The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said on Monday it did not mind if Cabinet members stayed on after President Thabo Mbeki resigns.
"The decision to ask the President to resign did not apply to the full Cabinet, but only to the President," said COSATU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
He was speaking at a Johannesburg press briefing after COSATU Central Executive Committee (CEC) held a special meeting to discuss Judge Chris Nicholson's judgement and the ANC NEC's decision to recall President Mbeki.
Asked specifically about reports that Finance Minister Trevor Manuel would stay on, Vavi said: "We have no qualms with him."
Vavi said the real "pre-occupation" of COSATU was actually on what happened after the next general elections.
He said COSATU was busy debating a progressive framework that would interpret and define a way forward on the basis of the resolutions taken at the ANC National Conference in Polokwane in December last year.
COSATU President Sdumo Dlamini said the shifts in policy that Polokwane resolutions represented now needed to be properly implemented.
"Polokwane did represent a range of shifts [in policy]," said Dlamini.
Vavi said "We are convinced that the shifts are real and they are not small."