COSATU’s 15th National Elective Congress will go behind closed doors on Tuesday as delegates thrash out the federation’s future and intensify backroom lobbying for national office bearer positions at Emperor’s Palace.
Day Two of the congress is expected to be the most decisive – and the most brutal – with the presentation of the organisational and financial reports, followed by debates that will set the tone for whether the federation emerges united or more fractured.
After a bruising opening day marked by political speeches and alliance posturing, the federation will shift from open plenary to closed sessions where only voting delegates are allowed.
At the heart of the agenda will be the organisational report, which is expected to lay bare COSATU’s shrinking membership, its weakened affiliates and the fallout from a year of adjournments, court interdicts and credential disputes that almost collapsed this congress last month.
President Zingiswa Losi, who on Monday admitted the federation had humiliated itself with factions, is expected to use the report to defend her record.
She will argue that she has steadied a federation that bled members from over 2 million at its peak to just 1.6 million, and has opened the door for former giants like NUMSA, FAWU and SAFPU to return.
The financial report will follow, with affiliates expected to demand answers on affiliation fees, investments and why some unions remain in arrears while still demanding voting rights.
Delegates will then break into commissions to debate the reports line by line, with resolutions on jobs, the Government of National Unity, wage talks and COSATU’s relationship with the ANC expected to spark heated exchanges.
But while policy will dominate the floor, power will dominate the corridors.
The most glaring feature of Day Two will be the naked lobbying for national office bearer positions, with two distinct blocks already canvassing hard at Emperors Palace.
On one side is the incumbent block anchored by Losi and General Secretary Solly Phetoe, backed by the federation’s heavyweight public sector unions – NEHAWU, SADTU and POPCRU. They are selling continuity, stability and rebuilding.
On the other is the block coalescing around First Deputy President Mike Shingange, backed by SAMWU, NUM and a coalition of unions that have fiercely disputed the credential process and demanded Shingange’s eligibility be affirmed.
COSATU spokesperson Matthew Parks said the formal election process will begin on Tuesday, but not every top position may go to a vote.
“Results likely to be announced in the morning tomorrow for the positions which may be contested,” Parks told Africa Daily.
“Some positions may be uncontested and thus announced this morning when nominations are dealt with,” he said.
That means by late morning, delegates should know which positions will be fought over on the floor and which have been settled through behind-the-scenes deals.
The process will start with the credentials and nominations committee presenting its report, verifying which affiliates are in good standing and who is eligible to stand.
Formal nominations will then be processed throughout Tuesday, with ballot papers finalised into the afternoon.
Voting itself is set for later on Tuesday, with counting expected to run deep into the night.
Parks said if there are no delays, the outcome will be known by dawn.
Closing of the congress will be done by the newly elected COSATU President on Wednesday morning, a symbolic moment that will either confirm Losi’s second term or usher in a new era under Shingange.
According to sources inside the hotel corridors on Monday night, lobbying was already in full swing.
NEHAWU and SADTU were holding caucuses to lock down votes for Losi, while SAMWU and NUM leaders were moving between breakaway rooms, arguing that COSATU needs a decisive break from what they call business unionism and a return to militant independence.
The Losi camp credits her with stopping the bleeding and keeping the federation intact after NUMSA’s departure and the FAWU split.
The Shingange camp says survival is not enough – that COSATU must rediscover its fighting spirit and distance itself from an ANC government it accuses of implementing austerity.