The South African Communist Party (SACP) has defended its upcoming Conference of the Left against criticisms of ideological dilution and uninvited business interests, pushing back specifically against the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu).

Scheduled to take place at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, from May 29 to 31, the SACP says the Conference of the Left aims to create a strategic space for working-class convergence.

However, the proposed initiative has been met with significant pushback, most notably from Saftu, which has announced that it will not participate in the conference.

In response, the SACP states that it does not seek to impose participation and that it respects the right of organisations to determine their own political line.

Despite this, the party expresses regret that Saftu opted to characterise the event in "narrow terms" rather than use it as a platform for organised contestation and debate.

The SACP also rejected accusations that the conference seeks to collapse class distinctions by welcoming business formations into the fold.

The party clarifies that its understanding of the working class extends far beyond formally unionised employees.

Millions of people engaged in survivalist micro-enterprises, spaza shops, and street vending are viewed by the SACP as proletarianised and semi-proletarian.

“These individuals are workers forced to supplement their meagre wages, social grants, or unemployment with precarious self-activity,” the party says.

It argues that they form a significant part of the expanded working class and must be accounted for in leftist political discourse.

While the SACP maintains that working-class unity is vital to face the severe social and economic crises in South Africa, some independent commentators argue that the SACP’s approach contains contradictions.

Critics argue that the proposed conference risks collapsing the definition of the "left" by inviting political formations whose records and practices are seen as disconnected from grassroots socialist agendas.

The SACP strongly defends its inclusive approach to the Conference of the Left, rejecting claims that engaging with broader progressive formations dilutes its working-class agenda.

Addressing concerns regarding the ideological purity of the conference, the SACP assures that the event is not an "exclusive ideological echo chamber".

“Instead, it serves as an open platform for honest contestation among various forces that claim to stand with the working class and marginalised communities,” it says.

The party stresses that participation in the gathering does not equate to the official endorsement of any participating organisation's broader policies.