Including “labour” as the third party in our economic planning makes no sense. Particularly when “Labour” really means the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).

Cosatu was once a principled, intellectually rigorous and organisationally impressive force. No more.

Towards the end of August 2016 the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) decided to leave Cosatu. Fawu alleges that the reason is the 2015 expulsion of the National Union of Metal Workers (Numsa). Cosatu, however, says that Fawu has been weakened by a narrow political agenda and that Fawu owes Cosatu millions in membership fees.

Since 2012 Cosatu membership has dropped by over 320 000 to less than 1 868 000 -  less than half the target of  4 million members set out in its 2015 plan. The plan originally set the target to be reached by 2009, but later adjusted it to 2015.

Cosatu’s expulsion of Numsa led to the drop. Since Numsa's expulsion, Cosatu has replaced it as an affiliate with the Liberated Metalworkers Union of South Africa (Limusa) with only 7 771 members, while the resignation of FAWU has dropped Cosatu’s membership by another 114 000.

Cosatu is increasingly dominated by public service unions. Even ANC secretary general and former trade unionist, Gwede Mantashe, has warned against this:

"Once you have a federation dominated by the public sector, you are in trouble," he told the NUM congress in June (2015).

"We should have industrial unions building themselves, as well as putting [it] on our shoulders to help ... NUM to be strong enough to deal with [the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union].”

What Mantashe fails to deal with is the world-wide phenomenon of a drop in union membership due to the nature of the change of work and  industries. In addition, the damage being wrought by our government on industries such as mining through regulation is another contributor. The mining industry is estimated to lose between 30 000 and 50 000 jobs this year. Most of those jobs will probably belong to Num (Cosatu) members.

NUM saw a big drop in membership numbers when Joseph Matujnwa’s Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) matured leading up to the Marikana Massacre. Cosatu's organisational report of 2015 states that NUM has lost 397 33 members since 2012.

Cosatu's members have become involved in business by establishing investment companies. This had created contestation, competition and corruption.

The increase in benefits and privileges for union leaders has also caused a growing social distance between union leaders and their members.

Internal leadership battles, poor governance, administration practices and generalised corruption have also plagued Cosatu unions.

Cosatu dismissed its iconic general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, in March 2015 for gross misconduct. This included missing three meetings without a valid reason, bringing the federation into disrepute and sowing divisions among its affiliates.

“Wherever it appeared that government, or the ANC, or someone in power, was being un-democratic, Vavi could be relied upon to speak up, to tell those in power they were doing wrong. He had a massive pulpit, and he used it well. Always being available, always around, always willing. And always upfront.”.

Whatever his faults, his principle and defiance is singularly absent in the current Zuma-friendly Cosatu.

Cosatu peddled an untruth when it repeatedly argued that older employees (i.e. their members) would lose their jobs in favour of the youth. This is just not legally possible under our labour laws which Cosatu proudly supports as their own.

Approximately 15 600 000 people are employed in South Africa. Of these, 24,4% are unionised, namely, 2 943 538. Cosatu now represents 1 761 770, just under 60% of the unionised employees and represents just 12% of all employees.

The number of employees in the public sector are 2 028 000 -  13% of the total South Africans employed. 

It is estimated that about 1 400 000 of Cosatu’s members are public sector employees, so 361 770 Cosatu members are employed in the private sector. So of the 7 112 000 private sector employees, less than 5% are represented by Cosatu.

We have over 8,3 million unemployed - five times the number of Cosatu members. Yet Cosatu has never been a voice for the unemployed. They did not support the Youth Wage Subsidy aimed at getting the youth onto the jobs ladder, because the youth don’t tend to join unions.

In fighting the subsidy Cosatu repeatedly peddled the untruth that the employment of the youth would lead to older workers losing their jobs. This is dissembling of the worst kind. Our very stringent labour laws, which Cosatu very proudly takes part-ownership of, do not allow this to happen.

Cosatu has been dominant in demanding a national minimum wage, which would benefit those who are already employed but are not unionised by Cosatu. Once again, the ANC will have done Cosatu’s work for it.

Trade unions are entirely dependent on other people’s creation of business and therefore jobs. The trade union movement is not a business creator. It is largely a reactive force. Its role is to protect members from exploitation and enhance their employment conditions. It can only do this once it has members to protect.

Most protection has largely been achieved through the mass of labour legislation promulgated by the ANC government.

As a further sign of the decline in intellectual rigour and maturity, Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali told journalists: ”We are calling on all workers, especially municipal workers, to prepare themselves for serious battles after election outcomes have resulted in the DA taking over some metros." 

Ntshalintshali said the DA's anti-worker and anti-union policies "automatically" meant that the party could be expected to "unleash a war against workers and purge many of them from municipalities they won".

Ntshalintshali was briefing the media after the trade union federation held its central executive committee meeting last weekend. "We view this as an opportunity to rebuild and ensure that we organise the unorganised workers who will surely become victims of the DA. Cosatu will be leading from the front on these battles." 

Like the ANC, Cosatu’s response is combative, presumptive and likely to be embarrassing. It’s a declaration of war. It is highly unlikely that ordinary are going to be dismissed other than when appropriate and in terms of the rigorous laws of dismissal that bind the employer. 

Any dismissals that may occur are likely to occur at a managerial level, to the extent that they happen at all.

What Cosatu needs to beware of, though, is what happens when Samwu calls or supports unprocedural strike action. A DA-led municipality is more likely to dismiss Samwu members as it would be entitled to. The Joburg municipality would be obliged to the rate payers of Joburg to do so.

It would be much more constructive if Cosatu were to ask to meet with the new DA management of the city to discuss a constructive and mature relationship.
 
Written by Sara, Policy Fellow at the Institute of Race Relations, a think tank that promotes economic and political liberty. Follow the IRR on Twitter @IRR_SouthAfrica.