THETO MAHLAKOANA: Cosatu turned a blind eye to veteran unionist
The federation has lauded Cedric Gina after his death but failed this prominent leader when he was at his most vulnerable
Union federation Cosatu should hang its head in shame at its neglect of the late renowned veteran unionist Cedric Gina. It is unfathomable how the organisation, which characterises itself as a champion of workers, expects to be trusted by current and prospective members when it failed its most prominent leader when he was at his most vulnerable. Gina was a former president of the continent’s biggest union, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), and later the founding general secretary of the Liberated Metalworkers Union of SA (Limusa). He was a Numsa shop steward from 1993 and was appointed its president in 2008 following years of what his associates said was painstaking work to build a formidable following for the union in the automotive sector in KwaZulu-Natal. At the time of his death Gina had been admitted to Addington Hospital in Durban, a public health facility that has fallen short on its mandate to provide quality health care to the public. There was no attempt by...
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