"The newspapers's sources, who we now can say without any fear of contradiction, are a few senior leaders of our affiliated unions at the level of the presidents and general secretaries [and] are the new enemies of the working class," he said on Thursday.
"They have been given a mandate to destroy [Cosatu] or at best create so much division that the federation can no longer be an independent movement capable of fighting for the interests of members."
Vavi told the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa's (Numsa) bargaining conference an orchestrated campaign to discredit him was being implemented through the media.
"The mandate of the sources is very clear: target the general secretary and smear him continuously in the newspapers until workers lose trust in him. After all, they know the only way to kill a snake is to smash its head," he said.
"Either they succeed to divide and weaken the Congress of South African Trade Unions [Cosatu] or we expose them and crush them. Eventually we shall defeat these few individuals acting as sources of the newspapers; we have no doubt about that," said Vavi.
'Chicken and a pig partnership'
Regarding the contentious national development plan (NDP), Vavi said Cosatu would continue to differ with its alliance partner, the ANC, about the NDP proposals.
"It is simply unfair for anyone, in particular our ally the [African National Congress], to ask us to cooperate with our own oppression and exploitation, which is what the NDP's major proposals are. The NDP represents a typical example of the chicken and a pig partnership, in which the chicken offers to lay eggs for breakfast, but asks the pig to donate bacon. This will become the last straw in every respect," he said.
The NDP was an "anti-worker" policy, he said, and its economic and labour market proposals constituted a serious assault on workers.
Earlier, Vavi told the summit that most workers demanded decent work and the banning of labour brokers, which should have been resolved long ago.
"Workers are telling us everywhere that they are tired of listening to themselves demanding a complete ban on labour brokers," he said.
"It is now four years since the ANC committed itself to the principle of decent work. Decent work and labour brokering is like oil and water – they don't mix," said Vavi.
Workers were disgruntled
Giving feedback on Cosatu's collective bargaining, organising and campaigns conference held in March, Vavi said workers were disgruntled.
"The main message from our members is crystal clear: workers have had enough of poverty wages, retrenchments, labour brokers, obscene levels of inequality and arrogant bosses," he said.
"We will unite to resist the attacks on collective bargaining and the right to strike, and step up the fight to transform the apartheid wage structure and implement, among others, a statutory national minimum wage and a basic income grant." – Sapa