Taking COSATU Today Forward, 6 February 2025
Norman Mampane
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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
6 February 2025
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- DENOSA Gauteng condemns the harassment of a male nurse by community member at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital
- South Africa
- SACP Free State Provincial Executive Committee Statement
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- The WFTU strongly condemns Trump’s statements on the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
DENOSA Gauteng condemns the harassment of a male nurse by community member at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital
Bongani Mazibuko, DENOSA Gauteng Provincial Secretary, 5 February 2025
JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) in Gauteng condemns in the strongest terms the harrassment of a male nurse, with strong xenophobic undertone, at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital's Emergency Unit in Soweto by a community member on Tuesday, 04 February 2025.
DENOSA calls on the Gauteng Department of Health to tighten Occupational Health and Safety risks for both staff and patients at its facilities as it poses a serious threat to the functioning of the facilities.
At the institution's Emergency Department, a man recorded on his phone a male nurse, asking him his name, where he came from, and whether he is employed at the hospital. The subject was a male Registered Nurse at the unit, who answered every question the gentleman was asking.
This video has since gone viral on social media platforms, where the nurse is now accused of being an illegal immigrant working as a nurse with no qualifications. Fortunately, the perpetrator shows his face in the same video, while he laments about how nice it is in South Africa where anyone can just come and work.
DENOSA find this incident extremely dangerous as it instigates violence and is an full blown act xenophobia, which leaves the very same nurse, who is fully qualified as a Registered Nurse, registered with the country’s nursing regulatory body, SANC, and renders quality patient care to the patients at the unit.
His rights have been violated in the workplace with no intervention from those who should be responsible for protecting him while at work, thus exposing the employee to Occupational Health and Safety risks.
DENOSA finds this act as inciting xenophobic attack and damaging to the reputation of nursing. DENOSA is in full support of the fellow nurse whose contribution in rendering nursing service at the hospital is second to none. Not only is he a Registered Nurse; he is also registered with his qualification in both Nursing Education and Nursing Administration, some specialist nursing skills that many communities are in dire need of at the time of severe shortage of skilled nurses.
We hereby support him and call for consequence management for the violation of his rights in terms of the POPI Act 2013 in the following way:
1.1. The Act emphasizes the importance of obtaining consent when collecting and using personal information, including audiovisual recordings.
1.2.Consent for Recording or Filming: POPIA recognizes that capturing someone's image or voice through recording or filming constitutes the processing of their personal information.
DENOSA hereby rallies behind the affected nurse and requests the Hospital's management to provide the necessary emotional support based on harassment while on duty and adhere to the Code of Good Practice on Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the working place, as enshrined in the gazette number 11409 of 18 March 2022.
We demand the SAPS to take the necessary steps to apprehend the perpetrator who has a mandate to divide the community and incite xenophobic attacks against the affected nurse.
We call for co-operation from the patients who are looked after by the nurse at the facility to remain calm and allow him to provide the best patient care that he is known for.
End.
𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗦𝗔 𝗚𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗴.
SACP Free State Provincial Executive Committee Statement
Bheke Stofile, SACP Free State Provincial Secretary, 5 February 2025
The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Free State Province (FS) convened its first Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting of the year in the post-Special National Congress era virtually on 1 February 2025.
The PEC reflected on the state of the revolution, including the role and tasks of the Party in the midst of evolving contemporary political, organisational and socio-economic developments globally, in the country and in the Free State province. The discussions were informed by a Central Committee input by Comrade Pat Horn, and the political, organisational and financial reports of the province.
The PEC thanked Comrade Pat Horn for her visit to the province during the past week for collaborative Party work with cooperatives and community based organisations in the informal sector of the economy in both Tisha Vanga and Thabo Mofutsanyana Districts. The Party will continue to support and ensure sustainability and growth of these organisations operating in various sectors in our communities.
Party Building, SACP decision to contest elections and the reconfiguration of the Alliance
The PEC received a report on the SACP 5th Special National Congress that unpacked the persisting socio-economic crisis arising from the structural defects in our economy that continues to produce and reproduce crisis levels of unemployment, poverty, inequality and underdevelopment in South Africa. The centrality of the national democratic revolution (NDR) and the struggle for socialism were reaffirmed as the main contours of our strategic path to confront capitalism and its neoliberal collaborators, who are consolidating within the so-called ‘GNU’ to champion austerity measures while society, especially the working class and poor, suffer exploitation and worsening high cost of living crisis.
The PEC welcomed the fact that the Special National Congress was firm and decisive on the practical tasks of building the independent posture and presence of the Party as well as the reconfiguration of the Alliance from within and without. The PEC appreciated the decisions of Congress, including the decision to contest elections and noted that the experience and lessons of the Party’s independent electoral participation in Metsimaholo contributed significantly to the discussions nationally. The Party decisions are necessary to assert working-class representation, action and leadership in advancing, deepening and defending the NDR and actively pursuing the struggle for socialism.
The PEC condemned the wedge drivers both within and outside the movement who speak with forked tongues attempting to isolate our General Secretary Comrade Solly Mapaila, who has been and continues to meticulously communicate, advance and defend our collective decisions as the Party. Furthermore, the PEC took exception to the targeting of some members of the Party, especially those deployed as ANC councillors in some councils wherein condescending insinuations and remarks are passed against them on the basis of the Party’s decision on state and popular power.
The PEC adopted a programme to communicate and engage its structures, progressive formations and society on its decisions and the immediate tasks to consolidate and build fronts and a powerful socialist movement of the workers and poor.
The PEC acknowledged that the Party has to improve its style of work and refocus its approach towards selfless service of the people, with a strong focus on ensuring that the work of local government is responsive to the basic and fundamental needs of communities. Wherever there are community challenges, Communists must be at the forefront working with such communities to find lasting solutions. In order to ensure systematic and consistent work within communities, the PEC agreed to convene a solution-oriented workshop intended to shape the Party response to the state of our communities and deteriorating state of service delivery.
Court decision to hold municipal management/leaders personally liable for defrauding workers’ third party contributions at Mafube Municipality
The PEC welcomes the precedent-setting court decision that holds specific political and administrative leadership of Mafube Local Municipality personally liable for paying back over R14 million in pension fund contributions of workers. The municipality has been deducting pension fund, medical and funeral contributions from the salaries of workers but not paying such contributions to the relevant schemes. This criminal conduct is rife across several municipalities in the province.
The SACP stands sternly firm with the workers and demands that the sheriff executes the court order immediately. We further warn that the municipality and individuals involved must never use public municipal resources to appeal this decision. There are currently workers well over their retirement age who are forced to work as they cannot go on retirement as the municipality is unable to pay them. Other workers die and the municipality is unable to pay their beneficiaries for their funeral contributions. The SACP will work with COSATU and SAMWU to ensure this decision is extended to all other municipalities that are effectively defrauding workers of their third party contributions.
On standing with the workers, the PEC further reaffirmed the position of the SACP articulated by our Central Committee in relation to the problematic ending of contracts of CDP workers of 55 years and older of age. This step was as a result of austerity measures imposed by National Treasury, resulting in the reneging on ANC led Alliance manifesto commitments. In our province, the Party welcomed the reported reabsorption of workers in the health sector by the provincial government, in line with the intervention the SACP made together with the Alliance, when the contracts of over a thousand workers were abruptly ended.
Congratulations
The PEC noted with congratulations that Comrade Lechesa Tsenoli and Comrade Lindiwe Tshongwe (posthumously) received awards at the SACP 5th Special National Congress for their dedication to the revolution and selfless service to the movement and the people. The PEC also appreciated the appointment of Comrade Lechesa as the chairperson of the ANC Integrity Commission in the province.
The PEC also congratulated the ANC for hosting a successful 113th January 08 celebration in Parys, and agreed to send a Party delegation to the planned ANC Provincial Lekgotla following an invitation from the ANC. The Party also wished COSATU well as it prepares for the provincial conference planned for mid-February 2025 and looks forward to strengthening the left-axis and contribute towards building the Alliance.
Issued by the SACP Free State Province
International-Solidarity
The WFTU strongly condemns Trump’s statements on the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza
05 Feb 202 by CENTRAL WFTU
The World Federation of Trade Unions strongly denounces and condemns Trump’s statements on the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. This statement constitutes a continuation of the longstanding and consistent US A’s stance and support for the murderous state of Israel and its plans.
Trump reaffirms, in unprecedented cynicism, the USA’s full support of genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians.
The workers of the whole world, the hundreds of class unions rallying in the WFTU reaffirm their unshakeable solidarity with the heroic people of Palestine and their right to live in freedom in their own homeland, in the land that they were born.
The international class-oriented trade union movement will intensify its struggle for an immediate end to the barbaric Israeli occupation and settlements and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, as provided for in the UN resolutions.
Only in this way peace and security could be secured and consolidated, and human rights could be respected in the region.
______________________________
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