The political sands are shifting in the labour space ahead of crucial elective congresses in 2018. Cosatu and its rival, the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), celebrated Workers’ Day in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday. But the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) snubbed the Workers’ Day fanfare. Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa says Workers’ Day in SA should be commemorated on August 16, when 34 mine workers were killed by police during the Marikana massacre. Union politics have taken an interesting turn since Cyril Ramaphosa rose to the helm of the ANC in December. In 2018, Cosatu will grapple with the question of state power, which has been raised by ally the South African Communist Party (SACP). Cosatu’s central executive committee decided in 2017 that the SACP should contest elections on its own ticket. The committee resolved that the labour federation would discuss this at its national congress in September. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM),...
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