Taking COSATU Today Forward, 12 February 2026
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #DITSELA Institute launches 2026 Worker Education programmes to empower the class #ClassSolidarity #Cosatu40 #SACTU70 #ClassStruggle “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
12 February 2026
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- NEHAWU Western Cape welcomes the dismissal of Cape Town College Principal
- South Africa
- Joint Statement: Stop the escalation of aggression against Cuba!
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- No Just Transition without workers’ power
- Beyond the mining deals
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
NEHAWU Western Cape welcomes the dismissal of Cape Town College Principal
Baxolise Mali, NEHAWU Western Cape Provincial Secretary, February 11, 2026
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] in the Western Cape welcomes the dismissal of the Principal of College of Cape Town.
The dismissal of the College Principal follows a disciplinary process and the release of the report by the Stabilisation and Governance Support Team [SGST] appointed by the Minister of the Department of Higher Education and Training [DHET], Buti Manamela in terms of Section 46(1) of the Continuing Education and Training Act 16 of 2026 [CET Act] for the Cape Town College [CCT].
The report confirms what we have been raising for a long time about the college suffering from leadership paralysis, which led to a collapse of governance, and deteriorating financial situation.
This college has been in the media for wrong reasons including allegations of nepotism, maladministration, victimisation of student leaders as heard by the Portfolio Committee, hence we supported the decision by Minister regarding the terms of reference, as we knew that any sound team which follows without bias all requirements of procedural, and substantial fairness would vindicate our call that the Principal and his cronies including those captured through acting appointments and study bursaries represent everything bad for the college.
Whilst appreciating that the report has been recently released, the union calls for the institution to be stabilised. Furthermore, the union calls for immediate dissolution of College of Cape Town Board for its failures to govern the college and also the fact that some council members have even taken a third term as Council members despite term limit provisions in the statutes of the college.
Lastly, we call on the Minister of DHET to implement recommendations of the Stabilisation and Governance Support Team [SGST] in order to stabilise College of Cape Town.
END
Issued by NEHAWU Western Cape Secretariat
South Africa #ClassSolidarity
Joint Statement: Stop the escalation of aggression against Cuba!
11 February 2026
We firmly condemn US imperialism's new escalation of aggression against the sovereignty and independence of Cuba and against the rights of the Cuban people.
The US President's Executive Order calling Cuba an "unusual and extraordinary threat" against its security is merely creating, based on a pack of falsehoods, a cynical pretext by US imperialism to try and prevent the supply of fuel to Cuba and to step up the economic, financial and trade embargo which it has imposed for over six decades, in an attempt to cause maximum harm to the Cuban people's living conditions.
This escalation of US aggression against Cuba, which is accompanied by the threat to impose arbitrary coercive measures of an extra-territorial nature, represents yet another unacceptable and blatant violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter and of international law, an affront to the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace and a threat to world peace and security.
The new threshold of US aggression and blackmail against Cuba is part and parcel of the broader plan by US imperialism to impose its domination on Latin America and the Caribbean, in the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine, a plan which also includes the recent military aggression against Venezuela with the kidnapping of its President, Nicolás Maduro, and the threats against Colombia, Mexico and other countries in the region.
Imperialism's aggressive onslaught is a threat, not just to the sovereignty and rights of the Cuban people, but also to other peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean and to all peoples of the world. This onslaught represents the greatest threat to world peace and requires a firm and persistent resistance and struggle by the workers and the peoples, for sovereignty, rights, peace and internationalist solidarity.
In hailing the example of courage, determination, peace, cooperation and solidarity provided by Cuba to the world, we demand an immediate end to all threats and hostile steps by the USA against Cuba, including an end to the cruel, criminal and illegal blockade, thus fulfilling the demands of numerous Resolutions of the UN General Assembly.
We express our solidarity with Socialist Cuba and call for the broadest international solidarity in defense of its independence and sovereignty and of the rights of the Cuban people, including the right to decide their future, in peace and free from foreign interference and pressure.
Cuba is not alone!
Cuba will win!
Signatory parties of the SolidNet List(until the moment):
Communist Party of Albania
Algerian Party for Democracy and Socialism
Communist Party of Argentina
Communist Party of Armenia
Communist Party of Australia
Communist Party of Austria
Party of Labour of Austria
Communist Party of Azerbaijan
Democratic Tribune Bahrain
Communist Party of Bangladesh
Communist Party of Belarus
Workers Party of Belgium
Communist Party of Brazil
Brazilian Communist Party
Communist Party of Britain
New Communist Party of Britain
Communist Party of Chile
Colombian Communist Party
Socialist Workers' Party of Croatia
AKEL – Cyprus
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia
Communist Party of Denmark
Egyptian Communist Party
Communist Party of Finland
French Communist Party
United Communist Party of Georgia
German Communist Party
Communist Party of Greece
Hungarian Workers' Party
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Communist Party of India
Tudeh Party of Iran
Iraqi Communist Party
Workers' Party of Ireland
Communist Party of Israel
Communist Refoundation Party – Italy
Italian Communist Party
Jordanian Communist Party
Communist Party of Kazakhstan
Kuwaiti Progressive Movement
Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan
Lebanese Communist Party
Communist Party of Luxembourg
Communist Party of Malta
Communist Party of Mexico
Popular Socialist Party - National Popular Socialist Political Group – Mexico
Popular Socialist Party of Mexico
Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova
New Communist Party of Netherlands
Communist Party of Norway
Palestinian People's Party
Paraguayan Communist Party
Communist Party of Peru – Patria Roja
Philippine Communist Party (PCP-1930)
Portuguese Communist Party
Romanian Socialist Party
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Communists of Serbia
South African Communist Party
Communist Party of Spain
Communist Party of Peoples of Spain
Communist Party of the Workers of Spain
Communists of Catalonia
Communist Party of Sri Lanka
Sudanese Communist Party
Communist Party of Swaziland
Communist Party of Sweden
Communist Party (Switzerland)
Swiss Communist Party
Syrian Communist Party (Unified)
Syrian Communist Party
Communist Party of Turkey
Communist Party of Ukraine
Union of Communists of Ukraine
Communist Party of Uruguay
Communist Party USA
Other Parties
Socialist Party of Egypt
Party of Popular Alliance Egypt
Communist Party (Italy)
Nepali Communist Party
Workers Democratic Way – Morocco
Federation of Democratic Left – Morocco
Democratic Front for Liberation of Palestine
Palestinian Popular Struggle Front
Popular Front For The Liberation of Palestine
Galician Nationalist Bloc
Union of the Galician People
Swiss Party of Labour
Party of Popular Will Syria
Socialist Party of Yemen
The joint statement remains open for new subscriptions.
International-Solidarity
No Just Transition without workers’ power
12 February, 2026
IndustriALL Global Union, industriAll Europe and the ITUC have launched a Just Transition Manifesto for the textile and garment supply chain, with a clear message: climate and digital transformation must not come at workers’ expense.
Launched during a virtual side session to the Garment Forum, the manifesto sets out why a Just Transition is urgent, and why unions must shape it.
More than 400 million people work in the sector worldwide, most of them women in the Global South facing low wages, unsafe conditions, heat stress, job insecurity and weak social protection. As decarbonization, automation and digitalization accelerate, workers risk being pushed further to the margins.
A transition without safeguards deepens inequality
Garment workers are already living the impacts of climate change. Extreme heat, floods, factory shutdowns and wage losses are daily realities, particularly for women, informal and migrant workers. Yet those most affected are rarely consulted.
Unions warned that climate action without worker protection deepens injustice. Green policies and new production models are transforming supply chains, but without regulation and planning they are driving job losses, intensifying work and widening inequality.
Decisions made without workers
Climate and sustainability strategies are largely shaped by governments and brands, while workers bear the consequences of restructuring and automation.
The manifesto demands worker-led decision-making through unions and social dialogue. Governments must actively promote social dialogue. Employers and brands must engage responsibly. Unions must assess climate risks and negotiate solutions that work for workers.
Speakers also pointed to the imbalance of power in global supply chains. Brands set prices and deadlines while shifting costs and risks onto suppliers and workers. Voluntary commitments are not enough.
Binding rules, not voluntary promises
The manifesto calls for binding obligations, responsible purchasing and real corporate accountability. Workers’ rights, living wages, health and safety and gender equity must be central.
The sector faces serious environmental challenges, from water use to chemical pollution, often borne in the Global South. There are opportunities in renewable energy and new production models, but only if governed in workers’ interests and secured through collective bargaining.
More than a statement, the manifesto is a tool for negotiation and organizing. It calls for binding responsibility from brands and governments and systemic change that centres workers in climate and digital policies.
The message from unions was clear: a Just Transition is not optional — it is urgent.
“Jobs are being displaced, work is intensifying, surveillance is expanding, skills gaps are widening and informal labour is growing. Without action, we will see rising job losses, deepening poverty and an escalation of gender-based violence.
“A Just Transition must ensure that climate solutions create decent work, not new forms of exploitation. That’s why the manifesto sets out a clear path for worker-led change, binding responsibility for brands and governments and protections that guarantee rights, dignity and collective bargaining for the people who make our clothes,” says IndustriALL textile and garment director Christina Hajagos-Clausen.
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Beyond the mining deals
12 February, 2026
The annual convergence in Cape Town of the Investing in African Mining Indaba and its counterpoint, the Alternative Mining Indaba, once again highlighted the stark divide that characterises much of the continent’s extractive sector: on one side, deal-making among investors, mining houses, and governments; on the other, demands from affected communities and trade unions for a more equitable share of the proceeds.
This year, 9 to 12 February, the two events ran in parallel at separate venues in the city. The mainstream Indaba, investor-focused and corporate-oriented, drew the usual crowd of executives pursuing partnerships and capital flows in critical minerals. By contrast, the Alternative Mining Indaba, under the theme Alternative Stories of Mining, amplified the perspectives of marginalised and Indigenous communities, trade unions, and civil-society groups insistent on mining practices that reduce poverty, narrow inequality, and foster sustainable livelihoods rather than merely extract value.
The persistent contrast of wealth generated by mines put next to persistent poverty in host communities featured prominently in discussions, as did the risk of creating so-called green sacrifice zones where the costs of the global energy transition fall disproportionately on vulnerable populations in mineral-rich regions.
Trade unions, including affiliates of IndustriALL Global Union from Australia, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, engaged actively at both forums. They pressed mining companies on workers’ rights, decent working standards, sustainable extraction, and the need for a Just Transition. During a meeting on 11 February, emphasis fell on the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) as one of the more credible mechanisms for safeguarding labour rights, community interests, and environmental protections. At the Alternative Mining Indaba, unions stressed that workers form an integral part of affected communities and are therefore equally exposed to environmental, social, and governance failures.
Critical transition minerals including cobalt, lithium, graphite, and others essential to batteries and renewable energy dominated agendas at both gatherings. Sessions explored how to harness these resources for broader economic benefit, the resurgence of resource nationalism, the scope for equitable global supply-chain partnerships, human-capital development, geopolitical dynamics, regulatory frameworks, and the role of governments. Chinese multinational corporations came under scrutiny for their close ties to host governments and workers’ rights violations in countries such as Zambia and Zimbabwe.
In a panel on corporate accountability at the AMI, IndustriALL outlined its strategy of engaging major players including Anglo American, Glencore, and Rio Tinto through global company networks, structured dialogue, and collective bargaining. IndustriALL affiliates are also forging alliances with artisanal and small-scale mining associations and local communities in the DRC, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with initial cooperation centred on health and safety improvements.
As Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director for mining observed:
“The dialogue and engagement at both the Mining Indaba and the Alternative Mining Indaba is taking place in contested spaces. However, trade unions should continue to exploit these platforms to advance the Just Transition and defend workers’ interests, particularly as global demand for transition minerals intensifies.”
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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