Trade union organisation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) yesterday denounced the Congress of the People (Cope) for what Cosatu believes to be ambiguity over South Africa's economic empowerment and affirmative action policies.

Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said that the breakaway party, Cope, had "shown its true colours" by calling for affirmative action and employment equity policies to be reviewed, on the basis that they "discriminate against whites".

Cope allegedly stated that while it believed that affirmative action and black economic empowerment were necessary for the transformation of South Africa, the policies should be reviewed to address "unintended consequences".

Cosatu's Craven argued that it would be wrong to drop race as a criterion in affirmative action policies. He said that these strategies had not sufficiently benefited poor South Africans, and should be continued in order to further reverse the discriminatory effects of apartheid business practices.

Craven added that if race were to be dropped as a criterion for economic empowerment and affirmative action, the policy would lose its central purpose.

Cosatu accused Cope of pandering to the "worst prejudices of conservative whites" in implying that equity and empowerment could be achieved without racial redress.

Cosatu stressed that economic empowerment and affirmative action should be implemented by the new government, to be elected in 2009, with renewed vigour.