Cosatu warns over lack of transformation in rugby

The country’s largest trade union federation said in a statement issued late on Thursday that it was not satisfied with the race representation in the sport.

Cosatu said there were no positive results in terms of transformation after 20 years of democracy and black leaders being in charge of sport.

“We are prepared to take full responsibility for transformation of rugby ourselves. As Cosatu, we will file a Section 77 with NEDLAC [National Economic Development and Labour Council] and will convene negotiations with all the role players,” Cosatu said.

“Should those negotiations not yield results, we will embark on a protest programme against all those who block and refuse to advance transformation. The protest will be directed against the sponsors, who includes ABSA and other sponsors and at SARU [SA Rugby Union] and their untransformed matches.”

No rugby match would take place in the country if it was not linked to the transformation of structures in the province the team represented, warned the trade union federation.

Cosatu’s statement followed Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula’s post 2015 Rugby World Cup briefing on Thursday, at which he said the country was committed to transforming rugby. He said his ministry would take action against SARU if the 50 percent transformation target was not met.

Rugby authorities came under fire in recent times for not selecting enough black players for the Rugby World Cup held in England. South Africa managed to clinch a bronze medal at the tournament.

Cosatu said it was let down by Mbalula who “made all kinds of excuses” for SARU.

“We do not care about the agreements and the commitments, we care about the team and whether, what we see is a fair reflection of the form of players in SA rugby. We are losing trust in the minister and his capacity and commitment to rugby transformation. Most of these sporting codes have been allowed to undermine transformation.”