with about one million members.
Fedusa general secretary Chez Milani and Mahlomola Skhosana, the general secretary of Nactu, confirmed the move recently.
The merger of the two federations was, in part, prompted by the membership bloodbath caused by retrenchments. The idea is to bolster Fedusa and Nactu’s weak affiliates’ response to changes in the workforce and in labour practices.
Milani said the planned merger would be on the agenda during Fedusa’s national congress in Johannesburg at the weekend.
He added that the federation’s national executive committee (NEC) has already given the idea the thumbs up. The NEC’s resolution, which calls for the merged entity to be operational as early as January 30 next year, will be presented to the congress for adoption on Saturday.
Skhosana said the merger plan would be included as one of Nactu’s resolutions at the federation’s national council next month.
According to Milani, initial talks between Fedusa, Nactu and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), aimed at forming a single federation in the country, failed because of Cosatu’s political alliance with the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party.
”South Africa needs a strong, politically independent and non-aligned labour movement,” he said.
”The unification [of] Fedusa and Nactu would bring about a large trade union federation that is properly resourced, administratively efficient and a strong activist for the advancement of worker issues.
”We have strength, they have strength and we hope together we can work to achieve worker unity,” said Milani.
Milani agreed that historically, the two unions did not share the same ideology. ”Our philosophy is not where we are coming from, but where we are going,” he said.
The biggest challenge facing the new federation, Milani said, was to get unions affiliated to both Fedusa and Nactu to see the bigger picture beyond sectoral interests.
”In engaging with the government and business, we must come across well prepared to have a massive impact.”
One of the biggest challenges for the new federation would be to attract unaffiliated trade unions, said Milani. He warned Cosatu not to look at the new federation as a junior brother.
”Be careful in putting us in that box … you might be surprised.”
Background
Fedusa — a largely white-collar union — was formed in 1997 with a membership of about 450 000. This figure grew to 570 000 in 1999 and currently stands at 550 000. The federation has 23 affiliates, including the Airline Pilots’ Association of South Africa, the Jewellers and Goldsmiths Union, and the Real Workers Union. Nactu, with Africanist and black consciousness leanings, was formed in 1986 by a merger between the Council of Unions of South Africa and the Azanian Congress of Trade Unions. It has 18 affiliates with a membership of about 400 000.