COSATU's 15th National Congress was a non-starter on the first day of its four-day conference

COSATU's 15th National Congress was a non-starter on the first day of its four-day conference amid a standoff over the suspension of the first deputy president Mike Shingange. Several Cosatu union affiliates – led by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) – refused to submit their credentials in retaliation over Shingange's suspension. Shingange – who was also the president of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union was suspended by the union after going against its instructions of signing-off on his nomination into Cosatu's new leadership structure. SABC Economics Reporter Naledi Mabitsela-Ngcobo filed this report.