NATASHA MARRIAN: Labour’s stale threat
Cosatu unions are putting out fires on all fronts as the jobs bloodbath continues
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) is sulking. It has taken a decision not to campaign for the ANC in the upcoming local elections, by withholding its material and physical resources.This is either due to the impasse with the government over the 2018 public sector wage deal, or because it does not have the money to do so — the reasons differ, depending on which national leader of the union is speaking.The union, Cosatu’s largest affiliate, pushed hard at the last central executive committee (CEC) meeting for this decision to extend to the entire labour federation, but it faced fierce pushback from other unions and in the end took a decision to shift the matter to a separate meeting. A special Cosatu CEC meeting is planned for April, where the federation will decide on its approach towards the ANC in the elections.We have been here before, many times — labour’s election threat has grown stale and empty, and significantly it is no longer an untested expe...
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