Why COSATU’s congress collapsed
For the first time in its 40 year history, SA’s biggest union gathering did not reach quorum
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COSATU’s 15th National Congress failed to get underway as a leadership battle led to unresolved disputes over delegate credentials. Photos: Greg Dor
- COSATU was unable to reach a quorum at its 15th National Congress this week.
- Affiliate unions were split, mostly along sector lines, about who should lead the union.
- The major public sector unions supported Mabutho Cele for president and Zingiswa Losi for general secretary.
- But those backing Mike Shangange for president and Solly Phetoe for general secretary withheld their credentials.
- COSATU’s leadership said on Wednesday that the congress will reconvene within a month.
South Africa’s biggest trade union federation’s national congress collapsed on Tuesday, after a two-day squabble over leadership and delegate credentials. This marks the first time in the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ (COSATU) 40-year history that its central, national gathering failed to achieve a quorum.
COSATU is a federation of 16 affiliate unions with total membership of about 1.7-million workers.
The gathering was scheduled to run from Monday to Thursday at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, with about 1,800 delegates from 16 affiliates expected to attend. The programme included the election of new leadership and debates on the state of organised labour, the pressures facing workers and COSATU’s political and economic programme.
But it quickly became consumed by arguments over who could stand for election and who would be allowed to vote.
After the gathering was adjourned by lunchtime on Monday, the disputes were referred to the central executive committee (CEC), which consists of the national office bearers from the federation and its affiliates. They remained locked in talks until the following morning.
When the congress reconvened late on Tuesday morning, the disputes were still not resolved and it adjourned again at lunchtime. On Tuesday evening, COSATU president Zingiswa Losi announced to the delegates present that the gathering would not continue.
Leadership battle
At the heart of the dispute was the election of the general secretary and president of COSATU. Control over these positions is key in determining the balance of power within the federation and between the factional alignments of the different affiliate unions.
The general secretary is one of only two full-time positions among COSATU’s six national office bearers, and is responsible for the federation’s day-to-day administration and implementation of policy. The president is a part-time position with specific constitutional powers.
Two camps emerged in relation to the battle for leadership positions, pitting the bigger public sector unions led by NEHAWU and SADTU against smaller unions led by NUM and SAMWU (a smaller public sector union).
See a list with the union names spelled out at the bottom of this article.
POPCRU and SACTWU stood alongside NEHAWU and SADTU, together representing the large majority of delegates present.
They backed Mabutho Cele, SADTU’s deputy president, for COSATU president and Zingiswa Losi, the current COSATU president, for general secretary.
Other unions stood alongside the major industrial union, NUM, including SAMWU, DENOSA, SACCAWU, SASBO, SAMATU and SAEPU. Together, they commanded the majority of affiliates (seven out of the 11 who were present and in good standing) and were therefore able to withhold their credentials and ensure that quorum for the congress was not reached.
These smaller affiliates consider themselves to be more militant, with many of them in the private sector facing increasing retrenchments. They supported Mike Shingange for COSATU president, saying he would “take the federation in a more militant direction”. They also backed Solly Phetoe for general secretary. Phetoe has been general secretary since 2022.
Shingange for president
Shingange, who is currently COSATU’s first deputy president, is NEHAWU’s immediate former president. On 25 August, the new NEHAWU leadership told Shingange they would not nominate him for COSATU president.
As nominations for COSATU leadership closed on 11 September, NEHAWU sent a letter advising Shingange not to accept nominations. The following morning, NEHAWU placed Shingange on precautionary suspension over allegations of misconduct and constitutional breaches. He has not yet been charged.
But Shingange had been nominated for COSATU president by SAMWU, backed by NUM. On Monday, these two unions and several others refused to submit their credentials until his position was clarified.
On Tuesday, after the CEC meeting, COSATU leadership said a legal opinion had found that Shingange had not been expelled or removed as a NEHAWU shop steward and that he could therefore remain COSATU’s deputy president.
But NUM remained wary, saying the legal opinion had not been tested and continued to withhold their credentials. They were not convinced the legal opinion would entitle Shangage, their preferred candidate, to run.
NUM and SAMWU also indicated that some of their women delegates had faced violence and intimidation.
Shortly after this, the session collapsed, with delegates rising to sing and disrupt proceedings. The meeting adjourned for lunch.
Later on Tuesday, the Labour Court’s acting Judge B Ramji ruled, in an urgent application heard on Monday and Tuesday, that Shingange’s precautionary suspension did not prevent him from attending, participating in or standing for election at the COSATU congress. NEHAWU was ordered to pay for his legal costs.
The court ruled that a presidential candidate did not have to be nominated by their own union.
ANC vs SACP
Adding to the divisions within the federation is another unresolved question: COSATU’s relationship with the ANC and SACP.
In November, for the first time, the SACP will be contesting the local government elections independently of the ANC, threatening the tripartite alliance, which dates back to the struggle against apartheid. Although COSATU, SACP and ANC operate as separate organisations, they have historically cooperated closely, running joint campaigns and rallying support in elections.
COSATU’s leadership had indicated that it could seek a compromise in which the federation did not formally endorse either party but encouraged its affiliates to support the broader alliance.
Generally, public sector unions have an interest in maintaining relations with the ANC as they “negotiate directly with the ANC-led government as the employer,” said one delegate. But even public sector affiliates are divided. NEHAWU formally endorsed the SACP, while SADTU and POPCRU have been reported as supporting the ANC. NUM also supports the ANC.
The divisions do not, however, correspond neatly with the leadership contest.
Cele, who is backed by NEHAWU, is also deputy president of SADTU. Cele has previously been an SACP district secretary in Durban and is a current ANC branch member. Whether he will run for either party in November remains unconfirmed.
Shingange, meanwhile, is backed by NUM, which has been associated with the ANC, but he is also a sitting member of the SACP’s central committee.
In an opinion piece published before the congress, NEHAWU general secretary Zola Saphetha argued that COSATU’s previous 2022 congress had adopted a resolution by secret ballot to campaign in support of the SACP.
He argued that the federation should implement that resolution rather than seek a position supporting both parties. Those statements represent Saphetha and NEHAWU’s position rather than an independently established account of the federation’s mandate.
Who can vote?
The federation’s constitution requires two-thirds of affiliates in good standing to be present for a quorum.
But because of the leadership dispute, as well as a separate dispute over SACCAWU’s delegate numbers, quorum was not reached (see below a breakdown of which affiliates withheld and which submitted their credentials).
COSATU had initially granted SACCAWU entitlement to 140 delegates, but SACCAWU later submitted an updated membership figure that would entitle it to 160 delegates. This was one of the disputes referred to the central executive committee.
The CEC agreed that the additional 20 delegates could attend as observers while it reviewed whether the late submission should be accepted. But SACCAWU continued to withhold its credentials, demanding that the additional 20 delegates be granted voting status.
COSATU general secretary Phetoe said on Tuesday that the federation would review its records and determine whether the late submission had been properly condoned. If it had, the additional delegates could become voting delegates.
COSATU’s general secretary Solly Phetoe and president Zingiswa Losi at a media conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Congress will reconvene
At a press conference on Wednesday, COSATU said the congress would be reconvened within one month, as required by its constitution. The CEC will meet again to determine the date, venue and other arrangements.
COSATU president Zingiswa Losi said the federation did not regard the events as evidence of a permanent split.
“We do not see a fragmentation of the federation,” she said. “We are a federation that has gone through a similar situation in 2013. And in our life, beyond 2013, we have learned to be tolerant with one another.”
Losi apologised to workers for the failure of the congress to proceed, saying, “It is painful for us to find ourselves here. It has never happened in the history of the federation.”
Shingange also acknowledged the extent of the divisions, while saying that the issues behind them could be resolved.
“These are not long-term issues,” he said. “They are not things we have been ignoring or have not seen. But we haven’t had this kind of division for a long time.”
The federation said its leadership would use the period before the reconvened congress to engage with affiliates and address the disputes.
The CEC will also review the cost of the congress and consider ways of reducing the cost of reconvening it.
Losi said COSATU had not spent more than R12-million on the congress, while affiliates had also covered costs of sending their delegates. Earlier, leadership had indicated that the total cost of the conference amounted to R30-million.
COSATU leadership said all affiliates would be able to attend the reconvened congress, not only those who had already submitted their credentials. It also indicated that whoever attended the downsized reconvening would constitute a quorum, even if it was only a handful of people.
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© 2026 GroundUp. This article is published under the GroundUp Republication Licence Version 1.0. Email [email protected] to request permission to republish.