COSATU, the ‘2010 Class Project’ and the contest for ‘the soul’ of the ANC

Abstract

Since the proclaimed defeat of the '1996 Class Project' in 2009 in the politics of the Tripartite Alliance of the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party (SACP) and Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), what has become obvious is a new and even stronger class project, the '2010 Class Project'. This chapter presents a discussion that provides the social, political and organisational context necessary for understanding the results of the 2008 COSATU Workers' Survey. It seeks to understand how the federation is being reconfigured and to fathom whether or not such reconfiguration will make COSATU sustain its contestation over the 'soul' of the African National Congress (ANC). The chapter describes strong correlations between all three variables and dispositions shared by shop stewards and workers in COSATU. It provides answers to many questions that have implications for COSATU's ability to maintain its power and influence. Keywords:2008 COSATU Workers' Survey; 2010 Class Project; African National Congress (ANC); South African Communist Party (SACP)