The Congress of SA Trade Unions has been unable to function as an independent, democratic trade union federation, Numsa deputy secretary general Karl Cloete said on Sunday.

“Cosatu over the past two years has been unable to function as a democratic, worker-controlled and militant federation,” Cloete said following a media briefing by Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi in Johannesburg.

Cloete said some in the African National Congress and the SA Communist Party had hoped that Numsa would have collapsed.

“We continue to grow on a day-to-day basis. We’re moving forward, we have the launch the United Front on 26 June. On 16 and 17 April, we’re convening a national conference on socialism,” said Cloete.

Numsa was behind Vavi, he said.

“We have pending court cases, one is to challenge the unprocedural expulsion of Numsa and the other one is the calling for a special congress as far back as August 2013.”

“We are proceeding with these to show Cosatu members how [Cosatu president] Sdumo Dlamini’s faction is not tolerant of democratic expression, and that was the reason why Numsa was dismissed from the federation.”

The embattled trade union federation has been dealing with its unions supporting either Vavi or Dlamini. Numsa was expelled from the trade union federation in November. Vavi told reporters that he was not leaving Cosatu, and would instead focus on attending to workers’ issues. He also denied any wrongdoing in the sale of Cosatu’s old head office and the purchase of a new one. SAPA