Johannesburg - The upcoming national congress of the country’s biggest union seems to be hanging in the balance after a number of its leaders approached the Labour Court to challenge their suspensions or interdict the gathering.
Ruth Ntlokotse, the second deputy president of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), who was suspended last week, will be challenging her suspension on Friday.
Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola told Independent Media that the union will be at the Labour Court to defend itself.
Ntlokotse, who is also the president of the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), of which Numsa is the biggest affiliate, has launched the challenge with other suspended union (Numsa) officials across the country.
Numsa has about 340 000 members.
She and the group of Numsa leaders want to be reinstated and to be allowed to attend the union’s five-day national congress, which starts in Cape Town on Monday.
In papers filed at the Labour Court in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, Ntlokotse argues that her suspension and that of other Numsa leaders, be declared invalid from the start and unlawful, as it did not comply with the provisions of the union’s constitution.
The group also wants Numsa’s Mpumalanga region, whose delegation has been barred from attending the national congress, be permitted to fully attend and participate.
Alternatively, Ntlokotse and the other leaders want the national congress interdicted from proceeding, pending the determination of the disputes over their suspensions.
They also want to be all allowed to fully participate at the national congress, to vote and stand for election.
Last week, Numsa general secretary, Irvin Jim said the delegation, representing Mpumalanga region would not be attending as it was unable to successfully relaunch before the national congress.
Eight of Numsa’s nine regions will be allowed to attend the national congress after successfully holding regional congresses.
“Numsa’s blatant disregard for the provisions in its own constitution violates the existing member’s rights to participate in the activities and programmes of the trade union. In my instance, this also extends to participation in the lawful activities and to stand for election in the federation of trade unions,” Ntlokotse states in her founding affidavit, filed on Monday at the Labour Court.
She told the court that the reason for her suspension is that she stood for the position of Saftu president in May and won against the purported Numsa position of supporting the then incumbent and chairperson of the union’s Hlanganani region, Mac Chavalala.
”My suspension is unlawful in that it contravenes my right to freedom of association as given effect to by the Labour Relations Act. The conduct of Numsa exhorts this court to act without any delay in protecting my rights as well as to uphold the constitution of Numsa,” Ntlokotse explained.
She added that Numsa does not have the powers to place her on precautionary suspension as the union’s constitution does not envisage such.
According to Ntlokotse, the other suspended regional office bearers and shop stewards suffer the same defects as suspension, as a sanction only occurs following due process.
She maintained that the precautionary suspension of office bearers and shop stewards is used as a tool to frustrate the democratic process through elimination of office bearers and shop stewards who stand to be successful in contesting positions.
”I am a good example of such a candidate as Chavalala will be contesting for the same position I intend to contest. The fact that I won the election in Saftu makes me the most likely candidate to triumph and become the president of Numsa,” Ntlokotse insisted.
She said the other reason for the mass suspensions was also to eliminate those who may vote in favour of certain delegates.