SOUTH AFRICA · LABOUR
Key Facts
- —The country South Africa is Africa’s most industrialised economy, where trade unions such as Numsa still shape wages in car plants, steel mills and mines.
- —What happened Numsa’s central committee, its top decision-making body between congresses, withdrew the powers of its national office bearers and took over running the union.
- —The man at the centre Irvin Jim, general secretary since 2008, had cancelled the meeting, which the committee then held anyway.
- —The trigger A Labour Court order barred the leaders from shutting out delegates from Mpumalanga province.
- —The dates Regional congresses must finish by Sunday 15 November, and the national congress runs from Monday 30 November to Friday 4 December.
- —Union size Numsa has more than 460,000 members and belongs to the South African Federation of Trade Unions, known as Saftu.
- —Still open Jim and his allies planned to seek leave to appeal, and the union’s executive has yet to rule on the officers’ conduct.
Numsa, a South Africa union, stripped general secretary Irvin Jim and other top officers of their powers, Business Day reported on Sunday 25 October 2026. Numsa is the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, which has more than 460,000 members.
For US investors and carmakers in South Africa, the fight matters because this union represents factory workers in car making and metals. The split also lands five weeks before a national congress that will elect new leaders.
What the Central Committee Decided
Business Day reported that Numsa’s central committee, its highest body between congresses, withdrew the delegated powers and functions of the national office bearers. These are the general secretary, the president, the treasurer and other senior officers who run the union day to day.
The committee said the officers had abandoned the functions of their offices through their conduct. It handed their duties to a task coordinating team and set up committees, including one to vet delegates for the congress.
Why the Meeting Turned Into a Showdown
Jim wrote to delegates on Thursday 22 October that the central committee meeting due on Friday 23 October was cancelled until further notice. He argued that a Labour Court ruling had severely disrupted the gathering and said the leadership planned to seek leave to appeal.
Delegates were already in Gauteng, the province around Johannesburg, when the letter arrived, Sunday World reported. Members from five regions, Mpumalanga, JC Bez, Eastern Cape, Sedibeng and KwaZulu-Natal, insisted the meeting go ahead and demanded that Jim retract the cancellation.
The Mpumalanga Court Order
The dispute began after the Mpumalanga regional congress on 29 and 30 June, when a complaint challenged how delegates from the Ehlanzeni area were chosen. President Andrew Chirwa then wrote on 4 September that the committee would meet without those delegates.
Regional chairperson Nkosinathi Makhanya took the matter to the Labour Court, which found that the office bearers had overstepped their authority. Judge Edwin Tlhotlhalemaje barred them from excluding Makhanya and the other Mpumalanga delegates and ordered a full meeting with proper notice.
A Long Run of Internal Complaints
Regional leaders demanded a special national executive committee meeting in September, saying none had been held for 18 months. Three regional chairs filed an urgent Labour Court application dated 14 October, which Numsa called frivolous and an abuse of the court process.
Jim has led Numsa as general secretary since 2008, and former Numsa deputy president Ruth Ntlokotse has accused him of financial impropriety and intimidation. A January 2026 resolution to return to Cosatu, South Africa’s other main union federation, deepened the divisions, according to Business Day.
Money and Congress Dates
At least four of nine regions had not held congresses by late October, Sunday World reported, because funding was not released. The KwaZulu-Natal region also lost a court case over nearly R1.5 million (about US$90,000) in congress money.
The central committee resolved that every outstanding regional congress must be held on or before Sunday 15 November. The 12th national congress stays set for 30 November to 4 December, when delegates choose the union’s national leadership.
What It Means for US Readers
This South Africa union represents workers in car making and metals, so a divided leadership could complicate wage talks. Investors in South African manufacturers will be watching who wins the national congress in December.
The fight also shows a divide inside South Africa’s labour movement, where several rival federations compete for members. Earlier Rio Times reporting on Cosatu’s October leadership vote shows how contested that field has become.
What Is Not Known
The central committee has not made public how delegates voted on the decision. It is also unclear whether Jim and the other officers will accept the decision or fight it in court.
Jim and union spokesperson Mbali Ngwenda did not respond to requests for comment from Business Day. The union’s national executive committee still has to decide on the officers’ conduct, and no date has been given.
What Comes Next
The first test is whether the task coordinating team can run the South Africa union and finish the regional congresses by 15 November. Any appeal by Jim and the other officers against the Labour Court order could pull the dispute back into court.
The national congress opens on Monday 30 November and closes on Friday 4 December. Its delegates will decide who leads the South Africa union next.
More: South Africa news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Numsa?
Numsa is the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, a South Africa union with more than 460,000 members. It is affiliated to the Saftu federation, the South African Federation of Trade Unions.
Who is Irvin Jim?
Irvin Jim has been Numsa’s general secretary since 2008. He is the senior full-time official of the South Africa union.
Has Irvin Jim been fired?
No, the central committee withdrew the powers of the national office bearers pending a decision by the national executive committee on their conduct. Their functions now sit with a task coordinating team.
When is the Numsa national congress?
The national congress is set for Monday 30 November to Friday 4 December 2026. Regional congresses must finish by Sunday 15 November.
Why did a court get involved?
A Labour Court judge found that the office bearers had no power to exclude Mpumalanga delegates from the central committee. The ruling barred them from doing so and ordered a full meeting.
Sources: Business Day, 25 October 2026; Sunday World, 23 October 2026; Business Day, 21 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error