Edition 06/06 2006-10-12 Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Focus South Africa SOUTH AFRICA OFFICE Publication for political and socio-economic issues in South Africa FOCUS South Africa COSATU`s Ninth Congress The challenge of a diverse political agenda “The real problems faced by the people of South Africa include the fact that although there is 40 per cent unemployment in South Africa, millions of those who work have no quality jobs.” Willie Madisha, President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions At its 9th Congress in September 2006 COSATU, South Africa’s biggest Trade Union Federation, discussed the organisation’s direction for the next three years. More than 3.000 delegates from the federation’s 22 affiliated unions came together with international labour guests, representatives of civil soci­ety bodies, labour-allied research institutes, co-operating partners and repre­sentatives from political allies. The task was to review the current programmes of the federation, analyse the challenges that emerged and formulate a programme of work that will enable the federation to promote and protect the interests of its members and the broader working class in the period ahead. But the federation’s focus was distracted by political issues within the ruling African National Congress that found their way into the union federation.