The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) held its Western Cape provincial congress in Cape Town. Its provincial chairperson, Motlatsi Tsubane, was uncontested in his re-election.
During his address, Tsubane said there is no leadership from its Tripartite Alliance partner, the ANC, in the province. He says a lot of work lies ahead as the working class is fragmented.
The top leadership structure of COSATU in the province was all elected uncontested. No voting process took place as all nominees for provincial chairperson, the deputy position, treasurer and secretary were nominated and seconded unanimously.
Touching on a number of issues, including the budget, unemployment and working-class challenges, Tsubane said unions are failing to unite.
“As much as the working class is fragmented, so is the labour movement comrades. We know for a fact that within our workplaces, there are different unions organising workers in our workplaces. And in most instances, we don’t speak the same language, even though our enemy in the workplace is a common enemy, but at all material times we speak past one another.”
Tsubane says without leadership from its alliance partner, the ANC, the current status quo will remain.
“With the current mood and lackluster attitude of the ANC in the province, we are doomed to advance any political program. There is no leadership in our alliance, comrades, in the province. Our movement in the province has muted itself in playing its role as the leader of the alliance. We have realized that the leadership of the ANC in the province don’t see the need of the necessity of the unity of the alliance within the province.”
The ANC’s poor performance in the recent elections is telling, according to Tsubane, as he says people did not show up in numbers to vote.
A result, he says, of the current situation in the province. The conference draws to a close on Sunday.
