Business Day
*Cosatu to enforce its backing of Zuma*** *Natasha Marrian, Business Day, Johannesburg, 9 November 2012*CONGRESS of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Sdumo Dlamini on Thursday warned that individuals, leaders or groups in the federation who "deviated" from the decision to support President Jacob Zuma and his leadership core in Mangaung would be dealt with.
The federation came out in support of Mr Zuma after a meeting of its central executive committee last month. It took a decision to support the top three leaders of the African National Congress (ANC), Mr Zuma, deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe --- whom it would engage with should he opt to stand against Mr Zuma --- and ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe.
The decision was taken despite serious criticism of the Zuma administration by large Cosatu affiliates, such as the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), which nevertheless decided to support Mr Zuma in its own structures.
Cosatu's decision was based on the need to focus on policy at the ANC's national conference in Mangaung next month and a need for unity, Mr Dlamini said. He was addressing a Cosatu Gauteng shop stewards council, a province which is largely supporting Mr Motlanthe to take over from Mr Zuma as president of the ANC.
"We therefore call upon you to defend this decision ... nobody, no leader, or affiliate, must deviate from that particular position," he said. "Any comrade ... who will say something different from the collective position, remember, Cosatu has a code of conduct."
The federation would convene a political commission to look at the totality of the leadership in the ANC, including its highest decision-making structure between conferences, the national executive committee.
Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said, when addressing the media last week, that the union subscribed to "democratic centralism" and would abide by the Cosatu decision to support Mr Zuma and his leadership collective, but at the same time acknowledged that he had failed South Africa.
While emphasising the unity of the ANC, Cosatu itself is "working hard" to remain a "united force". Mr Dlamini called on shop stewards to unite the federation.
Cosatu averted a hotly contested leadership race last month but retained its current leadership despite deep differences in its stance toward its allies, the ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP). The divisions were around the postures of Mr Dlamini and Cosatu's general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi. Mr Dlamini said it was clear "something was going wrong", when mineworkers shunned the 30-year-old National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and listened to outsiders. "If we fail this time to maintain our own unity, this country is in trouble," he said.
An NUM official who briefed the shop stewards council on the events in the mining sector, described the situation as "anarchy" as workers at one mine called for the removal of the branch leadership and the union had to scrap the structure and now has to hold fresh elections.
SACP Gauteng chairman Joe Mpisi said the NUM, Cosatu and the ANC were "under attack" by rival unions such as the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union and new parties such as the Democratic Socialist Movement, which is active in Rustenburg. "We must close ranks," Mr Mpisi said.
*From: http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/politics/2012/11/09/cosatu-to-enforce-its-backing-of-zuma*
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