Cosatu won’t support Cyril’s re-election bid

Cosatu, which became the first alliance partner to support President Cyril Ramaphosa’s successful campaign for ANC presidency in 2017, has resolved not to support his bid for re-election as ANC leader during the party’s national elective conference, starting on December 16.

“That’s because we have not had a discussion about it. Normally, we would discuss the matter at our congress or central executive committee (CEC), where there would be a robust discussion,” said Cosatu first deputy president Mike Shingange.

“This time around, workers were seized with so many things that they needed to attend to, rather than prioritising a discussion about the ANC.”

The labour federation, which has a membership of 1.6 million and has always supported the ANC during elections since 1994, is angry after the government refused to implement the last part of a three-year wage deal signed at the public service co-ordinating bargaining council (PSCBC) in 2018. The Constitutional Court in February ruled the government did not have to implement the last leg as unions were “unjustifiably enriched from the impugned” pay deal.

Relations between Cosatu and the governing ANC took a turn for the worst when public service & administration acting minister Thulas Nxesi unilaterally implemented a final, revised 3% wage increase for public servants, as per the numbers in the medium-term budget policy statement of October 26. The public service unions are now threatening to embark on an indefinite strike in support of their demands for a 10% increase, after talks collapsed at the PSCBC.

Cosatu affiliate, SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu), broke ranks with its sister unions in public service when it accepted the 3% offer.

At its national congress in Midrand in September, Cosatu’s largest affiliates called for the labour federation to immediately dump the ANC and support the SACP during the provincial and national elections in 2024.

The matter was put to a vote — as other affiliates wanted the decision to be deferred to a special congress in 2023 — and the results are yet to be made public by Cosatu.

Speaking to Business Day on Wednesday, Shingange said discussions about which ANC presidential candidate to support always left the organisation “fractured”.

“This time around we decided to maximise our unity rather than focusing on things that have the potential to divide us over who to support or not to support,” he said.