Some years ago, it would have seemed outlandish to predict the kind of battle that is currently being waged within South Africa’s most powerful trade union movements. Factions within the Congress of South African Trade Unions and within one of the federation’s largest member unions, the National Union of Metalworkers, are in a confrontation that many believe will ultimately result in a fracturing. It’s premature to say, however, whether any breakaway will go down in history as a split, or a mere splinter.