The South African Communist Party has suffered its first major setback in its bid to unite progressive formations under a broad-based Conference of the Left after the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) announced it would not participate in the gathering scheduled for May 29 to 31 at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg.
The decision is an early disappointment for the SACP, which has framed the conference as a major step toward rebuilding left unity ahead of future elections and strengthening working-class political power.
Uncertainty around the conference has also deepened after both the Economic Freedom Fighters and the African National Congress had, by Wednesday, not confirmed whether they would attend.
Among the organisations that have confirmed participation are the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo), Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), Mayibuye Afrika, Socialist Party of Azania and United African Transformation (UAT).
Trade unions including National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) have also confirmed attendance, alongside civic and community formations such as South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) and National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc).
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the SACP said it regretted SAFTU’s withdrawal but urged the federation to reconsider its stance.
“The challenges facing the working class exceed any single organisation or historical disagreement,” the party said.
“We urge SAFTU to reconsider and, rather than boycott, to come and test the conference.”
The SACP said South Africa’s worsening social and economic conditions required unity, open debate and solidarity among progressive forces instead of fragmentation.
According to the party, SAFTU objected to the inclusion of informal traders, cooperatives and micro-enterprises in a gathering branded as a left-wing conference, arguing that such formations represented bourgeois or pro-business interests.
The SACP rejected that characterisation, insisting that many informal traders, street vendors and small survivalist enterprises formed part of the broader working class rather than a capitalist class.
“Engaging these groups strengthens, rather than weakens, the class character of the conference,” the SACP said.
The party further argued that worker and community cooperatives were democratic collective structures that differed fundamentally from business lobby groups.
Meanwhile, discussions with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) over its participation are continuing.
The SACP noted that although Cosatu already sits on the conference steering committee — which oversees planning, agenda-setting and political content — the federation has not yet finalised whether it will attend the conference itself.
The Conference of the Left, themed “Building a Left Movement for Working Class and Popular Power”, is being convened by a range of progressive organisations, with the SACP playing a coordinating role.
According to the SACP, the conference is not intended to establish a new political party or enforce ideological conformity, but rather to serve as “an open platform, not a closed ideological club” where differing perspectives can be debated.
The party says the gathering is aimed at responding to what it views as a deepening crisis of post-apartheid capitalism marked by rising unemployment, poverty, austerity, deindustrialisation and failing public services.
It believes only organised working-class power can drive meaningful socialist transformation and sees the conference as a step toward building what it calls a Left Popular Front — a broad alliance of working-class and progressive organisations.
In its response to SAFTU, the SACP also acknowledged its own historical shortcomings, saying it had “never claimed political perfection” and admitting that criticism of policies such as the Growth, Employment and Redistribution Strategy (Gear), privatisation, austerity and state capture had often emerged from within its own ranks.
“We agree with SAFTU that the working class needs a strong, militant, democratic and socialist alternative,” the SACP said.
“Where we differ is on how that alternative is built.”
Registration for the conference was set to close on Wednesday, May 20, with organisers describing space as limited.
SAFTU could not be reached for comment at the time of publication
