FAWU will be pleading with Vavi to be available to serve another term of office in 2015-2018 as the General Secretary of COSATU

Dear ALL

This is a press statement by the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) on its confirmation of confidence on the leadership of Zwelinzima Vavi as the General Secretary of COSATU and a call for him to be available for the next term of office (2015-2018) in this position of responsibility.

Regards

KATISHI MASEMOLA

FAWU General Secretary

The Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU), concerned yet not surprised about a failed new onslaught against Zwelinzima Vavi, the General Secretary of Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), will be pleading with his family to avail him for another term of office in 2015-2018 as the General Secretary of our federation.

This latest failed onslaught, having taken a form of allegations of rape and coming on the heels of a wild-cat project linking Vavi to some administrative impropriety and to some allegations of political/ideological and organizational ‘misconduct', has convinced FAWU that we may be needing him more than before.

This latest episode of silencing the voice of the office of the General Secretary of COSATU and taming the federation away from its traditional roots and cultural practices of being an independent, militant and campaigning federation has proven a failure but FAWU has decided not to rest on its laurels given the determination that this program has exhibited thus far..

Again FAWU; on behalf of food processing, beverage manufacturing, sea-going fishing, forestry, merchandising and farm workers; will give priority to defending the federation and Vavi, in addition to implementing the federation's campaigns on NDP, road-tolls, labour brokers, corruption, and the poor service delivery, given the ‘shifting goal-posts' from ‘rape' to ‘un-procedural employment practices'.

Repeating ourselves, whilst respecting internal processes, on this ‘shifted goal-post' after a failed ‘rape allegation' and on existing allegations, we will not allow our brains to stop functioning or our minds to stop thinking all in the name of ‘respecting internal processes' yet in the ‘sea of impunity of information-leaking to and lies-peddling in the media'. The ‘throw as much mud and some will stick' approach must be rendered unworkable, if not unsustainable. 

Meanwhile, the FAWU National Office Bearers (NOBs) will be travelling to the Eastern Cape to engage the family of Comrade Zwelinzima Vavi with a view to changing their minds; on encouraging him to quit COSATU leadership or political activism; because FAWU members, and workers and the working class, as well as the country at large still need him to remain one of our leaders in this period of our National Democratic Revolution (NDR).

We hope that his wife, Comrade Noluthando, and the entire family and extended relatives will agree with us, as FAWU leadership representing thousands of members and tens of thousands of their dependants, that he is wanted more than before by workers, the poor and the working class at this juncture in the history of our NDR.

This is particularly compelling in the days of rampant labour brokers' festivity, road-tolling fiasco, service-delivery/social-wage deficit, and NDP-contestation in the middle of deepening poverty, rising income inequality and stubborn unemployment rate

FAWU is convinced that its call for a special COSATU congress is the only way to chat the way forward and to this effect, FAWU will intensify its effort in soliciting support from other affiliates.

Statement issued by Katishi Masemola, FAWU General Secretary, July 30 2013

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter