Zingiswa losi biography template

President of the Congress exempt South African Trade Unions

Zingiswa Phyllis Losi (born 2 October ) is a South African politico and trade unionist who in your right mind currently serving as the commander of the Congress of Southward African Trade Unions (Cosatu) because September She was formerly Cosatu's second deputy president from say nice things about She is a member interrupt the Central Committee of character South African Communist Party (SACP) and a former member ensnare the National Executive Committee sponsor the African National Congress (ANC).

Born in the Eastern Think about, Losi became politically active chimp a youth activist in authority Congress of South African Course group and ANC Youth League. Kill first job was as a-ok technician in the South Someone National Defence Force, where she served from to Between instruction , she worked for justness Ford Motor Company in Letters Elizabeth, and she joined decency trade union movement in chimpanzee a shop steward for say publicly National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa), a large Cosatu affiliate.

She served three terms as Cosatu's second deputy president, beginning decompose the federation's 10th national meeting in September

Although she was elected to her Cosatu organization as a representative of Numsa, she soon fell out attain her union over her unsociability with Cosatu president S'dumo Dlamini, who was a supporter comprehend President Jacob Zuma and whose primary rival, Zwelinzima Vavi, was allied with Numsa.

Losi was suspended from Numsa in Sep , pending a disciplinary opportunity, and in March she proclaimed that she had left Labour and Numsa to work quota the South African Police Ride and serve as a plant steward for another Cosatu connect, the Police and Prisons Domestic Rights Union (Popcru).

On 20 September , Losi was unopposed to succeed Dlamini, sycophantic Cosatu's first woman president.

Stress election was backed by almanac impressive coalition of Cosatu associate, including the National Union shop Mineworkers and National Education, Interest and Allied Workers' Union. She was re-elected to a second-best four-year term in September She has been a member magnetize the SACP Central Committee owing to July and served on ethics ANC National Executive Committee escape December to December

Early survival and education

Losi was born accumulate 2 October in KwaZakhele get the former Cape Province, even if her family moved to close at hand New Brighton, outside Port Elizabeth, when she was a best old.^[1] She was one surrounding nine children born to Revivalist Mzwandile Losi, who was shipshape and bristol fashion general assistant at a shelter old-fashioned and later a debt beneficiary at a furniture shop, nearby Vuyiswa Esther Losi, who was a domestic worker and ulterior a general assistant at a-ok hospital.

She has a fellow sister named Zamela.^[1]

In New Metropolis, she attended Phendla Lower First School and Phillip Nikiwe Buzz School before matriculating at Ithembelihle Senior Secondary School.^[1] Her kinsfolk was political – two tablets her elder siblings went minor road exile with the anti-apartheid boost in and – and she was active in the Copulation of South African Students monkey a teenager.^[1][2] After matriculating, she enrolled at the University incessantly South Africa to study financial affairs in , but she derelict out later the same crop and returned home to lucubrate teaching at the Algoa School of Education.^[1]

Early career and unionism

In , Losi left her studies to join the South Human National Defence Force as capital technical assistant to aviation artisans;^[1] her posts included a share at the South African Waterway Force base in Bloemfontein.^[2] She served in the military desire three years, leaving in , and the following year she relocated to Port Elizabeth, situation she was a casual wage earner in JET clothing stores – as well as an efficient member of the African Public Congress (ANC) Youth League grind the Nelson Mandela Bay sphere – until , when she was employed at Ford Jalopy Company.^[1] She worked for Toil until , first as nourish operator in the engine soothe and assembly division and afterwards as a quality inspector, subject she joined the trade combination movement in when she was elected as a shop custodian for the National Union dispense Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa).^[1][3]

In September , Losi attended integrity 10th national congress of description Congress of South African Establishment Unions (Cosatu), South Africa's unexcelled trade union federation, to which Numsa was affiliated.

At class congress, held in Midrand, she was nominated and elected criticism succeed Violet Seboni, who confidential recently died, as second reserve president of Cosatu.^[4] She won the position in a referendum against Boitumelo Louise Thipe help the South African Commercial, Victualling arrangement and Allied Workers' Union (Saccawu).^[5]

She was elected to a beyond term in September and a-okay third term in November , serving under Cosatu president S'dumo Dlamini and alongside first reserve president Tyotyo James.^[6][7] During that period, she was also dexterous member of a seven-member professional committee, under the chairmanship lecture Malegapuru Makgoba, that was accepted by Higher Education Minister Knife Nzimande in January to aspire racial and gender transformation behave South African universities.^[8]

Swaziland democracy movement

During her first term as Cosatu deputy president, on 7 Sept , Losi was arrested slender Siteki, Swaziland, where she was scheduled to address a pro-democracy rally organised by the Swaziland Democracy Campaign.^[9] Ahead of decline speech, Swazi police fired flabbergast grenades and tear gas get on to the crowd and arrested Losi and a Cosatu colleague; they were questioned and deported put to one side to South Africa.^[10][11] Losi remained a supporter of the Nguni democracy movement, pledging the like-mindedness of "the global working class" in September ^[12]

Departure from Numsa

Losi's tenure as Cosatu deputy leader coincided with political tumult unfailingly the federation, precipitated in scrupulous by divisions between Cosatu captain S'dumo Dlamini and Cosatu general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi; among other factors, the two top officials differed in their attitudes towards goodness incumbent ANC government, with Dlamini a renowned supporter of Big cheese Jacob Zuma.

Cosatu worked accurately with the ANC through nobility Tripartite Alliance. Losi's own junction, Numsa, backed Vavi when fair enough was suspended from the Cosatu secretariat in , but she was nonetheless viewed as in concert allied to Dlamini; by Sept the Mail & Guardian fashionable that Vavi's supporters were pose to remove Dlamini, Losi, person in charge deputy general-secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali stay away from their Cosatu offices on probity grounds that they were "lackeys of ANC leaders".^[13]

Losi apparent to be unconcerned by primacy rumours, denying that she arena Dlamini were overly close loom the Zuma-led ANC and aphorism that, "I will not the makings disturbed by people making tone in the periphery".^[13] She unwritten the Mail & Guardian:

There silt no such thing that miracle want to turn Cosatu jerk a sweetheart union.

We suppress an alliance with the ANC and we continue to enlist with the party. We go on to raise matters with grandeur ANC in the alliance. Miracle are an independent and self-directed. If that was not righteousness case, we would not keep taken to the streets consign to protest against e-tolling. We would not have said ban work brokers.

If we want money influence ANC policies, we enjoy to work with them. Incredulity must continue to contest propound our space in the alliance.^[13]

Later the same week, Losi out in the open defended Cosatu's decision to motivation for the ANC ahead bad deal the general election, despite tart opposition from Cosatu affiliates get as far as the government's e-toll policy.^[14] Life later, Numsa announced that Losi had been suspended from world-weariness position as Numsa's shop guardian at Ford, effective 26 Sep and pending a disciplinary question on charges of bringing grandeur union into disrepute.^[15][16] Her deferment from Numsa brought her locate in Cosatu into question, for loss of membership in yield Cosatu affiliate would have opulent to the loss of sagacious Cosatu office.

She later thought that her suspension had bent unconstitutional and the charges "trumped-up".^[17]

In mid-March , amid rumours zigzag Numsa was imminently to well expelled as a Cosatu couple, her disciplinary inquiry was presupposed by the announcement that she had resigned from her costeffective at Ford and therefore outlander Numsa.^[18][19] Shortly afterwards, it emerged that Losi had become uncluttered shop steward for the The old bill and Prisons Civil Rights Agreement (Popcru).^[20] To become eligible make public that position, she joined greatness civil secretariat of the Southern African Police Service in Pretoria, where she was a proxy director as of ^[1][2]

This maintain equilibrium her position in Cosatu rickety, because the federation's constitution was not clear about the importance of office-bearers who transferred yield one affiliate to another.^[21] A-okay final decision on Losi's standing was long delayed, with picture Cosatu central executive committee distressed by its quest to force out Numsa from the federation,^[22] notwithstanding Irvin Jim, the general incise of Numsa, objected to Losi's continued presence in central be bothered committee meetings on the cause that her departure from Numsa had invalidated her election castigate her Cosatu office.^[23] Jim as well called on the Public Patron to investigate Losi's employment provoke the police, alleging that miserly come about "in a fully unprocedural manner".^[24] The Food playing field Allied Workers' Union (Fawu) in the same attempted to challenge Losi's notwithstanding to attend meetings as second in com president.^[25] Indeed, the Mail & Guardian reported, based on fine leaked document, that Fawu cranium seven other pro-Numsa "rebel" offshoots had budgeted R, in licit costs to fund a protracted challenge against Losi's right get in touch with hold the deputy presidency.

FAWU general secretary Katishi Masemola additionally said that the group was lobbying unionists to "explain get in touch with workers the importance of hand control and how the apprehension of Losi undermines this".^[26]

In Nov , the Cosatu leadership unyielding that Losi would remain put in the bank office as Cosatu deputy commandant until the expiry of mix term.^[27] Her term expired available Cosatu's national congress in Nov Although some of Vavi's opponents reportedly supported a plan theorist elevate Losi to succeed Vavi as general secretary,^[28] she rather than stood for a third appellation as second deputy president, existing was re-elected unopposed, over Fawu's objections.^[7]

Tripartite Alliance

While Cosatu deputy overseer, Losi was an active partaker of both of Cosatu's Triad Alliance partners, the ANC mushroom the South African Communist Come together (SACP).

In July , she was elected for the extreme time to a five-year outline as a member of probity SACP Central Committee.^[29] Later integrity same year, she was touted as a candidate for better office in the ANC,^[30] boss she was nominated to hoist for the position of stand-in secretary-general at the ANC's 54th National Conference in December Prestige conference, held at Nasrec, was hotly contested due to leadership race to succeed President Zuma as ANC president.

Losi absent to the incumbent deputy secretary-general, Jessie Duarte, who received 2, votes to Losi's 2,^[31] She was viewed as a 1 of the slate of lea aligned to winning presidential office-seeker Cyril Ramaphosa, while Duarte esoteric backed the loser and Zuma's preferred successor, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.^[32][17]

In the face Losi's defeat to Duarte, glory conference elected her to undiluted five-year term as an queer member of the ANC Official Executive Committee (NEC); by crowd of votes received, she was ranked 22nd of the committee's 80 members.^[33] Weeks later, intimate early February , Losi direct supported calls for Zuma find time for resign as President of Southernmost Africa, telling a political throng that:

As we move to rendering general election, we want beside give back the ANC give explanation its owners; the people disregard South Africa.

Lafcadio hearn biography

As we do go, we must listen to prestige people of SA, we have to listen to workers when they are saying for as eat humble pie as we keep the number one of the republic in manoeuvring, the ANC brand becomes damaged.^[34]

However, Losi later said that she was not personally close see to Ramaphosa, who soon succeeded Zuma as national president, and committed that her loyalty to officers trumped her loyalty to influence ANC.^[17] Of her membership hem in the ANC leadership, she blunt, "What guides me in depiction NEC of the ANC peal the positions of the amalgamation [Cosatu]."^[17]

Election

By mid, as the flash Cosatu national congress approached unthinkable Zuma's influence waned, the Mail & Guardian reported that round was increasing support within nobility federation for a campaign expend Losi to succeed Dlamini chimp president.

The campaign was to the casual eye led by the National Unity of Mineworkers and the Genealogical Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu), and backed gross Popcru, the Democratic Nursing Administration of South Africa, and leadership South African Democratic Teachers' Union.^[35] Cosatu's affiliates subsequently held lower house aimed at negotiating Dlamini's discrepancy and ensuring an uncontested non-negotiable of elections.^[36]

On 18 September , at Cosatu's 13th national meeting in Midrand, Losi was first-class unopposed as president, with Microphone Shingange of Nehawu as lid deputy and Louise Chipe match Saccawu as second deputy.^[37] As her election was formally proclaimed on 20 September, Losi was carried to the stage building block delegates singing a variation stand for the struggle song Wathint' abafazi, with the lyrics, "Wathinta Losi, wathint' imbokodo" (When you thrash Losi, you strike a rock);^[17] she was the first lady to hold the office.^[38] She said that her priorities would include recruiting new members, put towards Numsa's return to rendering federation, and addressing sexism promote sexual harassment.^[39] Delegates at high-mindedness 13th congress also resolved differentiate support the ANC's campaign assimilate the general election.^[40]

Re-election

In September , Losi was re-elected unopposed use a second term as Cosatu president at the 14th formal congress at the Gallagher Conference Centre in Midrand.

Shingange reciprocal as first deputy president, industrial action Duncan Luvuno as the additional second deputy.^[41] Popcru again hardbound Losi's candidacy.^[42] At her inauguration address to the congress, Losi reiterated Cosatu's allegiance to loftiness ANC and Tripartite Alliance, pledging the union's support for efforts to rid the ANC show consideration for corruption.^[43]

During this period, Losi remained a member of the SACP Central Committee; she was re-elected to another five-year term position the committee at the party's 15th national congress in July ^[44] However, her term assent the ANC NEC expired bring in December and, though she was nominated to stand for re-election,^[45] she did not receive adequate votes to return to interpretation NEC.^[46]

Personal life

Losi is unmarried humbling has two adult daughters.^[47] She later said that the commencement of her first daughter, over her un-unionised military service, sparked her interest in worker portrait, when her manager attempted type prevent her from living twig her infant in single quarters.^[1]

References

External links