In 2015, Sidumo Dlamini’s camp was firmly in charge of the country’s largest trade union federation. Cosatu’s biggest affiliate, the National Union of Metalworkers SA (Numsa), was expelled in 2014 and general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi was axed the next year. There was dissent, with a number of unions withholding their dues and withdrawing from Cosatu meetings in protest. The federation was weakened, but Dlamini had achieved his ambition. Vavi and Numsa, both strident critics of Dlamini’s ally, President Jacob Zuma, were gone.

Now Dlamini’s allegiance to the president might cost him his job. During a special meeting of Cosatu’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) on Monday, Dlamini was criticised for acts of support towards Zuma and defying CEC resolutions, according to sources who said there were calls for him to resign or be removed as president.

Ahead of the meeting, Cosatu General Secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali denied Dlamini might be sacked. “Many unions have come out and said there is no intention of removing the president of Cosatu. None of the unions have taken the decision. It must be a speculation. None of the Cosatu unions have indicated it,” he said. The official agenda included discussions on preparations for the Central Committee meeting next week and the call for Zuma to step down. Dlamini said the meeting would discuss Zuma’s insistence on staying in power.

The meeting was still under way at the time of publishing.

In April, Cosatu said Zuma was no longer the right person to lead the ANC because of his various controversies, including the influence of the Gupta family and the Constitutional Court’s Nkandla judgment. The call came shortly after the SA Communist Party (SACP) said Zuma should step down as leader. Cosatu has backed Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa in the ANC election race.

Dlamini has put himself in a contradictory position. After Cosatu’s decision on Zuma, he attended the president’s birthday bash where supporters rallied around Zuma. “We wish that you in these hard‚ trying times‚ as a father‚ a husband and leader‚ remain strong,” Dlamini said. He later claimed he could not attend a birthday party and raise Cosatu’s call for the president to resign.

Some Cosatu CEC members wanted to raise their lack of confidence in Dlamini at next week’s Central Committee meeting, but apparently the anger against Dlamini boiled over and Monday’s meeting was dominated by the debate over his future. Daily Maverick was told he defied a Cosatu decision not to attend Zuma’s birthday celebrations. Cosatu will hold a press briefing on Tuesday.

The federation has been sending mixed signals on Zuma. Despite multiple affiliates requesting that Zuma be replaced as the ANC’s speaker at Cosatu’s May Day rally in Bloemfontein, the president was allowed to attend. No speeches were delivered after unionists chanted against Zuma while another camp expressed their support. It was unprecedented for the ANC president not to speak at Cosatu’s main May Day rally.

Cosatu remains the country’s largest trade union federation, but has struggled to maintain its influence since Numsa and Vavi were expelled. The federation has a “back to basics” campaign aimed at reducing the gap between shop stewards and workers that has grown along with a culture of business unionism. It planned to organise this year against labour brokers, retrenchments, for social security reform and a living wage.

But ANC politics and Cosatu’s failure to fundamentally shift government policies towards socialism have tainted the federation and its campaigns.

On Monday, Vavi said Cosatu has “convened to discuss one person who is the president of that union, whether they want to dismiss him now or later. That’s their crisis.” He was speaking after the first National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the recently launched South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu). Vavi, who is Saftu’s general secretary, said Cosatu is preoccupied with the ANC elections. “All of them are completely defocused by the factional battles that are currently under way in the ANC.”

Saftu’s 24 affiliates have a combined 700,000 members and Vavi said the federation plans to grow by 300,000 this year and one million members every year thereafter. “We continue to learn from our mistakes and the mistakes committed by dying sweetheart unions,” said Vavi. Unions have failed to protect workers from management abuses, retrenchments and low wages. “We intend to be different from others on this front.”

Saftu believes its political independence, combined with high-profile campaigns, accountability to members and support for pro-poor ideologies will help it attract some of the 76% of workers who are not unionised. It could also boost its numbers by signing new affiliates. Saftu will work with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) in a campaign to fight job losses, which will see a march to the Union Buildings in December. It will also join Amcu in commemorating the Marikana Massacre in August.

“We will say to Amcu the time is now to join us, together with those unions that we know prefer a truly democratic, truly independent, campaigning federation,” said Vavi. Saftu Deputy General Secretary Moleko Phakedi said getting Amcu to join Saftu is “under construction”. On its website Amcu says it has close to 200,000 members. Saftu is also hoping to woo the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) and Cosatu affiliates the South African Football Players Union (Safpu) and the SA State and Allied Workers Union (Sasawu), all due to hold congresses soon.

“I must hurry to say there is no decision of Saftu to create a workers’ party. The decision is to debate,” said Vavi. Numsa, Saftu’s biggest affiliate, has called for a workers’ party to be established but Saftu has referred that and other tricky topics to its political and ideological commission.

Saftu, like many of its affiliates, still has to prove itself. The NEC statement said there has “been an explosion of hope” and unions have been inundated with requests to join. It wants to launch all provincial structures by November and must still elect provincial office-bearers and other key positions. It’s still operating out of Numsa offices.

Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla recently dismissed Saftu. “Saftu poses no threat to Cosatu and when Mr Vavi is done dancing on what he considers to be the grave of our federation, he will be disappointed to discover that Cosatu is not in it,” he said. He claimed Saftu and its affiliates featured failed and recycled leaders. “For the record, we are not losing any sleep over the formation of Saftu, not because Cosatu is arrogant or overconfident but because we know all the people who formed this new federation.”

Asked about the discussion on Dlamini, Cosatu Pamla on Monday afternoon SMSed: “That issue is not on the agenda.”

Cosatu, however, has its own leadership challenges and the first is President Sidumo Dlamini.

Asked about the discussion on Dlamini, Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla on Monday afternoon SMSed: “That issue is not on the agenda.” DM

Photo: The then Cosatu general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is seen with the trade union federation’s president Sidumo Dlamini (R) at a news conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 29 May 2013. Picture: Werner Beukes/SAPA