JOHANNESBURG, Tuesday 15 September 2026 — Cosatu first deputy president Mike Shingange has approached the Labour Court seeking relief against his suspension by Nehawu as he attempts to contest the federation’s presidency, escalating an internal leadership dispute that has prevented Cosatu’s national elective congress from formally getting under way.
Business Day reported on Tuesday that Shingange approached the court after the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union suspended him at the weekend for allegedly defying an instruction not to sign a nomination form for the Cosatu presidency. The Labour Court matter was expected to be heard in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
The court action is a material escalation from Monday’s credentials dispute because Shingange has now moved outside Cosatu’s internal structures to seek judicial relief while delegates remain unable to proceed with the federation’s leadership election.
Presidential contender challenges suspension
Shingange is Cosatu’s current first deputy president and had emerged as a challenger for the federation’s top position.
His suspension by Nehawu immediately created uncertainty over whether he remained eligible to participate in the congress and stand for office.
The precise relief sought in his Labour Court application had not been publicly detailed by early Tuesday afternoon.
No court ruling had been reported by the close of this scan.
The suspension therefore remains disputed rather than finally determined.
Five unions supporting Shingange
Shingange’s candidacy has support from several Cosatu affiliates.
Business Day identified the National Union of Mineworkers, South African Municipal Workers Union, Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa, Sasbo and South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union as unions backing his presidential bid.
The NUM publicly endorsed Shingange before the congress, describing him as an experienced federation leader capable of taking over the presidency.
The breadth of that support makes his eligibility consequential to the leadership contest rather than a dispute confined to Nehawu.
Credentials dispute prevented congress from proceeding
Cosatu’s four-day congress was scheduled to begin at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand on Monday.
Instead, delegates became locked in a dispute over credentials and Shingange’s status.
Some affiliates, including the NUM, refused to submit their delegate lists until the federation clarified whether Shingange remained eligible to participate.
A special Cosatu central executive committee was convened to address the dispute.
By 11:30 on Tuesday, Business Day reported that the congress had still not formally begun.
The meeting is scheduled to conclude on Thursday, leaving delegates with a narrowing period in which to resolve credentials, elect office bearers and debate policy resolutions.
Leadership battle overlaps with ANC-SACP election divide
The dispute has broader political significance because Cosatu’s congress must also determine its position ahead of the 4 November local government elections.
Cosatu has historically mobilised its structures and membership in support of the ANC.
The South African Communist Party, however, is contesting the municipal elections independently, forcing the labour federation to choose between two longstanding alliance partners or develop an alternative approach.
Shingange’s own political positioning therefore matters beyond the federation’s internal leadership.
The NUM and Nehawu were among Cosatu affiliates that previously pushed for the federation to reconsider automatic electoral support for the ANC.
Congress political report attacks ANC municipal record
The leadership confrontation also comes as Cosatu’s political report sharply criticises the ANC’s record in local government.
The report says many ANC-led municipalities are collapsing or approaching collapse and argues that approaches taken after the 2021 elections produced further weakness, decay and corruption.
That assessment is Cosatu’s political position and does not establish wrongdoing in individual municipalities.
It nevertheless underscores the significance of the federation’s forthcoming election resolution.
The congress must decide whether criticism of ANC governance changes Cosatu’s traditional campaign relationship with the party.
Court outcome could reshape leadership ballot
The immediate question is whether the Labour Court intervenes in Shingange’s suspension and whether he remains eligible to stand for Cosatu president.
A ruling restoring his position would clear a significant obstacle to his candidacy and could allow the delayed congress to proceed with its leadership election.
A ruling against him — or a failure to secure urgent relief — could materially change the presidential contest and the balance between affiliate blocs.
Until the court and Cosatu resolve his status, the federation enters one of its most politically consequential congresses without certainty over who may contest its highest office.
With municipal elections seven weeks away, the outcome could also influence how one of South Africa’s largest organised labour formations approaches the ANC-SACP electoral split.
