Suspended Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi
Photo by: Duane Daws
Ousted Congress of South African Trade Unions general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is adamant that his expulsion from the trade union federation was unfair and illegal.
"I am... in consultations on whether or not I should challenge my extremely irregular, illegal and completely unjustified expulsion as general secretary of Cosatu," he told reporters in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
"I have no doubt that the dismissal is unfair and illegal. I have been dismissed without a hearing conducted by an independent chairperson."
Vavi was expelled at a special central executive committee meeting held on Monday. Vavi boycotted the meeting.
He was reportedly removed through a vote, where 31 CEC members voted for his expulsion while one member voted against it.
Vavi on Wednesday said the Cosatu CEC, which he believed was populated by a faction, had been baying for his blood since 2012.
"The Cosatu CEC... has acted as investigators, prosecutors and judge at the same time, while denying me my basic legal right to a fair hearing," he said.
The former Cosatu general secretary was accompanied on Wednesday by some Cosatu affiliate leaders, who were supporting them.
The unions supporting Vavi were the Food and Allied Workers Union, the Communications Workers Union, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), the SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union, SA State and Allied Workers Union, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA and the SA Football Players Union.
Vavi was suspended from Cosatu in 2013 for among other things having an affair with a junior employee and allegations of irregularities in the selling and buying of Cosatu's headquarters.
Numsa had challenged Vavi's suspension in court. The High Court in Johannesburg overturned his suspension and he returned to work last year.
Numsa was eventually expelled from Cosatu in November for resolutions it took at its December 2013 special national congress. This included a resolution not to support the African National Congress during the general elections and expanding its scope.