Taking COSATU Today Forward, 2 February 2026
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #Back2SchoolCampaign continues… #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
2 February 2026
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- Department of Employment and Labour invites written submission on the intention to deem all performers in the performance
- Department of Employment and Labour call for proposals on training or workshops session on labour laws to vulnerable worker
- South Africa
- COSATU mourns the passing of comrade Leon Levy
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Safety and labour rights under threat at Armenia’s Akhtala mining plant
- WFTU expresses its condolences to the trade union movement in Argentina.
- WFTU solidarity message with the International Day of Action for Ports
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
Department of Employment and Labour invites written submission on the intention to deem all performers in the performance as employees
28 January 2026
In a move designed to protect vulnerable employees the Department of Employment and Labour is inviting interested stakeholders and parties on the intention to Deem Performers in the Performance of Advertising, Artistic, and Cultural Activities in South Africa as Employees.
Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth has signed the notice as per the government gazette on her intention.
In terms of the notice employees in these sectors will enjoy privileges enjoyed by other employees in other sectors in terms of coverage to various labour market legislations such as: The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA); the National Minimum Wage (NMW); and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA).
These processes form part of government's broader efforts to address reported challenges in the sector, including income insecurity, unsafe working conditions, and limited access to social protection, while ensuring that any regulatory intervention is evidence-based, consultative, and responsive to the realities of the industry.
This intention arises from widespread evidence and stakeholder representations indicating that performers in these sectors often operate under conditions characteristic of employment relationships, including fixed working hours, supervision, and payment for services rendered.
However, they are frequently excluded from basic labour protections due to their classification as “independent contractors".
This measure seeks to extend the fundamental protections of employment law to these vulnerable workers and provide a basis for regulatory and enforcement mechanisms that promote decent work in the creative economy.
The notice was published on 23 January 2026. Interested persons are invited to submit written representations regarding this proposal within 30 (working days) of publication of this notice to:
The Director-General: Department of Employment and Labour Attention: Acting Deputy Director General: Labour Policy and Industrial Relations Private Bag X117, Pretoria, 0001 or Email: SDinvest...@LABOUR.gov.za
For media enquiries, please contact:
Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
082 697 0694/ teboho....@labour.gov.za
-ENDS-
Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour
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Department of Employment and Labour call for proposals on training or workshops session on labour laws to vulnerable worker
29 January 2026
The Department of Employment and Labour is inviting labour service organisations from all provinces to submit proposals on training or workshops session on labour laws to vulnerable workers.
The call for proposals from organisations such as non-profit organisations (NPOs) and public benefit organisations (PBOs) targets organisations that specialise in labour matters to provide training or workshop sessions to domestic workers, farm workers, retrenched workers etc.
The training should focus on the following:
- Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)
- Labour Relations Act (LRA)
- Employment Equity Act (EEA)
-
Unemployment
Insurance Act (UIA)
Enquiries can be sent to: Sipho....@labour.gov.za / Saraphina....@labour.gov.za and applications can be emailed to: civilsociet...@labour.gov.za
Or
- Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA)
-
Occupational
Health and Safety Act (OHSA)
Enquiries can be sent to: Busisiw...@labour.gov.za / Tandisw...@labour.gov.za and applications can be emailed to: civilsociety.c...@labour.gov.za
A single application per organisation for each of the legislation is required.
Applicants must meet the following requirements: organisation must be registered with the Department of Social Development(DSD) in terms of NPO Act of 1997 and (Attach NPO certificate); have an active bank account; must have an existing office, send an audited financial statement for a previous project; must have knowledge and understanding of labour related matters and labour laws; must have knowledge and understanding of COIDA and OHSA; latest NPO compliance letter issued by DSD; and attach a valid letter of good standing for COIDA/OHSA proposals.
The closing date for submission of proposals is 20 February 2026 at 16:00.
For
media enquiries, please contact:
Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
082 697 0694/ teboho....@labour.gov.za
-ENDS-
Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour
COSATU mourns the passing of comrade Leon Levy
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 01 February 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) mourns the passing of comrade Leon Levy, a giant of the liberation struggle and the trade union movement. Comrade Leon lived a full life, one in which almost every waking moment of his impressive 96 years was spent in service of the working class, the trade union and liberation movement and in pursuit of a non-racial, democratic South Africa. We offer his family, friends and comrades our best wishes during this difficult time.
Leon and his identical twin, Norman, were pillars of the liberation movement led by the African National Congress and made their mark in countless ways across its different formations from a young age. Like many other families of Jewish refugees and immigrants fleeing the pogroms of Lithuania and Eastern Europe, the Levy children were raised with a deep abhorrence to antisemitism, racism and discrimination of any type.
From a young age the Levy twins became active in the cause for liberation with Leon joining the Jewish socialist movement, Hashomer Hatzair and the then Communist Party of South Africa at the young age of 17! The young twins soon found themselves in the Congress of Democrats, then a part of the Congress Alliance. Their activism saw them becoming key participants in the drafting of the Freedom Charter and the Congress of the People where it was adopted in Kliptown in 1995.
Leon was drawn to working-class struggles and at the age of 24 became a full-time trade unionist. Within two years he helped form the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU), COSATU’s predecessor and was elected its founding President. A position he served with distinction for nine transformational years for the trade union movement. It was in this capacity that he was one of the five signatories of the Freedom Charter which provides the values and vision for the Constitution of today’s democratic South Africa.
Shortly after marrying his life partner, Lorna, another indefatigable activist, Leon’s activism saw him become the first detainee without trial under the new 90 days law, albeit only being released after five months. The Levy twins were amongst the heroic Treason Trialists. With the banning of the liberation movement and their repeated detentions, the Levy activists went into exile in the United Kingdom where they continued to play an active role in the ANC, SACTU and the Anti-Apartheid Movement.
The Levy families returned to South Africa shortly after the 1994 democratic breakthrough. Leon at the young age of 70 decided to apply for and became a Commissioner at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) where he spent the next 19 years fulfilling his life passion of serving workers and defending their inalienable rights.
Norman passed away in 2021 and Lorna in November 2025. Leon and indeed Norman and Lorna, were a formidable force for good, in the liberation and trade union movements. They can rest knowing that they played their role with distinction and humility, never asking for anything except the opportunity to serve, never demanding anything but a better life for all. Today’s democracy is their legacy. It is one that South Africa’s current and future generations of leadership would do well to reflect upon and learn from.
The nation is indebted for their selfless contributions.
Hamba kahle comrade Leon Levy, qhawe lamaqhawe!
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
Safety and labour rights under threat at Armenia’s Akhtala mining plant
30 January, 2026
Miners at Akhtala Mining and Processing Plant CJSC, in Armenia, are facing serious occupational safety risks and labour rights violations, prompting calls for urgent government intervention as workers seek protection, fair wages and safe working conditions.
Workers at the plant report the absence of safe and healthy workplaces, alongside repeated breaches of technical safety rules
that expose them to high risks to life and health. According to employees, these conditions fall short of Armenian labour legislation and prevent workers from fully exercising their constitutional rights.
Article 82 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia guarantees every worker the right to healthy, safe and dignified working conditions, limits on working hours and access to rest and paid leave. Miners say these standards are not being respected at Akhtala
Mining and Processing Plant CJSC, where social guarantees are also reportedly lacking.
Concerns over unsafe working conditions have been compounded by a wage dispute. On 10 January 2026, miners submitted a request for a salary increase. After the employer failed to address the request, mining operations were suspended from 15 January, reflecting
workers’ growing frustration over both pay and safety.
On 22 January, 52 miners sought support from the Branch Union of Trade Union Organizations of Miners, Metallurgists and Jewellers of the Republic of Armenia (TUMMJRA an IndustriALL affiliate), requesting representation and protection of their social, economic
and professional rights.
Despite a written request from the union to engage in dialogue, management at Akhtala Mining and Processing Plant CJSC has reportedly failed to respond.
IndustriALL assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan, said:
“This case highlights a worrying disregard for workers’ safety, dignity and fundamental rights. Workers have the right to
safe workplaces and decent wages and when employers ignore these obligations, the authorities must act decisively to uphold the law and protect workers’ lives.”
IndustriALL is urging the Armenian authorities to carry out a comprehensive inspection of the plant to assess compliance with national labour and occupational safety legislation and to require the employer to immediately remedy any violations identified.
Without swift and effective action, IndustriALL warns, miners at Akhtala continue to face unacceptable risks to their health, safety and livelihoods.
____________________
WFTU expresses its condolences to the trade union movement in Argentina.
by WFTU HQ, 30 January 2026
The World Federation of Trade Unions expresses its sincere condolences to the trade union movement in Argentina for the passing of comrade Beto Pianelli. Beto Pianelli was the General Secretary of AGTSyP (Buenos Aires Metro Workers’ Union), a member of FUTAC and of the WFTU, and he also served on the national board of the CTA (Argentine Workers’ Central Union).
Comrade Beto was well known as a militant, active, and class-oriented trade unionist who, among other things, associated his name with relentless struggles and strikes for the recognition of metro workers and the satisfaction of their contemporary needs.
Our thoughts are with the family and colleagues of comrade Beto Pianelli, as well as with the militant trade union movement in Argentina, which, we are certain, will continue its struggle.
May he rest in peace.
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WFTU solidarity message with the International Day of Action for Ports
by WFTU HQ, 30 January 2026
The World Federation of Trade Unions, the militant voice of more than 105 million workers who live, work, and struggle in 134 countries across 5 continents, extends its solidarity to the dockworkers’ trade unions who are organizing an International Day of Action for ports on February 6th, 2026, under the slogan “Dockworkers Don’t Work for War”.
The war economy and military interventions devastate countries and their people, putting global peace at risk while eroding wages, rights, and health‑and‑safety protections, and worsening working conditions. Hence, the International Action Day opposes any complicity of port workers in the transport of weapons and war materials, and expresses strong opposition to the consequences of the war economy.
The WFTU supports the just struggle of the dockworkers’ unions for:
1. An immediate end to the genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel, with the open support of Israel’s allies, the USA, NATO, and the EU.
2. Blocking all arms shipments from their ports to the genocide in Palestine, as well as to any other war zones, and demanding a trade embargo on Israel by local governments and institutions.
3. The establishment of a stable humanitarian aid corridor.
4. The rejection of the EU’s Re-Arm initiative and an immediate end to the EU and European governments’ plans to militarize ports and strategic infrastructure.
5. Ensuring that European and Mediterranean ports remain places of peace, free from any involvement in war.
______________________________
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