President of labour federation Cosatu, Zingiswa Losi, on Wednesday said the African National Congress-aligned labour movements are suffering huge losses as the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) is forming its affiliate unions.
Earlier this week, president of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) Mike Shingange, who is also first deputy president of Cosatu, bemoaned the massive bleeding of support for the tripartite alliance led by the ANC, which was evidenced in the May 29 general elections.
In an interview with broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, Losi said the Congress of South African Trade Unions agrees with Shingange’s sentiments, as it was a mammoth task to campaign for the ANC ahead of the elections.
“Indeed, this is what we share, remember the president of Nehawu is the first deputy president of Cosatu and these are the discussions we have had in the Cosatu CEC (central executive committee) and also as Cosatu national office-bearers. We accept when we make a reflection that we have indeed suffered as trade unions or as a federation because some of our shop stewards in different affiliates went to join the MK party as a political home.
“As a result, during our campaign, we had difficulty of getting those shop stewards to begin to speak about the resolution of Cosatu in support of the ANC because of their political affiliation to the MK party,” she said.
In the aftermath of the elections, Losi said she is reliably informed that the MKP is building labour structures.
“What we have also realised is that the MK party has opened up a trade union, I think, in the teachers sector and in other sectors, but also a federation which they tried to also register with the registrar in the Department of Labour,” she said.
“It is a reality that every time we go to elections, when there is a new political party in particular that has been formed, you would have members that will find themselves a new political home. That is the reality.”
She added that she “knows for a fact” that the MK-affiliated teachers union was formulated.
In the May 29 general elections, the ANC received its worst election result since apartheid ended 30 years ago in South Africa. The ANC garnered 40% of the vote, losing its absolute majority in Parliament.
IOL reported last month that President Cyril Ramaphosa had officially begun his second term after his party formulated a government of national unity (GNU) incorporating its decades-old rival, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and smaller parties including the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the Patriotic Alliance (PA).
IOL