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News & Views by Terry Bell
Browsing All posts tagged under »Cosatu«
A case of confusion, contradiction & irony
Behind a very flimsy screen of unity and cohesion promoted last week by Cosatu president S’dumo Dlamini, the divisions in the country’s largest labour federation have become even greater. And, amid a welter of contradiction and debates about constitutionality, it is not surprising that so much confusion reigns.
South Africa on a “slippery slope”
June 24, 2015
Is South Africa on the slippery slope to authoritarianism? It’s a valid question to ask since both the Cosatu and the national constitutions have been undermined. And they were both, in their own way, flag bearers of the democratic promise of the new South Africa.
Cosatu: the end draws nigh
April 6, 2015
So the slow-motion disintegration of Cosatu seems likely to continue, whatever the efforts of the ANC, the decisions of the courts or the votes at whatever national congress is finally staged. After 30 years of sporadic squabbling about party politics, bureaucracy and worker independence, it now appears that an end of some kind is nigh.
Who stands to lose most in SA union fracas
November 30, 2014
The smallest member of the ANC-led tripartite alliance, the SA Communist Party, looks likely to be the biggest loser in the ongoing and bitter fracas in South Africa's major union federation, Cosatu. That party’s “ten-year plan” looks close to being in tatters.
Calamity looms on SA political/union front
November 17, 2014
It is no exaggeration to say that South Africa is in the midst of the most important political development since 1994, triggered by the decision of the Cosatu union federationto expel its largest affiliate, the National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa).
Answer to union turmoil is democracy
November 2, 2014
Many of my fellow journalists have recently misled the public about the situation regarding South Africa's National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) and the Cosatu federation. Part of the blame lies with the confusing utterances by some members of the Cosatu executive who seem unaware of the clauses of their own constitution.
Hopes of grassroots democratic change
October 9, 2014
The fact that the “Save Our Metro” campaign in South Africa's east coast Nelson Mandela Bay area was flagged in an official press notice of the country's largest union federation is important. It gives the campaign wider credibility and raises hopes of greater grassroots democracy.
Need for labour to speak with one voice
September 14, 2014
The labour movement is coming under increasing pressure as the global economic crisis continues to bite. Unless South African unions find a single voice, they are in danger of being further weakened.
Terry Bell Writes 
July 21, 2015
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