Cosatu says it has not taken sides in the ANC-SACP dispute.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says it has informed the ANC and the SACP not to use their platforms at the federation’s May Day rally on Friday to attack each other.
Both the ANC leadership and that of the SACP have been invited to give messages of support at Cosatu’s May Day rally in Polokwane. Cosatu is one of the tripartite partners that has been caught in the middle of tensions between the two political parties.
“1 May should not be – and is not going to be – a spectacle of trying to disrespect each other; and we have made it clear to our members that this is our day, we have made it clear to our alliance partners that this is not a day for them to counter one another.
“They must give messages of support to Cosatu… a message of support that you would do as an alliance partner is to wish workers well, wish them to be united, given the difficulties that we are facing not just in South Africa but globally,” said Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi.
She was speaking at a media briefing in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
Messages of support
Losi said that a fragmented tripartite alliance will be unable to address the employment crisis in South Africa. The country is facing an unemployment rate of over 40% and a youth unemployment crisis of over 70%.
“1 May is a Workers’ Day our alliance partners must support us, support workers, support the working class and say what is it that we need to do when we are united in pushing back against the far right as a progressive government, what is it that we need to do in responding to the challenges that our people are faced with; this is what the May Day is about,” she said.
What is Cosatu’s stance on the matter?
Losi said Cosatu has not chosen sides in the political battle between the communists and the ANC.
“Cosatu must never be divided on the basis of which one must we choose. The 8th Central Committee of Cosatu was very clear, it said let all affiliates of Cosatu continue engaging on these questions of the party (SACP) contesting the local elections.”
Losi said Cosatu will also debate this matter at its national conference later this year.
“Workers will then debate this matter and make a decision, whether they are choosing or not choosing or they are choosing themselves over any of the two,” she said.
Escalating tensions
Last week, the ANC told the media that it had sent communication to all its members with dual membership of both the SACP and the ANC, that they must declare if they intend to campaign for the ANC or the SACP in the lead-up to the local government elections.
But the SACP retaliated to this stance, describing it as intimidation. The communists have also argued that the decision to contest elections without the ANC for the first time in democratic South Africa stemmed from a 2022 congress resolution.
The SACP also claimed that it avoided contesting the 2024 elections independently to create space to engage with the ANC on issues it is unhappy with.
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