South Africa's Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has postponed its congress, eNCA reported on Wednesday, amid tensions within the federation's leadership.
The broadcaster gave no further detail on the timing of a rescheduled gathering or the specific disputes involved.
Coverage of the run-up to the event described a chaotic and collapsed congress. The Mail & Guardian linked the disorder to a rift between the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party spilling into the COSATU meeting. News24, in a wrap of the state of the unions, reported that the congress had "collapses."
Separately, SABC News reported that a figure named Shingange had been cleared to stand for election at the congress.
The postponement comes as the federation, a key partner in South Africa's governing alliance alongside the ANC and the SACP, faces strain over its direction and internal contests. Daily Maverick framed the wider question in stark terms, publishing a piece arguing that business should be alarmed by what it called the demise of COSATU.
Taken together, the reports point to a federation under pressure on both its internal leadership question and its political relationships. The available material does not set out the precise reasons for the delay, the names of those involved in the leadership contest beyond Shingange, or a new date for the congress.
What to watch next: whether COSATU announces a rescheduled congress and how the ANC and SACP respond to the reported friction inside the federation.