At what was supposed to be their third elective congress in the northern city, members protested against the use of a new constitution that had posts they felt were unfamiliar with, leading to the postponement of the elections. Addressing the media yesterday, BTU secretary general Ibo Kenosi said it was resolved to suspend elections because the Registrar of Trade Unions had not approved the disputed constitutional amendments. He maintained that the extraordinary congress comes after their members disagreed to a waiver that was to see elections held while the relevant Labour Department had not certified the new positions.
Despite reports that the union acted on pressure from delegates who protested against the use of the new constitution, arguing that it had some new posts, which they knew nothing about, Kenosi said they suspended the elections because the committee would be constitutionally irrelevant.At a press conference at the union premises in Finance Park, BTU president Justice Kgabeng said, "We have followed all the processes and all will be done according to the constitution. This time around elections won't be defaulted."
