Durban — In a significant development for the South African labour movement, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), led by former president Jacob Zuma, has welcomed a new ally with the formation of the Radical Action Federation of Trade Unions (Raftu).
The union, founded last week, aims to advocate for the rights of workers who are supposedly “undervalued and mistreated in a competitive labour market”.
The Durban-based Bishop Timothy Ngcobo, Raftu's Secretary-General and a die-hard supporter of Zuma, famously known by his clan name, Msholozi, expressed ambitions for the newly-formed union to become a 'haven' for the “ill-treated” workforce in South Africa.
“We have formed this union to fight against the injustices that are meted out against the workers in the country. Our role as a new labour movement is to ensure that we liberate the workers who are being abused by the employers,” he told the Daily News.
He said they would visit Zuma in his Nkandla homestead on Friday.
The Raftu positions itself as a formidable contender in a landscape already dominated by established federations such as the Congress of the South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction (AMCU). However, Ngcobo remains bullish about Raftu’s future in this competitive arena.
“We will be fighting to ensure that workers in this country are fully liberated from the clutches of the employers. We want to incorporate all the people who voted for the MK Party during the elections into this new labour federation movement,” he asserted.
Raftu aims to advocate for workers at all levels, specifically targeting those in often-overlooked positions such as cleaners and security personnel.
Ngcobo passionately remarked: “Those are the people we are representing.”
Labour expert Mark Johnson weighed in on the potential impact of Raftu’s emergence, stating that “there is space for more labour unions in the country as this would create an atmosphere of competition.”
He stressed, however, that new unions must prioritise the needs of workers over the interests of union leaders.
Johnson added, “At times, the expectations are higher when such unions are formed.
“But I think that we should wait and see how things transform in the labour sector.”
Meanwhile, the MKP has solidified its leadership structure in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) by appointing Canaan Mdletshe, the former Secretary-General of the National Freedom Party (NFP), into the top five leadership positions that also include former provincial premier Willies Mchunu.
Mdletshe, a former journalist, joined the NFP in 2011 after former national chairperson of the IFP Zanele KaMagwaza-Msibi formed the party in the same year following her public spat with the late IFP founder, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
Other notable appointments in the MKP’s KZN provincial structure, include Magasela Mzobe, currently the head of the MKP presidency and a former member of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
The MKP secured 37 seats in the KZN provincial legislature with 80 seats and 58 seats in the National Assembly with a total of 400 seats.
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