The Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (Amcu) is under threat of deregistration, this time over alleged irregularities in its finances and the legitimacy of key office bearers, including its president, Joseph Mathunjwa.
Amcu, a key mining sector player with about 200,000 members, is the latest union to come under fire from the office of the labour registrar in recent years.
The registrar, Lehlohonolo Molefe, has questioned an amount of R192m in the union’s financial statements. The union apparently receives this money for the "rendering of services". Molefe would like to know what is meant by this and has questioned "other operating expenses" of around R30m.
Molefe, since his appointment to the post two years ago, has taken a hardline stance on ensuring that unions comply with the Labour Relations Act or face deregistration.
While unions fight to ensure that employers and businesses comply with the act, many of them have, over the past five years, come under fire for failing to comply with the law. The law requires unions to hold regular elective conferences and submit audited financial statements as well as updated constitutions to the office of the registrar annually.
Unions recently under fire include the Cosatu-aligned SA Municipal Workers Union, chemical union Ceppwawu and the SA Transport & Allied Workers Union. The National Union of Metalworkers of SA has also had long-running battles with the office of the labour registrar, over, among other things, its finances.
Amcu has been in Molefe’s crosshairs in the past, first over its failure to hold an elective conference and also for not providing up-to-date audited financial statements as required by law.
In September last year, Amcu met the legal requirements and, after making representations to the registrar, was granted a reprieve.
However, the FM has seen a letter sent to Amcu in February this year in which the threat of deregistration is once again made — this time over apparent irregularities in its finances and questions over the legitimacy of its top leaders.
The union re-elected Mathunjwa at its conference last year — he founded the union and it was formally registered in 2001. He has led it ever since.
The president of a labour union must be a worker leader and, by law, should be employed by a company on a full-time basis and seconded to the union. Mathunjwa was employed by BHP, but there are questions over whether he remains in its employ — which would mean he was no longer eligible to be president.
In the letter, the registrar refers to financial statements that were submitted to his office in November 2018. He questions salaries amounting to about R15m which, according to the financial statements, were paid to national executive committee (NEC) members, the highest leadership structure in the union.
The letter also asks that the names of the employers of all national office bearers be furnished to the registrar. It is required by law that office bearers are employed in order to be eligible for the posts which they hold.
A further amount contained in the union’s financial statements of R22m is also called into question — this amount is for "other employees" in the union, separate from what is paid to NEC members. The registrar wants to know who these employees of the union are and what they are employed to do at the union, and has requested copies of their employment contracts with the union.
Amcu has in the past claimed that the labour registrar was playing political games and wanted to deregister it at all costs.
The union said it would not take this lying down and would challenge it in court.
Amcu was an affiliate of labour federation the National Council of Trade Unions, but has since left. Mathunjwa held a press conference recently along with SA Federation of Trade Unions general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, which indicated that Amcu was cosying up to his newly formed federation. Vavi also addressed the union’s elective conference in September.
Repeated attempts to get a response from Mathunjwa were unsuccessful. Labour department spokesperson Teboho Thejane declined to comment further, saying the matter was between the registrar and the union.
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