The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is now expected to postpone its 15th National Congress on Wednesday, after its leadership failed to break a deadlock over whether the gathering ever legally quorated.
By Tuesday afternoon, the federation’s 16 affiliates remained deadlocked, with national office bearers forced to send delegates to lunch and convene yet another emergency Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting after talks collapsed.
What was supposed to be a four-day showcase of working-class power at Gallagher Estate in Midrand has not started at all.
Instead, the congress has been consumed by two days of chaos, shouting matches, insults and legal wrangling.
Cosatu confirmed on Tuesday that a press briefing will be held at 14:00 on Wednesday to announce the way forward, with postponement now the most likely outcome.
Cosatu spokesperson Matthew Parks confirmed the impasse, saying the constitution is clear that a failure to quorate within three hours requires postponement for up to 30 days.
The final decision will be communicated on Wednesday during the press briefing.
If the postponement is confirmed, Cosatu will be forced to reconvene within a month.
The crisis centres on disputed credentials and the contested status of first deputy president Mike Shingange.
Shingange, who is seeking to become Cosatu’s next president with the backing of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and other large affiliates, was placed on precautionary suspension by his own union, Nehawu, on the eve of the congress.
Nehawu, where he is president, accuses him of breaching its constitution by accepting a nomination for the Cosatu presidency without permission. The dispute is now before the Labour Court.
Because of that suspension, most affiliates refused to submit their credential documents by lunchtime on Monday, demanding clarity on Shingange’s standing first. That delay has now triggered a constitutional time-bomb.
The NUM and the SA Municipal Workers Union are pushing for the congress to be dissolved, citing Section 3.4.2 of Cosatu’s constitution: “If after three hours of the time fixed for the meeting, a quorum is not present, the meeting must stand adjourned to a time and place decided upon by the president, provided that the meeting must be held within (1) month.”
A quorum was not present within three hours of the scheduled start on Monday, therefore the meeting must be adjourned and reconvened within 30 days.
If accepted on Wednesday, the entire congress will be scrapped and reset.
By 1pm on Tuesday, the mood at Gallagher Estate had turned bleak. Officials who were confident in the morning that the deadlock could be broken privately conceded that dissolving the congress was now inevitable.