Att: The Editor – Business Day
Email:  ‘busday@bdfm.co.za’

I had the pleasure of entering into a debate with Mr Vavi, the representative of the Department of Labour and a representative of the EFF.  The debate centred on the proposed minimum wage in South Africa and the opinions expressed were not at all surprising.  However, the cosy relationship between Mr Vavi and his EFF counterpart was startling.  Both before and after the debate that relationship appeared to be absolutely solid and very much in contrast to the relationship between Cosatu and AMCU.  As we are all aware the EFF is in bed with AMCU and they are the stated enemies of Cosatu.  This relationship between Vavi and EFF raises an incredibly important issue that we will all be facing within the next few weeks.

We understand that there will be a meeting of Cosatu Central Committee next week where one of the main issues to be debated is the future membership of NUMSA within the Cosatu umbrella and NUMSA’s ally Mr Vavi.  We also know that NUMSA is the largest Trade Union within the Cosatu umbrella and it’s expulsion or breakaway would probably lead to an enormous breakup of Cosatu in its entirety.  Already NUMSA is recruiting members across the board and is bleeding the National Union of Mineworkers on a daily basis, also we know that NUMSA is no fan of our President despite the fact that Cosatu still sits in the tri-apartheid alliance.  All this bodes ill for the future of Cosatu and certainly shakes the foundation of the alliance with the ruling party.

As we start this slippery slope down to the public sector union strike it is important for all of us in the public to keep a careful eye on the imminent breakup of Cosatu and Cosatu’s strong and deadly influence it has over the ANC.  These are exciting times but unfortunately the shenanigans of Cosatu and its ally the ANC are destroying our economy undermining the rand and doing everything in its power to destroy jobs.

MICHAEL BAGRAIM