COSATU Condemns the Leaking of its Internal Documents The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) condemns the leaking of its internal reports to the media. Today (10 August 2012) the Mail & Guardian published a story with the headline “COSATU report hammers ‘self-serving’ ANC” which based on a leaked COSATU Political Report to the 11th National Congress. The story is not only malicious in that it individualises historic COSATU decisions as the personal views of the General Secretary, but it is also deliberately misleading as it misquotes the report itself. One example of this is the quote extracted from the outcomes of the COSATU Workers Focus Groups undertaken in June this year which reads; "Cosatu has influence, but on issues that have nothing to do with workers, like Polokwane and Mangaung - that`s where you`ll start to hear Cosatu. But when it comes to worker issues on the ground and to influence government to change policies that affects workers, you find it asking," The journalist deliberately attributes this quote to General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi even though the report categorically states that this is a sentiment expressed by workers interviewed in a COSATU Workers’ Survey in Peddie in the Eastern Cape. This is a classic example of how the media shows no reservation in picking and selectively quoting from these leaked documents in order to generate sensationalism and bolster newspaper sales. COSATU reiterates that the leaking of its internal documents is anti-organisational and divisive behaviour which ultimately undermines internal cohesion, constructive debates and honest reflections within the Federation.
-- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
