Taking COSATU Today Forward, 4 February 2025
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #Cosatu donates sanitary towels and school shoes at Mochware Primary and Sandringham High schools in NW and GP respectively #Back2SchoolCampaign “Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism” #Back2Basics #JoinCOSATUNow #ClassConsciousness |
Taking COSATU Today Forward
‘Whoever sides with the revolutionary people in deed as well as in word is a revolutionary in the full sense’-Maoo
Our side of the story
4 February 2025
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
Organize at every workplace and demand respect for labour rights Now!
Defend Jobs Now!
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- DENOA Online Mandate Collection on the 2025/26 Public Sector Wage Offer
- South Africa
- COSATU SONA Expectations Statement
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- UN tax negotiations: A crucial first step
- Eastern DRC: ITUC condemns violence and calls for immediate ceasefire and protection of workers
- 1,500 workers lose jobs as Yazaki shuts down in Uruguay
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
DENOA Online Mandate Collection on the 2025/26 Public Sector Wage Offer
Sibongiseni Delihlazo, DENOSA Communication Manager, 3 February 2025
Dear member.
DENOSA is collecting the mandate on the government wage offer.
Submissions are hereby sought from the members between now and 10 Feberuary 2025.
To make your election, please click here: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx...
COSATU SONA Expectations Statement
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 04 February 2025
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is looking forward to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday. The challenges facing South Africa and in particular the working class are immense. A bold, decisive and progressive set of interventions are needed.
A business-as-usual approach will simply not do given our many crises, in particular our 41.9% unemployment rate, entrenched poverty and inequality, endemic crime and corruption, struggling public and municipal services, embattled State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and meagre economic growth.
It is critical that the SONA provide a sense of accountability to society and acknowledge the frustrations of millions and their simple hope for a better life. Government needs to report back on how far it has moved since the last SONA, including both the successes and their responses to setbacks.
Government needs to focus on key interventions to capacitate the state, stimulate the economy and slash unemployment, including:
- Ensuring that Eskom has the financial, law enforcement and infrastructure support to provide reliable and affordable electricity.
- Similar interventions to stabilise and rebuild Transnet, including debt relief, to unlock the jobs rich mining, manufacturing and agricultural sectors as well as Metro Rail, which is key to transporting millions of workers daily, as well as other struggling SOEs, in particular SABC, Denel, SAPO and the Postbank.
- Urgent interventions to stem the rise in the number of dysfunctional municipalities, including a new financial model and a move towards the District Development Model.
- Abandoning reckless austerity budget cuts crippling the ability of the state to provide the quality public services the working class and the economy depend upon, in particular Health, Police, Courts, Home Affairs, Schools, NSFAS, SARS amongst others. The Department of Employment and Labour must be resourced to enable it to enforce the hard-won rights of workers.
- Ramping up and overhauling public employment programmes to provide a pathway to permanent decent jobs for the 12 million unemployed.
- Transforming the SRD Grant to a Basic Income Grant and linking its participants to skills, training and employment opportunities.
- Defending the transformation mandate of government and ensuring that the progressive ideals of the Freedom Charter, including access to education, health, safety, housing, work and basic services are enjoyed by all, not simply the wealthy. The envisaged National Dialogue must be anchored upon this historic mission and facilitated by Nedlac, the legislated social dialogue forum.
- Affirming South Africa’s historic non-aligned stance and solidarity with Africa, the developing world and all peoples still experiencing oppression and occupation. The South African National Defence Force too must be given the necessary material resources and political support to enable it to fulfil its peacekeeping missions, including political solutions to the conflict zones it is deployed to.
It is easy with alarmist daily headlines, to lose sight of the real progress South Africa has made under the leadership of the African National Congress led Alliance since 1994 and more recently under President Ramaphosa’s leadership in stemming the decade of state capture and corruption, overcoming the disaster of loadshedding, navigating the global pandemic of COVID-19 and advancing the transformation agenda.
Whilst we must applaud these historic achievements, we dare not rest or relax when millions cannot find work, afford a decent home or care of their children.
Our many crises demand bold and decisive leadership including ensuring that the pending Budget provides the finances required to turn South Africa around.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
UN tax negotiations: A crucial first step
4 February 2025
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), along with Public Services International (PSI), welcomes the start of negotiations on a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation as a crucial step towards a more inclusive and effective global tax system.
Stronger international tax cooperation is urgently needed to address:
Harmful competition between countries and corporations that drives tax rates downward.
Widespread corporate tax evasion, which deprives countries of critical revenue.
The need to strengthen the fiscal capabilities of poorer nations, enabling them to invest in social protection, essential public services and sustainable development.
The start of the discussions on 3 February will set the terms for decision-making throughout the negotiation process. The global labour movement has long demanded that the process be democratic, fair and inclusive, ensuring that all countries have a voice in shaping international tax rules to achieve the best outcomes for working people.
Other key demands include:
Majority voting to prevent negotiations from stalling due to the need for unanimous decisions.
Fast-tracking reforms to tax multinational corporations based on where they operate, rather than where they shift their profits.
Strong measures to ensure that capital is taxed fairly and does not continue to evade national tax systems.
In a joint letter to UN negotiators, ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle and PSI General Secretary Danny Bertossa said: “We call on all Member States to approach these negotiations with ambition and solidarity. By prioritising majority-based decision-making and fast-tracking the taxation of corporate income and capital, Member States can ensure the Framework Convention delivers on its promise of a fairer global tax system that benefits everyone – not just the wealthiest few.”
The ITUC and PSI urge all UN member states to engage in the negotiations with ambition and solidarity, ensuring that the final framework delivers on the promise of a fairer global tax system.
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Eastern DRC: ITUC condemns violence and calls for immediate ceasefire and protection of workers
3 February 2025
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) strongly condemns the escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), particularly in and around Goma, where conflict has caused immense suffering among civilians and workers.AFP
According to the United Nations:
At least 700,000 people are internally displaced, while armed groups continue looting, extortion and sexual violence.
Food supplies are critically low, while electricity and water outages exacerbate the crisis and blocked transport routes have left thousands stranded.
Hospitals are overwhelmed, struggling to treat over 2,000 injuries since January, amid severe shortages of medical supplies, fuel and staff, and the risk of cholera, measles and mpox outbreaks is due to unsafe conditions.
"The ITUC demands an immediate resumption of the ceasefire and the protection of all civilians, particularly workers and their families who are already facing dire conditions. We must have peace, because without it there can be no social justice, no jobs, no rights."ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle
"The ITUC demands the cessation of support from wherever it comes for the multitude of armed groups and, to allow for a resumption of dialogue, the Rwandan troops should withdraw from the territory of the DRC in compliance with international laws.
“This violence has disproportionately affected women and children, forcing many to flee or face exploitation. Safe humanitarian access must be ensured, and international law upheld.
“The suffering in eastern DRC is intolerable, and the international community cannot stand by as lives are lost, families torn apart, and workers’ rights violated. An immediate end to hostilities is essential. There is no military solution to the conflict.
“We call on all sides in this conflict to resume dialogue through existing channels, such as the Luanda Process, to work for a lasting political solution to this recurring situation.
“The global union movement is in solidarity with the affected workers and communities, and we are totally committed to peace, justice and workers’ rights in the DRC and beyond."
Trade unions hit hard
The conflict has severely impacted the labour movement, with widespread job losses, workplace destruction and alarming reports of child recruitment into armed groups. Trade unions and workers must be protected and included in peace negotiations and post-conflict recovery efforts.
Meanwhile, the exploitation of the DRC’s vast mineral resources continues to fuel conflict. Stricter global supply chain regulations are urgently needed to prevent multinational corporations from profiting from conflict minerals at the expense of Congolese workers and communities.
The United Nations must strengthen the mandate of MONUSCO (United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo) to ensure civilian protection and address ongoing abuses, and the international community must hold human rights violators accountable and intensify diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions.
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1,500 workers lose jobs as Yazaki shuts down in Uruguay
4 February, 2025
Japanese multinational Yazaki has closed its two plants in Uruguay, leaving 1,500 workers—1,000 of them women—unemployed. The union is demanding that the factories reopen.
Workers were informed of the decision on 30 January. According to the union, the vehicle components manufacturer shut down its Las Piedras and Colonia plants without prior notice or negotiations, preventing discussions on alternatives to save jobs.
Danilo Dárdano, president of the National Union of Metal and Allied Workers (UNTMRA) and the Confederation of Industrial Trade Unions of Uruguay, said:
“A company cannot just leave overnight. Restructuring must be discussed in advance. The incoming government must change regulations to prevent this from happening again. They have shut the factory and won’t take our calls. The Labour Ministry has scheduled a meeting on redundancies, but we want to discuss reopening.”
In a statement, UNTMRA expressed shock at the closure, noting that throughout 2024 it had been working with industry bodies, the Labour Ministry, and Yazaki on policies to sustain the sector and attract investment. The company cited the low dollar exchange rate and labour disputes as key reasons for its exit, though the union insists it always prioritised job protection over other issues.
Uruguayan trade union federation PIT-CNT condemned the closure, arguing that a company with 240,000 employees in 46 countries cannot justify its exit on production costs and union disputes, given its history of collective bargaining.
At a press conference on 31 January, PIT-CNT president Marcelo Abdala said:
“Yazaki acted in a covert and disloyal manner towards workers and the country. It is unacceptable that they show no concern for the 1,500 workers, the majority women and young people. We call for tripartite talks on economic development and urge the authorities to intervene and defend these jobs.”
IndustriALL regional secretary Marino Vani also criticized the company’s actions:
“Yazaki’s attitude towards the workers and the community in Uruguay is regrettable. We urge management to engage with UNTMRA and reconsider this closure, which is unjustified and a major blow to Uruguay’s economy and MERCOSUR.”
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Norman Mampane (Shopsteward Editor)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
110 Jorissen Cnr Simmonds Street, Braamfontein, 2017
P.O.Box 1019, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa
Tel: +27 11 339-4911 Direct line: 010 219-1348