/ 19 September 2012

M&G Hangout: Cosatu 2012

Cosatu's conference is over
Cosatu's conference is over

Cosatu has finished its elective conference that saw all its leaders staying put, including the popular general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.

But what now for the country's largest trade union federation as it faces real threats to its legitimacy, not least of which are the Marikana tragedy, the spread of unrest to other mines and ailing membership? We want to know what you think ahead of our weekly live video chat on hot news of the week.

Every Friday the Mail & Guardian Online hosts a live video chat on the major news topic of the week. This week we chat to our senior politics reporters Matuma Letsoalo and Charles Molele, who covered the conference and who will take your questions about Cosatu's conference and related issues.

Verashni Pillay, who also covered the conference this week, will pose your comments and questions to our reporters during the chat. We will also take your tweets in real time sent to @mailandguardian. You can watch the video on this link when it begins at noon on Friday, September 21 2012, and the recorded version afterwards.

Some of the audience questions we'll be tackling this week:

Marco Burger: "Why did Cosatu allow Zuma junior and Mandela junior to strip Grootvlei and Orkney mines? Why are they so silent on this?"

Ross Holloway: "What's their stance on wasting their members' fees on a conference that achieved very little and provided the union management with food, drinks and other unnecessary perks?"

Roy from Pretoria: "Is there still a place for Cosatu in modern day labour relations, nevermind politics?"

Watch the previous video chat with our reporters featuring your questions about the various crises facing South African schools.