Willy Madisha. Photo: Lisa Skinner
About 1 000 workers met in Pretoria last weekend to launch a new federation to rival Cosatu. Matuma Letsoalo quizzed its leading light, Cope leader Willy Madisha
How will your new federation differ from Cosatu?
Workers came together to say they want an independent union, which is not aligned to any political party. What we are saying is that workers can belong to any political party of their choice as individuals, not as an organisation.
But you had no problem with Cosatu’s alliance with the ANC while serving as its leader.
The coming together of Cosatu, SACP and the ANC was because of a particular period in our history to fight for our people’s liberation. That has been achieved. Now we cannot afford to have unions aligned to the government as an employer. If the government becomes conservative, you can’t rise as a worker because you are in an alliance. Second, not all workers are ANC members. We can’t have a situation where workers’ resources are used for the ANC’s election campaign.
You’re on Cope’s national executive committee. Will you step down?
What I said is that I’m not prepared to lead the union movement any more. The fact that I was elected many times as a union leader indicates workers have confidence in me. Now they want me to use my experience to bring them together, but I can do no more than that. In three months workers will convene a congress to elect the new federation’s leaders.
Some question your decision to form a federation without affiliated unions.
At the moment there are structures from different sectors, which will be registered as unions before the June congress. There are also independent unions, which are not affiliated to any federation, that will join. The idea is [to have] one federation and one union in one sector.
How many members do you have and where?
About 250 000 across all sectors. We expect the number to increase once we include all those who’ve shown interest in joining. Our intention is not to rival Cosatu but to unite all workers in the country. Cosatu did not achieve this.
But surely Cosatu won’t agree to merge with you …
There will be serious challenges, but workers will campaign very hard to achieve this. Cosatu thinks it’s the only important organisation. It says it’s got more than 1.7-million members, but we haven’t seen audited numbers. How do you maintain that figure while thousands are losing their jobs?
Cosatu’s Zwelinzima Vavi predicts you’ll die a slow death, like Inkatha’s Uwusa.
When Cope was formed they predicted it would die, but it’s going to make a big dent in the ANC in Parliament. If it doesn’t win the elections, it will become the official opposition. I’m confident the new union movement will remain and become very strong in the near future. Workers are tired of Cosatu.
The teachers’ union denies that tens of thousands of teachers have left it to join your union.
We know teachers all over the country who are interested in joining us. Already thousands have joined. Why can’t Sadtu leaders tell you that wherever they go in all provinces teachers chase them away?
The health union Nehawu has threatened to sue you for claiming it used R20-million to pay communist leaders’ salaries and fund the ANC’s campaign.
It’s fine. I’m waiting for that.
Your former Cosatu comrades say you’re more a businessman than a unionist.
I don’t know where they get this; it’s a terrible lie. They can go to the company register to see if I was ever involved in business. They can check my bank accounts. They won’t get anything.