Union federation Cosatu has confirmed it is in ongoing talks to bring back its former founding allies — the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu). Speaking to Sowetan yesterday, a day after the union’s 40th birthday celebration, Cosatu deputy president Michael Shingange said discussions for the two entities to return to the federation were ongoing. Numsa was expelled from the federation in 2014 because of Cosatu’s stance on supporting the ANC in elections, while Fawu left in 2016 because of its shared opinion with Numsa.
Shingange said the effort to rebuild unity among workers had been a standing mandate of the federation for years. “In our 18th national congress in 2018, we took a decision to engage on what we call worker unity, working with all federations outside Cosatu and those that used to be part of us, including Numsa and Fawu,” he said. From 2018 to 2022, Cosatu held ongoing engagements with the two unions.
But Shingange said the process had been slow because unions needed to secure buy-in from their members and leadership structures. “It’s not something where you speak only to leaders and it’s done,” he said. “They must consult their constituencies and secure a mandate.
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Also, after leaving Cosatu, these unions joined another federation, and they have to take all of that into consideration.” However, he confirmed that progress has been made. While earlier engagements involved various affiliates, Cosatu’s national office bearers were recently given a direct mandate to lead talks specifically with Numsa and Fawu. “Our view is that we cannot celebrate 40 years of Cosatu’s history without Numsa and Fawu,” he said.
“They are founding unions. Their rejoining is on the cards. Whether we are close to concluding the process, I cannot say, as it remains ongoing.
But comrades are making progress, exchanging positions and correspondence.” Shingange described the absence of the two unions as similar to a family member leaving home. “Any time one of your own moves out, you feel it, regardless of the reason. Cosatu has felt Numsa and Fawu’s absence.
Workers are always stronger when they belong to one house because their power lies in their numbers. Being united allows them to influence policy and political discourse,” he said.
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