Johannesburg – The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) was left with no option but to expel its general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, the National Health Education and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) said on Tuesday.
“The CEC [central executive committee] found itself with no option but to discharge its constitutional duty of defending the foundational principles and integrity of the federation in the face of an unprecedented theatrical display of extraordinary defiance,” general secretary Bereng Soke told reporters in Johannesburg.
“This is the manifestation of an endemic organisational malady that has been long in the making, whilst the centre was more concerned on making headline grabbing outbursts.”
Vavi was expelled from Cosatu last month after he had boycotted its CEC meetings.
Nehawu was one of the unions who had pushed to have Vavi’s biggest supporter, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) expelled from Cosatu.
The health and education union made statements before Numsa was expelled in November, suggesting the metalworkers union needed to be “surgically removed”.
Soke said Vavi had “delusions of grandeur”.
Nehawu launched an attack on Vavi, who has been travelling around the country with Numsa speaking to workers. There is speculation that they were looking to establish a new trade union federation.
It denied that some of its members attended meetings in the Western Cape where Vavi was speaking.
Nehawu deputy general secretary Zola Saphetha said the union’s leadership in the Western Cape assured the national executive committee that no members attended.
He said “this grouping”, referring to Vavi and Numsa, were “desperate” to lead members away from Nehawu.
“They think they are outside Cosatu precisely because of Nehawu… We call on Mr Vavi not to be a coward and to come and face this leadership,” he said.
