Cape Town – The war of words between the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and its expelled second deputy president Ruth Ntlokotse rages on.
Accusing Ntlokotse of libellous and defamatory statements, Numsa said on Monday that it reserved the right to take further legal action against her for defamation.
This after Ntlokotse spoke out about being axed on media platforms and also issued a statement at the weekend.
The union's National Executive Committee (NEC) received an outcome of Ntlokotse’s disciplinary hearing case on May 4, where it was recommended that she be expelled from the union, thereby seeking to impact her position as the SA Federation of Trade Unions’s president.
“The Numsa leadership have demonstrated their contempt for the interests of workers by holding the ‘hearing’ at the very same time that I together with my fellow shop stewards represented 387 workers in a CCMA,” Ntlokotse said.
“Those workers are threatened with a mass retrenchment and the possible closure of our company.”
Ntlokotse said she made an application requesting the postponement of the disciplinary hearing, however, Numsa’s general secretary Irvin Jim failed to respond.
She said the hearing proceeded in her absence where it was viewed that she was using “delaying tactics”.
“Numsa’s leadership is so hell-bent on expelling me at the earliest possible opportunity that they insisted on giving me the choice between representing myself and representing my members. Instead of looking at my well-being, I am first and foremost in service of members and thus committed to the purpose of the union which is to represent its members.The struggle to win back the union from this bankrupt leadership continues, regardless of this decision to expel me,” said Ntlokotse.
Jim alleged Ntlokotse had been aware of the disciplinary hearing for four weeks prior to the hearing and voluntarily chose not to appear.
“She requested the union to book accommodation for her, which the union did. The union also requested time-off from her work, which was granted by her employer. Ntlokotse’s belief that she was simply entitled to not attend the hearing is extraordinarily arrogant,” he said.
Jim said they have noted the allegations where she claimed that that her expulsion was centred on financial mismanagement and that the General Secretary of Numsa has not accounted for R20.1 million which was given to Numsa through a sponsorship.
“We reject this with the contempt it deserves. All Numsa financials are audited regularly by external auditors, and, all reports are received and accounted for by the Numsa national treasurer to the NEC and the Central Committee.”
He said there was an agenda to create a false impression that Numsa’s national office bearers were a law unto themselves, and are squandering workers' money.
“We do not have such money on our books and her goal is to liquidate the union by lying. This is nothing more than a dirty campaign to liquidate the union which has been her goal from the beginning,” Jim said.
Cape Times