The Congress of SA Trade Unions is arguably at its weakest ever, only weeks before it celebrates its 30th anniversary.
It held its national elective congress this week, on the back of a factional battle which led to the axing of its general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, and its largest affiliate, the 320000-strong National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa).
This week’s congress highlighted the changes in Cosatu over the past three years.
The largest delegations were from public sector unions. Membership of its industrial unions has been dwindling.
At the congress, membership was highlighted as a critical challenge. Cosatu has grown by only 100000 members since 1991. And these are the official membership figures provided by the union.
Another issue highlighted by the congress documents is the difficulty in verifying union membership. Documents provided to delegates at the congress contained different sets of membership numbers for the federation and its affiliates.
According to its organisational report, chemical union Ceppwawu has 80331 members. However, the credentials report – read out on Monday by acting general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali – gives Ceppwawu’s membership as 84279.
Ceppwawu has been embroiled in court battles recently over its failure to submit audited financial statements to the labour department for the past four years.
In its court papers and sworn affidavits, Ceppwawu says it has 65000 members.
Similarly, membership of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), according to Ntshalintshali, is 250256.
However, the organisational report says the NUM has 270649 members.
In 2012, before the Marikana massacre, the NUM had 310382 members. In 2013, in the aftermath of a huge membership exodus from the NUM to the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (Amcu), its central committee said it had lost 44000 members to its rival.
It continued to decline in the platinum sector and has suffered a big decline in the gold sector. Its membership now stands at 50520, or 52% of the employees in the sector, while Amcu’s stands at 30040, or 31% of the employees in the sector.
During the 2013 wage talks, the NUM represented 65.5% of employees in the gold sector. At its national congress this year, it reported a decline in all its regions except two – the Western Cape and Kimberley – yet the decline is not reflected in the membership numbers made public by the NUM.
The SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu), according to the organisational report at the congress, has 152254 members. Ntshalintshali, at the opening of the congress, put the union’s membership at 218014.
Satawu’s president recently parted ways with the union to form the Democratic Transport & Allied Workers Union. It has gained traction in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo.
The move away from Satawu to form a splinter union is the second split it has faced in the past three years. Its former president, Ephraim Mphahlele, broke away in 2012 to form the National Transport Movement (NTM).
The NTM’s dominance at SA Airways resulted in Satawu losing its recognition agreement with the state-owned company this year and being replaced by the NTM.
According to sources in Cosatu, the federation has experienced financial difficulties and its affiliates have not decreased their subscriptions or monthly payment to it, in order to keep it afloat.
Cosatu admits in its organisational report that union membership continues to dwindle and that unions represent only 29% of SA’s workforce.
It is evident from Cosatu’s congress that the publicly announced membership numbers of the federation and its affiliates are difficult to verify in the face of glaring inconsistencies.
This may mean that Cosatu’s influence and relevance in the economy and in the alliance with the ANC will decline further.
Cosatu numbers pointing to decrease in relevance
It held its national elective congress this week, on the back of a factional battle which led to the axing of its general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, and its largest affiliate, the 320000-strong National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa).
This week’s congress highlighted the changes in Cosatu over the past three years.
The largest delegations were from public sector unions. Membership of its industrial unions has been dwindling.
At the congress, membership was highlighted as a critical challenge. Cosatu has grown by only 100000 members since 1991. And these are the official membership figures provided by the union.
Another issue highlighted by the congress documents is the difficulty in verifying union membership. Documents provided to delegates at the congress contained different sets of membership numbers for the federation and its affiliates.
According to its organisational report, chemical union Ceppwawu has 80331 members. However, the credentials report – read out on Monday by acting general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali – gives Ceppwawu’s membership as 84279.
Ceppwawu has been embroiled in court battles recently over its failure to submit audited financial statements to the labour department for the past four years.
In its court papers and sworn affidavits, Ceppwawu says it has 65000 members.
Similarly, membership of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), according to Ntshalintshali, is 250256.
However, the organisational report says the NUM has 270649 members.
In 2012, before the Marikana massacre, the NUM had 310382 members. In 2013, in the aftermath of a huge membership exodus from the NUM to the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (Amcu), its central committee said it had lost 44000 members to its rival.
It continued to decline in the platinum sector and has suffered a big decline in the gold sector. Its membership now stands at 50520, or 52% of the employees in the sector, while Amcu’s stands at 30040, or 31% of the employees in the sector.
During the 2013 wage talks, the NUM represented 65.5% of employees in the gold sector. At its national congress this year, it reported a decline in all its regions except two – the Western Cape and Kimberley – yet the decline is not reflected in the membership numbers made public by the NUM.
The SA Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu), according to the organisational report at the congress, has 152254 members. Ntshalintshali, at the opening of the congress, put the union’s membership at 218014.
Satawu’s president recently parted ways with the union to form the Democratic Transport & Allied Workers Union. It has gained traction in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo.
The move away from Satawu to form a splinter union is the second split it has faced in the past three years. Its former president, Ephraim Mphahlele, broke away in 2012 to form the National Transport Movement (NTM).
The NTM’s dominance at SA Airways resulted in Satawu losing its recognition agreement with the state-owned company this year and being replaced by the NTM.
According to sources in Cosatu, the federation has experienced financial difficulties and its affiliates have not decreased their subscriptions or monthly payment to it, in order to keep it afloat.
Cosatu admits in its organisational report that union membership continues to dwindle and that unions represent only 29% of SA’s workforce.
It is evident from Cosatu’s congress that the publicly announced membership numbers of the federation and its affiliates are difficult to verify in the face of glaring inconsistencies.
This may mean that Cosatu’s influence and relevance in the economy and in the alliance with the ANC will decline further.
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