November 10, 2014.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Sane Dhlamini.
Making headlines:

The Congress of South African Trade Union expels the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa from the trade union federation.

Burkina Faso talks agree on a plan for return to civilian rule.

And, the South African Post Office's board resigns.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (or Numsa) deputy general secretary Karl Cloete said there was no respect for the Congress of South African Trade Union's (or Cosatu’s) constitution, following Numsa’s expulsion by Cosatu at the central executive committee meeting that ran into the early hours of Saturday morning.

He said it was lawlessness that prevailed, adding that Cosatu president Sidumo Dlamini should have been long booted before Numsa for violating the trade union federation’s constitution when he refused to host a special national congress.

Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim earlier described the expulsion of his union as a well-orchestrated programme saying that Dlamini was the kingpin of the move to essentially liquidate Numsa. 

Jim charged that the African National Congress (or ANC) and its alliance partners the South African Communist Party (or SACP) and Cosatu wanted Numsa out of the trade union federation, with Dlamini playing a major role.

Jim said Numsa's expulsion was "pulled" for the ANC and SACP adding that even the ANC task team, who intervened in the central executive committee process of dealing with Numsa, demonstrated their bias against the metalworkers union and its congress resolutions.

He said the hearing against Numsa on Friday was not fair, as a decision to expel Numsa had already been decided by some affiliate leaders using many different platforms over the past year. However, he said Numsa’s biggest crime has been to democratically, in its own congress, argue for the political independence of the federation, given the worsening material conditions of the working class as a result of the neo-liberal ANC policies.

Jim added that 33 union leaders with no mandate from their structures had expelled Numsa.

Opposition parties, civil society groups and religious leaders adopted a plan on Sunday for a transitional authority to guide Burkina Faso to elections, after a popular uprising forced longtime president Blaise Compaore from power.

Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida declared himself head of state on November 1 after Compaore resigned and fled the country last month. This followed mass protests against his efforts to change the constitution to seek re-election in 2015 after 27 years in power.

The West African nation is under pressure to quickly return to civilian rule or face possible international sanctions.

The charter agreed on Sunday, after days of talks in the capital Ouagadougou, is due to be presented to Zida, the operational commander of the elite presidential guard, this week. Military representatives did not participate in the negotiations.

An interim government is proposed, whose 25 members will not be permitted to stand in presidential and legislative elections expected to take place late next year.

Zida has pledged to quickly hand over power to a civilian transitional leader.

The South African Post Office's (or Sapo’s) board has resigned with immediate effect, Telecommunications and Postal Minister Siyabonga Cwele announced late last week.

The board volunteered to resign allowing Cwele to implement an intervention aimed at resolving issues following a violent, unprotected four-month-long strike, the ministry said in a statement.

This intervention forms part of a suite of targeted activities government is implementing to help troubled state-owned companies to deliver the services they are mandated to do, said Cwele in the statement.

Cwele and Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene would work on the clean-up operations at the South African Post Office. Meanwhile, they have appointed former Rand Water CEO Simo Lushaba to lead a team to restore order. The team had three months to turn things around and to ensure that workers report for duty.   

Cwele said the unprotected and violent strike at the post office has caused a lot of harm to many citizens, long-distance students, businesses, especially the small and medium-sized ones, the diplomatic community and most of all the workers of the post office and the company itself.

Also making headlines:

The Economic Freedom Fighters have threatened court action should the National Assembly approve a recommendation by Parliament's powers and privileges committee to suspend 12 of its MPs without pay.

Oscar Pistorius' lawyers have formally opposed an appeal by the state against the South African athlete's culpable homicide verdict and five-year jail sentence handed down last month.

And, Egypt's most active militant group has sworn allegiance to Islamic State, the al Qaeda offshoot which has seized territory in Syria and Iraq.

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That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.