Some years ago it was a common idea amongst voices on the left that a progressive working class movement could only be realised once the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) broke free from the tripartite alliance with the ANC and the South African Communist Party. Therefore, some said that there should be active work in COSATU trade unions to educate workers as to this necessity. Others felt that a more fruitful route could be followed by meeting and working with workers, employed and unemployed, via civic and community based organisations. In the event, those who sought to propagate left wing politics in COSATU aligned unions eventually found themselves hounded out by the all pervading bureaucracy who branded them as ultra-leftists. The attempt to meet the working class via community based organisations also failed because of  the inability to present the populace with a concrete, all-embracing political programme that could unite the multitude of issue-based protests.

We are now back to square one with renewed optimism that a working class break with the ANC is coming into being.  Firstly, we had the circumstances surrounding the Marikana massacre in which a new union, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) achieved prominence, outstripping the COSATU aligned National Union of Mineworkers in militancy and quickly rivalling it in its membership. This was followed by the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) refusing to lend its financial and electoral support to the ANC under prevailing conditions, which led to the expulsion of NUMSA from COSATU. Similarly, the outspoken and militant sounding Zwelinzima Vavi, Secretary of COSATU, found himself summarily kicked out.

NUMSA has now announced that a new trade union federation is to be established in May this year. It is said that the federation will initially consist of nine unions, all disaffected with COSATU and the tripartite alliance. While NUMSA still claims allegiance to the Freedom Charter, it is not certain whether unions such as AMCU (affiliated to the National Council of Trade Unions) and other independent unions such as the Commercial, Stevedoring and Agricultural Workers Union (CSAAWU) and the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) will be invited or welcomed.

Other questions remain to be answered. There are already four trade union federations in South Africa. Besides COSATU and NACTU (already mentioned) there is the Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) and the Confederation of South African Worker’s Unions (CONSAWU). Many will argue that the formation of another federation is not a healthy sign. Indeed, COSATU itself has claimed that it aims for “One Country, One Federation, One Industry, One Union”. It is perhaps too early for this question to be answered clearly. On the other hand about 14 months ago NUMSA called for the establishment of a united front of unions and community based organisations. A number of organisations, of different shades across the country have rallied behind this call. There is as yet no formal structure and no well defined common goal. NUMSA has declared that political groupings are not welcome in this front. It now states the United Front will be formally established early this year. NUMSA has further argued for a Workers Party, no doubt aligned to the Freedom Charter with little or no room for other left-wing political forces.

While these new developments on the trade union front are indeed heartening it nevertheless means that the political left should be careful of tailing NUMSA. Up to now the Democratic Left Front has mainly been built around giving support to issue based struggles which has yielded limited success in strengthening its efforts. It becomes urgent that it develop a well defined structure with a clear political voice. A concrete political programme is the only basis on which it can campaign to forge the unity of the labouring masses in a common struggle.