Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim is facing possible suspension as regional leaders move to hold him accountable for blocking the Central Committee (CC) meeting at the eleventh hour.
Sunday World understands that the CC was expected to sit from Friday and Sunday, but was cancelled on Thursday after Labour Court ruled that Numsa should allow delegates from Mpumalanga region to participate and vote in the union’s governing structure.
The CC is the union’s highest decision-making body between national congresses. It oversees the union’s affairs and has the authority to interpret its constitution and resolve disputes involving regional structures.
According to a source close to the matter, CC members were already in Gauteng for the meeting when the suspension letter was released and demanded that it continues and call for the suspension of Jim.
READ: NUMSA top brass face fresh court battle over congress preparations
CC suspension letter shared on even of meeting
Jim stated in the letter to CC delegates dated October 22 that the judgement has disrupted preparations for the meeting and that the union would seek leave to appeal against the ruling, therefore halting the proceedings of the meeting until further notice.
He said the cancellation was per legal advice to appeal the judgement, arguing that it conflicted with the union’s constitution and the principles of natural justice.
“The legal effect of the aforesaid filing of an application for leave to appeal will be that, as a matter of law, the effect of the aforesaid judgment will be suspended in totality.
“As a consequence, the various actions taken by certain regions and individuals within NUMSA has now unfortunately necessitated the cancellation of the forthcoming CC in order to pursue and finalise the legal appeal process as to obtain final legal certainty in the interest of NUMSA as an organisation and its members,” reads the letter.
Mpumalanga region centre of dispute
The dispute between national leadership and Mpumalanga comes after a shop steward from Ehlanzeni Local Shop Stewards Council challenged how delegates from the structure had been selected to attend Numsa’s Mpumalanga regional congress in June.
Before the congress, Ehlanzeni council had resolved that its local office bearers would identify and nominate delegates from among its members. After the congress, a shop stewards complained directly to Jim, alleging that the selection process had not complied with the relevant procedures as per constitution.
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This resulted in the national leadership attempt to prevent the Mpumalanga delegation from exercising full participation and voting rights in the CC until its constitutional status had been resolved.
In a letter dated September 4, Numsa president Andrew Chirwa informed CC delegates that the meeting would reconvene without Mpumalanga delegates, noting that it would be unfair to allow the region to participate while their legitimacy is being questioned.
This prompted a legal challenge from Nkosinathi Makhanya, Mpumalanga regional chairperson and CC member.
Makhanya argued that the union’s constitution gave the CC the authority to review decisions made by regional congresses and that national office-bearers could not independently exclude a region’s delegates from the union’s governing structures.
The dispute had already been considered at a CC meeting in August, but no decision was reached. The matter was postponed to the meeting scheduled for October 23 to 25.
Court rules for inclusion of Mpumalanga
Court found that national office bearers had overstepped their authority by deciding how the complaint against Mpumalanga region should be handled, saying the constitution gave CC, rather than individual national office bearers, the power to determine disputes involving regional congress decision and to decide what procedures should be followed.
“By deciding on his own or with the General Secretary, on the manner and approach on how the complaint ought to be addressed and dealt with by the CC, the President effectively usurped the powers of the CC, acted ultra vires, and put the cart before the horse,” reads the judgement.
The court said Chirwa’s position as president and chairperson of the CC did not give him unrestricted authority to make decisions that belonged to the collective structure and further held that the union’s democratic processes had to be followed rather than decisions being made in advance by its national leadership.
“The democratic process envisaged in the Constitution must take its course, and the President cannot pre-empt or seek to influence its outcome,” the judgment reads.
The court granted interim relief preventing Numsa and its national office bearers from excluding or restricting Makhanya and the affected Mpumalanga delegates from attending, participating in and voting at CC meetings. The order also protected relevant Mpumalanga office bearers who sit on the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The union’s national office-bearers were directed to convene a CC meeting with its full membership, including the Mpumalanga delegation, and to provide all members with written notice of the meeting’s date, time, venue and agenda.
National congress preparations at risk
READ: KZN Numsa region sues its national leaders
The cancellation comes amid Numsa’s uncertainty ahead of the national congress where leadership positions will be contested.
Sunday World has previously reported the rebellion of regional structures against Jim and national leadership as regional leaders from Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Sedibeng and JC Bez have demanded a special NEC meeting, accusing the top brass of failing to convene ordinary meetings since February 2025 and undermining regional congresses.
Numsa KZN has recently lost a case as they dragged the national leadership to court demanding nearly R1.5 million in funding to proceed with its overdue congress. However, court found that the dispute was rather a political dispute.
CC to discuss funding among others
The matter was to be carried at the CC after two failed previous attempts at hosting congress. At least four out of nine regions have not held their congresses including Hlanganani, Ekurhuleni and Sedibeng.
The regions previously argued that the CC approved budget last December and later endorsed regional congress processes in April. However, funding for the outstanding congresses has not been released.
- Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim faces possible suspension after blocking the Central Committee (CC) meeting set to take place from October 23 to 25.
- The CC meeting was canceled following a Labour Court ruling that ordered the inclusion of Mpumalanga region delegates in the union’s governing structure.
- The court found that Numsa national office bearers, including President Andrew Chirwa, overstepped their authority by excluding Mpumalanga delegates, ruling that the CC has the sole authority to decide on such disputes.
- The dispute arose from a challenge against the delegate selection process in Mpumalanga’s regional congress and escalated after the national leadership attempted to exclude the region from the CC.
- Numsa’s national leadership must convene a CC meeting with full membership including Mpumalanga delegates and provide written notice of the meeting details, while the union faces internal regional rebellions and unresolved funding for regional congresses.
