The Registrar of Trade Unions Advocate, Lehlohonolo Molefe, has lashed out at unscrupulous trade union leaders who abuse union funds. The abuse of trade union funds is often the cause of serious infighting in many trade unions in the country.
In terms of the Labour Relations Act, all trade unions must be registered with the Department of Labour before they are allowed to operate in the country. Once registered, trade unions rely on fees they collect from their members every month to fund their operations.
The Department of Labour’s Registrar of Trade Unions Advocate, Lehlohonolo Molefe, says his office comes across many cases of abuse of funds by union leaders which he finds disturbing.
“By law, trade unions are supposed to submit audited membership figures and financial statements to the Department of Labour’s Registrar of Trade Unions periodically. Unions members are also required to gather and elect new leaders on a regular basis. But now, that is proving to be challenging for many unions because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Registration of trade unions
Failure to comply with the regulations can lead to a union being de-registered by the Department of Labour. 110 trade unions have been de-registered in the last decade.
Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) says it and its affiliates are doing their best to comply with registration requirements under the current circumstances. Cosatu spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla, says they are still processing applications for the registration of trade unions.”
“Millions of workers have been retrenched since the outbreak of COVID-19 last year. Many more continue to join the ranks of the unemployed. Despite this, the Registrar of Trade Unions says his office is still processing around 60 applications for the registration of new trade unions a month.”
The abuse of trade union funds under the spotlight in the video below:
