NUMSA General Secretary Irvin Jim and President Andrew Chirwa are back at work after a dramatic attempt to strip them of their powers, with the union’s national office bearers declaring on Wednesday that a rebel Central Committee meeting that sought to oust them was unconstitutional and tantamount to a coup.
Addressing a press briefing on Wednesday, the National Office Bearers (NOBs) announced that they had resumed their duties after a Special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on Tuesday night condemned the actions of seven regions.
Africa Daily reported earlier this week that South Africa’s largest trade union was gripped by a full-blown leadership crisis after its Central Committee (CC) purportedly stripped Jim, Chirwa and other NOBs of their powers ahead of its congress on 30 November, accusing them of abandoning their duties.
On Wednesday, Jim hit back, saying the union would not be held hostage by factionalism.
“We reject factionalism, money politics, racism, sexism and the use of external forces to undermine worker control,” Jim said.
“We will not be held hostage by narrow agendas that are prepared to weaken and to sell out workers for personal ambitions, power and money,” he said.
According to the NOBs, the crisis began when a group of regional leaders proceeded with a CC meeting on 27 August despite its cancellation by President Chirwa.
The group then wrote to the NOBs informing them that they rejected the cancellation and would continue with the meeting “whether the NOBs or other regions were present or excluded.”
“This is what they did, they usurped the role of the NOBs, seized power, and made decisions they wanted without being mandated by lower structures. Then called a press conference, defying all protocols and decisions of the organization,” the NOBs said in a collective statement.
In that disputed CC, the rebel grouping took what the NOBs described as bizarre resolutions, including withdrawing the powers of the NOBs and barring them from defending the union against litigation and from communicating with the media.
“This is a situation that can only be described as a coup,” the NOBs said.
The NOBs said the Special NEC, which met to guide leadership on how to handle the situation, unanimously resolved that the actions constituted gross misconduct.
“The NEC having reflected and discussed all of what has happened in what is regarded as a gross act of misconduct, as they are being viewed by the union, and the union alleges that these acts of misconduct were recently committed by these various office bearers and officials, contrary to NUMSA constitution and policies, resulting in serious reputational damage to NUMSA and compromising NUMSA’s position as leading trade union,” the statement read.
“The NEC having been briefed and having debated the matter resolved unanimously… it condemned these acts of misconduct… it called on the national leadership to act swiftly and take organizational disciplinary measures in line with the Union disciplinary code.”
As a result, the NEC has ordered that letters of suspension be served on the implicated office bearers and officials, with disciplinary processes to follow for both staff members and elected worker leaders.
“We are approaching this press conference to announce that the NEC decision that the following individuals will be served by the union with letters of suspension, and that disciplinary measures will follow,” the NOBs said.
The NOBs accused the group of convening a press conference to attack the leadership, circulating statements to media houses and giving interviews that claimed Jim and Chirwa had been stripped of powers.
“They announced their takeover of NUMSA leadership, in that they declared that they have withdrawn the powers of the NOBs… Since the weekend, media houses have been calling us. You have been calling us, and we chose not to respond to you. But we have to restrain ourselves from responding until the NEC meeting last night gave us a mandate on how to proceed,” they said.
The public fallout has exposed deep factional lines in the 360,000-member union, which represents workers in the metal and engineering sectors.
The NOBs confirmed that all six democratically elected leaders – Chirwa, First Deputy President Mac Chavalala, Second Deputy President Puleng Phaka, Jim, Deputy General Secretary Mbuso Ngubane and National Treasurer Mphumzi Maqungo – will continue to lead the union to its November congress.
