The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) would stand by its general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi if the African National Congress (ANC0 brought disciplinary charges against him, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

"We can't confirm it, we only know what we have read in this morning's Star," said Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven.

The union federation was shocked by the report and said that there was no basis for the complaint that Vavi publicly accused ANC ministers of corruption.

The report, which did not name sources, said that a discussion took place on Monday at a national working committee meeting (NWC).

One of the sources said that the move to charge Vavi was part of the ANC Youth League's ploy to divert attention from its president Julius Malema's disciplinary charges.

Some of Malema's supporters were reportedly hoping to force the NWC to overturn his two year suspended sentence.

Last Thursday, Vavi accused President Jacob Zuma of not taking action against corrupt ministers, specifically mentioning Minister of Cooperative Governance Sicelo Shiceka and Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda.

Vavi said reports that Shiceka had lied in his CV and the conduct of Nyanda, who spent half a million rand on hotels in Cape Town, should be probed.

Vavi was quoted as saying: "That can't be true, how is that possible."

Vavi was an ordinary member of the ANC.

Before the corruption charges were dropped against Zuma, the president of the ANC, Vavi was one of his most vociferous supporters.

Craven said that Cosatu had not been informed, either verbally or in writing, of the possibility of charges against Vavi.

But, he said that when Vavi speaks, he speaks for the entire federation, and so there is "no way he can be charged as an individual for what the whole organisation has said".

"Cosatu is an independent organisation in alignment with the ANC and has every right to express its views."

Neither of the three ANC national spokespeople were immediately available to comment on the report