FAWU PRESS STATEMENT ON THE CURRENT CHALLENGES IN COSATU IN TERMS OF THE REINSTATEMENT OF VAVI AND CONVENING OF SPECIAL CONGRESS
The Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU), following the meeting of its National Office Bearers (NOBs) on 24th and 25th January 2014, discussed the challenges facing the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and decided as follows:
FAWU will convene a special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on the 20th and 21st February 2014 to take stock of the developments since the last NEC meeting, which mandated the NOBs to not only call but campaign for the return of Z Vavi to office and for the convening of COSATU Special National Congress (SNC), and seek for an expanded mandate.
This expanded mandate is sought after in order to take into account the decision taken by COSATU NOBs to proceed with issuing out the charge-sheet against Z Vavi and the failure to have the Special National Congress convened and decide on the way forward. What the FAWU NOBs decided though is that the pursuit of Vavi is not going to be a small matter or a ‘storm in the tea cup' but a major issue as it centres on the kind of COSATU we want.
The FAWU leadership reiterated that COSATU cannot be turned into a museum - a static reflection of its former glory - but must be maintained as a militant and campaigning federation with Z Vavi at the head of such organizational programs.
In the same breath, the FAWU leadership decided to defend the continued affiliation of the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) at COSATU while encouraging affiliates of COSATU to engage NUMSA on its congress resolutions.
Meanwhile, FAWU will lobby and engage all affiliates of COSATU to convince them on the importance of such a stance and on how critical it is to have the return of Vavi in the office expedited and the holding of the special congress held by end-March 2014.
Statement issued by FAWU General Secretary, Katishi Masemola, January 27 2014
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