Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 11 May 2026
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY COSATU Call Center Contacts: 010 002 2590 #ClassSolidarity#ClassWar #Cosatu40 #SACTU70 #ClassStruggle “Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism” #Back2Basics #JoinCOSATUNow #ClassConsciousness |
Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin
‘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
11 May 2026
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- SACCAWU will defend the 22 000 Pick n Pay employees’ imminent retrenchment with its might
- SAMWU condemns collapsing service delivery and rejects the dis-establishment of Mapwater
- SALGA urges public to submit comments on revised draft White Paper on Local Government
- South Africa
- COSATU Calls for Urgent Intervention at the Compensation Fund
- South African Communist Party Statement on Constitutional Court judgment
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- 2026 World Education Support Personnel Day
- Asia Pacific unions tackle low wages in the garment sector
- Unions to G7: Your trade agenda needs workers’ rights to succeed
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics #ClassWar
SACCAWU will defend the 22 000 Pick n Pay employees’ imminent retrenchment with its might
Sithembele Tshwete, SACCAWU National Spokesperson, 11 May 2026
The South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU) express its strong condemnation for the unfolding threat to the job security and negotiated working conditions of approximately 22 000 Pick n Pay employees, just three (3) days after they celebrated May Day.
The company’s threat of job losses or an acceptance of the down variation of their working conditions, with the aim of reducing the company’s Non-Management Bargaining Unit (NMBU) wage bill.
The Section 189A CCMA notices issued to employees effectively give them two undesirable choices, one is to accept retrenchments, or as an alternative to retrenchments, to accept the downward variation of their negotiated conditions of employment, which includes their agreement to cancel all their collective agreements on workers’ rights and protections.
Sean Summers’ decision to refer a dispute to the CCMA, before their proposals were tabled to SACCAWU is indicative of the bad faith with which they are embarking on this process.
Abusing the CCMA’s resources before SACCAWU had had sight of their proposals should be condemned in the strongest terms.
However, when one looks at the sweeping changes Pick n Pay is seeking to bring about, one can understand why they opted to bypass established internal processes.
Among the far-reaching changes Pick n Pay seeks to introduce is –
• Reducing working hours from 196 hours per month to 176 hours (this is equivalent to a R2000 reduction in wages per employee)
• Doing away with transport for employees who work late shifts that fall outside normal public transport schedules, and those who work a night shift.
• Withdrawing the negotiated 13th cheque for Non-Management Bargaining Unit.
• Scrapping the legislated 1,5% Sunday Pay, by treating Sunday as a normal working day.
• Doing away with benefits negotiated for Variable Time Employees (Part-timers).
• Doing away with the Flexibility and Multi-Skilling Agreement which was intended to create a more multi-skilled and flexible workforce.
Pick n Pay’s decision to refer a S189A dispute to the CCMA, rather than table its proposals at the established internal National Negotiating Committee are indicative of its attempts to unilaterally change working conditions and to restructure its Non-Management Bargaining Unit wage bill. While Pick n Pay singles out the employees’ working conditions in the NMBU, they conveniently do not show how much, as a percentage of the company’s wage bill is allocated towards its Executives and Management structure.
It must be noted that Pick n Pay’s desperate strategy to attack the gains made by its workers will have the unintended consequences of deepening the economic crisis families of workers are already faces.
Pick n Pay Management are hellbent on ringfencing their own high salaries and benefits, while deepening the levels of poverty, unemployment, inequality, and economic hardship through its large-scale retrenchment.
Furthermore, its restructuring and retrenchment strategy is a direct attack on SACCAWU, as the majority trade union representative of its Non-Management Bargaining Unit, and the rights of trade unions to negotiate improvements in the working conditions and benefits for workers.
Workers cannot continue to bear the burden of corporate restructuring and business challenges, while executives and shareholders are protected.
Pick n Pay is disingenuous by laying the blame or the company’s financial and operational difficulties at the feet of its employees, and their purported high salaries, out of sync working conditions, and lack of flexibility.
The express purpose for agreeing a 60% Variable Time and 40% Full Time employment ratio was to ensure the company has a more flexible workforce.
Pick n PAY also neglects to admit that its previous two CEO appointments have driven the company from a status of healthy profitability and market share into the shell of its former glory it is experiencing. Indicative of this is the wastage the company has suffered through Peter Boone, its former CEO’s QualiSave strategy, which was undone by Sean Summers immediately upon his appointment.
SACCAWU members and workers in general within Pick n Pay have continued to demonstrate commitment, loyalty, and resilience to grow the profitability of the company, even under extremely difficult working conditions, spearheaded by a regressive and oppressive workplace culture.
It is SACCAWU’s view that invoking Section 189 or 189(A) undermines any form of effective consultation and/or collective bargaining between the impacted parties and further undermines any effort to find amicable solution.
A dispute referred for a CCMA facilitated processes will prove to be nothing more than a simple tick-box exercise, which will not yield any meaningful solutions to a complex set of issues that represents matters of principle for both parties.
Given the employment relations crisis that Pick n Pay’s proposed threat of large-scale restructuring and retrenchments brings, the Ministry of Department of Employment and Labour must employ different intervention in this instance to urgently to safeguard jobs and ensure compliance with labour laws, and adherence collective agreements and fair consultation process.
Without venturing into discrediting the CCMA’s processes, experience has shown that facilitated processes relies on the willingness of parties to a dispute to find amicable solutions, as none can be imposed on the parties.
The CCMA tend to tolerate Pick n Pay’s abuse of S189 referrals directly to it, without any attempts to address and/or resolve these matters internally first.
SACCAWU, as part of our historic mission and commitment strive to defend members and workers’ rights, protecting jobs, and ensuring that workers are treated with dignity and fairly. We will oppose any attempt to unfairly and/or unlawful downward vary or retrench workers and will mobilize all organizational and legal mechanisms to protect our members and all affected employees.
If further provoked we are organizationally ready to mobilize and campaign to rally our members and communities to unleash industrial and mass action in defence of our members, their families, collective agreements, workers’ rights and our country’s economy from vultures seeking to devour human progress and developmental imperative aimed to deliver better life for workers.
Like dry land thirst for water, our country needs jobs security, hope, decent work, not job losses, uncertainty and growing numbers in the army or reservoir of unemployed.
Issued by SACCAWU Secretariat
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SAMWU condemns collapsing service delivery and rejects the dis-establishment of Mapwater
Hopolang Lebuso, SAMWU Thabo Mofutsanyana Region Regional Secretary, 11 May 2026
Following the SAMWU-led MAP Water march held last Friday at the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Maluti-a-Phofung Region its deep concern regarding the continued collapse of basic services and the municipality’s reckless pursuit of the dis-establishment of MAP Water.
Workers and community members who participated in the march once again witnessed the deepening crisis confronting the municipality, including persistent electricity disruptions, collapsing infrastructure, water shortages, sewage spillages, deteriorating roads, refuse removal failures, and worsening administrative instability.
These failures continue to undermine the dignity and livelihoods of residents across Maluti-a-Phofung and expose the municipality’s inability to fulfil its constitutional obligations to communities.
It is therefore both alarming and irrational that a municipality which has demonstrably failed to effectively manage its existing responsibilities now seeks to absorb MAP Water into an already dysfunctional administration.
The continued pursuit of this process raises serious questions regarding the municipality’s institutional capacity, governance integrity, and the true intentions behind the proposed dis-establishment of MAP Water.
For years, communities in QwaQwa, Harrismith, Kestell and surrounding areas have endured unreliable water supply despite billions of rand having been spent on water infrastructure projects.
Entire communities continue to depend on water tankers and boreholes while ageing infrastructure remains neglected and water losses through leakages remain unresolved. At the same time, the municipality’s escalating debt to Eskom continues to cripple service delivery and threaten economic activity in the region.
SAMWU is further deeply concerned by the decision allegedly taken by the Municipal Council on Friday to second the Municipal Manager to act as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MAP Water in the absence of a duly constituted Board of Directors.
The Union believes that this decision raises serious legal, governance and constitutional concerns, particularly in relation to compliance with the Municipal Systems Act, the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), principles of good governance, and the statutory separation between a parent municipality and its municipal entities.
MAP Water is a municipal entity established in terms of legislation and cannot simply be treated as an extension of the municipality’s political and administrative machinery. The decision to place the Municipal Manager — who already serves as the accounting officer and administrative head of the municipality — into the position of Acting CEO of MAP Water fundamentally undermines principles of accountability, oversight, institutional independence and governance separation.
SAMWU believes that this arrangement creates a serious conflict of interest and potentially exposes both the municipality and MAP Water to significant governance and financial risks, particularly in relation to procurement oversight, financial accountability, reporting lines, operational independence, and compliance with the MFMA and Municipal Systems Act.
The Union is particularly disturbed that such a far-reaching decision appears to have been taken in the absence of transparency, meaningful stakeholder consultation, and legal certainty regarding the applicable legislative framework.
The municipality itself has consistently failed to fill critical and mandatory senior management positions, including the Director: Corporate Services, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Director: Public Safety, Director: Housing, Director: Sports and Recreation, Director: Community Services, and several other strategic and compliance-critical posts. Similarly, within MAP Water, key strategic vacancies remain unfilled, including the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Executive Manager: Operations, and Executive Manager: Corporate Services.
These are mandatory positions which should have been filled urgently in line with National Treasury regulations, Auditor-General recommendations, and sound governance principles.
The failure to appoint competent leadership lies squarely with the Municipal Council and Municipal Manager, who have failed in their oversight responsibilities while simultaneously attempting to portray MAP Water as a liability.
SAMWU further wishes to place on record that the municipality owes the water entity millions of rand while deliberately failing to adequately resource and financially support the very institution tasked with providing clean and potable water to the people of Maluti-a-Phofung. It is therefore disingenuous for the municipality to manufacture a narrative that MAP Water is solely responsible for the water crisis while the parent municipality itself has directly contributed to the entity’s financial distress through neglect, political interference, and chronic underfunding.
The Union also condemns the wasteful use of public funds on external legal services through Phambane Attorneys and Consultants for processes regulated in terms of Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act, read together with Sections 76–80 of the Municipal Systems Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act.
This is despite the municipality already employing internal legal personnel, including two advocates, two lawyers, as well as fully established Human Resources and Corporate Services departments capable of handling these matters internally.
Even more concerning is the apparent lack of legal and procedural certainty within the municipality itself regarding whether the process constitutes Section 189 retrenchments, Section 197 transfers, Section 197A transfers relating to restructuring, liquidation, or transfer of employees as a going concern. Such confusion exposes workers to unacceptable levels of uncertainty and demonstrates the municipality’s reckless approach to a matter with profound implications for labour rights, water security, and public service delivery.
SAMWU strongly condemns the exclusion of MAP Water management and other relevant stakeholders from due diligence processes, despite legislative requirements for transparency, consultation, and procedural fairness.
The Union believes that dismantling MAP Water without first addressing the municipality’s broader governance failures, corruption, political instability, financial mismanagement, and administrative collapse will only deepen the humanitarian and service delivery crisis already confronting residents.
Workers cannot be sacrificed to conceal governance failures. Communities cannot continue paying the price for political expediency, corruption, and reckless administrative decisions.
SAMWU therefore calls upon the Free State Provincial Government, National COGTA, National Treasury, the Department of Water and Sanitation, SALGA, and all relevant oversight institutions to urgently intervene before irreversible damage is inflicted on water services, workers’ job security, and public confidence in local government institutions.
The Union further calls for the immediate release of:
· the Council resolution relating to the secondment of the Municipal Manager;
· all legal opinions relied upon;
· governance and due diligence reports; and
· the legislative basis upon which such decisions are being implemented.
The people of Maluti-a-Phofung deserve accountable leadership, stable governance, and sustainable public services — not political experiments that threaten to collapse one of the last remaining functional service entities within the municipality.
SAMWU remains resolute in defending workers, protecting quality public services, and ensuring that all decisions affecting the people of Maluti-a-Phofung are transparent, lawful, and in the best interests of the community.
Issued by SAMWU Thabo Mofutsanyana Region
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DENOSA Mpumalanga and Department of Health to celebrate nurses at International Nurses Day event in Secunda on 12 May 2026.
Cyril Mdhluli, DENOSA Mpumalanga Provincial Secretary, 11 May 2026
MBOMBELA – As the World will be observing 12 May as the International Nurses Day (IND), DENOSA Mpumalanga and the provincial Department of Health will be celebrating and recognising the excellent work of the nurses in the province with the provincial event that will be held at Lillian Ngoyi Hall in Secunda on Tuesday, 12 May 2026.
This year’s International Nurses Day is held under the theme: "Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives."
The theme calls on governments and other employers to address the many barriers in nursing so that the life-saving impact of nursing can be realised and benefit both the country and its communities.
The event will also be held to honour the 2025 Best Nurses in the province, who won the awards for best patient care, best nurse educator, and the best nurse with leadership skills. They were awarded with the Marilyn Lahana Caring Award; the Cecilia Makiwane Award for Education and Training; and Albertina Sisulu Leadership Award respectively.
Representatives from the office of the MEC as well as the Nursing Directorate in the Province will all join DENOSA 2nd Deputy President, Linah Jiyane, who will deliver the key IND message from the International Council of Nurses (ICN), which is the custodian of the IND celebrations globally (DENOSA is affiliated to ICN as the National Nursing Association).
Members of the media are cordially invited to the event and report.
The many barriers to excellent nursing:
As a matter of context, both the province and the country experience ongoing challenges in the healthcare sector, which affects the nurses greatly.
These include:
- Severe staff shortages;
- Low production of nurses by the colleges and universities;
- Poor remuneration;
- Lack of safety in the workplace;
- Few continuous professional development opportunities;
- Few opportunities at leadership roles;
- Fewer opportunities for the nursing voice to be heard; and
- Poor psychosocial support for the nursing workforce.
The details of the event are as follows:
DATE: Tuesday, 12 May 2026.
TIME: 10h00
VENUE: Lillian Ngoyi Hall, Secunda.
MEDIA CONTACT: Cyril Mdhluli, Provincial Secretary.
MOBILE: 072 089 4839
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SALGA urges public to submit comments on revised draft White Paper on Local Government
10 May 2026
The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) calls on the public to actively participate in the process of redefining the next phase of local governance by submitting inputs into the Reviewed Draft White Paper on Local Government.
This call follows the publishing of the draft document for public comment by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr. Velenkosini Hlabisa, on 7 May 2026, giving stakeholders three-weeks, until 28 May, to submit their views.
SALGA, with the support of the Dullah Omar Institute at the University of the Western Cape, submitted comprehensive proposals to shape the review. The Association is encouraged that a significant number of its proposals have been incorporated in the gazetted draft.
Key SALGA proposals reflected in the draft White Paper include:
Fit-for-purpose municipal structures – by advocating for the simplification of local government structures, retaining district municipalities mainly in areas with limited capacity and strengthening metropolitan and urban municipalities.
Differentiated powers and functions – moving away from a one-size-fits-all model to a system that assigns powers based on municipal capacity, performance and local developmental needs.
Strengthening governance and accountability – through clear role definition between councillors and administration, improved enforcement of ethical standards, and strengthened oversight mechanisms.
Professionalisation of municipal administration – by prioritising competency-based recruitment, reducing political interference, and strengthening performance management systems.
Enhanced community participation and partnerships – by revitalising ward committees, improving transparency, and promoting meaningful engagement with communities and stakeholders.
Improved fiscal sustainability – reinforcing the principle that “funding follows functions”, protecting municipal revenue sources, and strengthening financial management systems.
“We support the reviewing the 1998 White Paper on Local Government, which has served South Africa for nearly three decades. While the current system of local government has laid a solid foundation and delivered important gains, it has not consistently worked as intended.
“Our focus during this review period has, therefore, been on practical, implementable reforms to build on existing strengths while addressing persistent challenges. SALGA’s proposals are designed to transform the system without losing the gains already achieved and to usher in a new era of effective, responsive and accountable local governance,” explains Bheke Stofile, SALGA President.
Stofile emphasised on the importance of members of the public, civil society organisations, state institutions, traditional leadership structures, business formations, labour, and all interested stakeholders participating in this “defining and historical process which will determine the kind of local governance communities experience in the next decades”.
Stakeholders can submit their comments through the following channels:
Submissions may be sent via email to: WPL...@cogta.gov.za; Rich...@cogta.gov.za; Maph...@cogta.gov.za.
Alternatively, submissions may be sent by posted to: The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Attention: Mr. Thabiso Richard Plank (White Paper Review), Private Bag X802, Pretoria 0001
Submissions can also be delivered in person to: The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Attention: Mr. Thabiso Richard Plank (White Paper Review), 87 Hamilton Street, Arcadia, Pretoria 0001
SALGA reiterates its commitment to working with government, municipalities and stakeholders to ensure that the final White Paper delivers a capable, developmental and citizen-centred local government system.
Enquiries:
Motalatale Modiba
Cell: 072 515 3022
E-mail: mmo...@salga.org.za
Tebogo
Mosala
Cell: 084 666 7699
E-mail: tmo...@salga.org.za
Issued by South African Local Government Association
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Countdown to Conference of The Left
Building a Left Movement for Working-Class & Popular Power
A historic convergence of South Africa's left and popular forces
Venue: Birchwood Hotel, Boksburg
Date: 29-31 May 2026
https://www.leftconferencesa.co.za/#concept
THE CONCEPT
Concept for the Conference of the Left | Issued by the Steering Committee
1. PURPOSE
This concept provides the political basis for the Conference of the Left. Its goal is not dialogue for its own sake but the active strengthening of organised social power to confront and dismantle racial, patriarchal, and class domination. Transformation is not delivered — it is won through organised struggle.
The document proposes no new political party and imposes no ideological uniformity. It is a working concept for coordinated action across diverse Left formations. South Africa's historically plural Left must convert its diversity from a source of fragmentation into a basis for unity — converging on the decisive questions of ownership, power, and structural transformation. The conference belongs to no single organisation; its authority derives from the full breadth of Left and popular forces that own it.
2. SUMMARY
South Africa is in deep structural crisis. Inequality is widening, real wages are falling, household debt is rising, and access to food, energy, transport, and housing grows more precarious each year. The democratic gains of 1994 were real and must be defended — but without transforming ownership and productive capacity they remain vulnerable. Capital did not accept defeat in 1994; it adjusted and reasserted dominance.
Economic policy is now shaped by financial capital, not social need. Meanwhile, reactionary forces exploit mass insecurity while protecting the very system causing it. Neither neoliberalism nor reaction offers a way out. Only organised confrontation with the structures of economic power — and the rebuilding of a capable Left — can resolve this crisis.
"The measure of this conference is not its Declaration — it is whether participating formations are stronger and more coordinated six and twelve months from now."
https://www.leftconferencesa.co.za/#hero
South Africa #ClassSolidarity
COSATU Calls for Urgent Intervention at the Compensation Fund
Zanele Sabela, COSATU Spokesperson, 11 May 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is deeply concerned by the worsening crisis at the Compensation Fund (CF), a critical social security entity entrusted with compensating workers for injuries, diseases and death while on duty.
COSATU notes with concern the recent damning findings by the Supreme Court regarding the state of the Compensation Fund and supports the court’s call for an urgent and independent probe into its affairs. The court’s findings confirm what workers, unions, employers and the public have long experienced - the Compensation Fund is in deep distress and failing in its mandate.
Last year the Auditor-General confirmed that the Fund had received disclaimer audit opinions for 12 consecutive years. Historical audit failures continue to haunt the institution, with missing and incomplete documents making it impossible for the Fund to fully account for public monies or verify the revenue it generates due to poor data and record management systems.
Equally alarming is the apparent absence of consequence management despite repeated failures to address audit findings and governance shortcomings. Reports presented before the Board have highlighted widespread fraudulent activities within the Fund, with many allegations pointing to internal wrongdoing involving employees. COSATU is deeply disturbed that despite the seriousness of these allegations, there haven’t been any attempts at holding the culprits accountable - criminally or otherwise.
The Federation is also concerned about the severe capacity challenges facing the Compensation Fund. Critical management and technical positions remain vacant or occupied in acting capacities for years on end. Key vacancies in audit coordination, financial misconduct investigations, ICT assurance and data governance continue to undermine the institution’s ability to function effectively. Skilled managers are reportedly leaving due to salary concerns and deteriorating working conditions, further weakening the Fund’s capacity.
Workers continue to bear the brunt of these failures through unacceptable delays in the processing and payment of claims. Thousands of injured workers are forced to wait for benefits because of administrative failures, rejected payments and system inefficiencies linked to outdated and vulnerable IT infrastructure. The Fund’s systems are reportedly often offline at labour centres and on online platforms, creating long queues, frustration and hardship for workers seeking assistance.
COSATU is further alarmed by reports regarding the unsafe state of Delta Heights building, which houses the Compensation Fund. Despite millions reportedly being spent on renovations and refurbishment, the building remains unfit for occupation by workers and the public, with ongoing structural concerns. The Federation calls for full transparency and accountability regarding this property.
The current governance model of the Compensation Fund is inadequate. COSATU believes the Compensation Fund Board must be empowered with meaningful authority instead of remaining merely advisory. The long-delayed amendments to the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) must be finalised to strengthen governance, accountability and oversight.
The Federation also supports calls for the Compensation Fund to be unbundled from the Department of Employment and Labour and restructured into an independent entity with the necessary autonomy and operational capacity. Such reforms are necessary to improve governance, strengthen accountability, modernise systems, combat fraud and ensure efficient service delivery to workers and employers.
COSATU calls upon the Minister of Employment and Labour, Ms. Nomakhosazana Meth, to urgently intervene to stabilise the Compensation Fund, implement the recommendations of the courts and the Auditor-General, root out corruption and restore the institution to full functionality.
Workers deserve a Compensation Fund that is efficient and capable of compensating workers and their families timeously when they injured, fall ill or die at work.
Issued by COSATU
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South African Communist Party Statement on Constitutional Court judgment
Mbulelo Mandlana, SACP Head of Media, Communications and Information, 9 May 2026
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has noted the Constitutional Court’s judgment on the application to declare unconstitutional the 2022 parliamentary vote on an impeachment motion relating to the now well-publicised Phala Phala scandal. As the SACP, we respect the authority of the court, respect its decision and thus welcome the judgment.
All structures of the state are bound by decisions of the courts, and these include the National Assembly as a body that was at the centre of this application. It follows, therefore, that parliament is expected to abide by the decision of the court and follow all the instructions contained therein with the aim to fulfil its obligations. As the SACP, we urge parliament to carefully consider the implications of the judgment for its operations and how it applies relevant laws to fulfil its mandate.
Given the fact that parliament is the primary law-making body in our system, it is notable and concerning that there have been a handful of Constitutional Court decisions that have placed parliament on the wrong side of the law in terms of both its processes and decisions. If the Republic cannot count on Parliament to be the best performing institution in upholding the laws, it means our system is in precarious waters. While we recognise the separation of powers between the branches of government, we also must hold parliament to a much higher standard of accountability regarding interpretation and application of the law.
It is our position that all actions of parliament following this court decision should be based on strict compliance with the letter and spirit of the law related to this question as well as the stipulations of this Constitutional Court decision. Any action to the contrary risks bringing into disrepute the totality of our government system and putting in doubt the legitimacy of its attendant institutions.
While we accept this judgment and canvass the principle to uphold the Constitution, we also condemn the DA’s opportunism and hypocrisy regarding this case. The DA’s continued participation in the GNU and its apparent condemnation of Phala Phala reflect a crisis of conscience for them. The opportunism manifested by this posture spells out their longstanding crisis of inconsistency: to pose on one side as law-abiding liberals and continue seeking power and positions even in conditions that contradict their supposed law-abiding principles on the other. The best manner to express their displeasure and alignment with those that criticise the Phala Phala scandal following this case is a total withdrawal from the GNU. However, we all know that the DA will not do that because it doesn’t stand on any real principle but seeks to position itself for parliamentary advantage.
We call on all lawmakers to take appropriate steps to defend our legal system and the regime of justice it seeks to preserve. All actions of political actors in parliament must be in line with this agenda.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY,
FOUNDED IN 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA.
Media, Communications & Information Department | MCID
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International-Solidarity
2026 World Education Support Personnel Day
“Unions Unite for Gender Justice”
Standards and working conditions Education support personnel, 8 May 2026
World Education Support Personnel (ESP) Day is an opportunity for education unions to celebrate, thank, and organise alongside ESP. World Education Support Personnel Day was established in 2018 when the first global ESP conference resolved to recognise and celebrate a yearly international day on 16 May.
In 2026 we are focusing on gender justice. This reflects a structural reality across education systems worldwide: education support roles are highly feminised, systematically undervalued, and too often characterised by low pay, insecurity, and excessive workloads. They are also the targets of harassment and violence.
This gender injustice is not accidental—it is produced by austerity, privatisation, sexist labour markets, and the historic devaluation of care and support work:
- Work that is feminised is underpaid and underprotected.
- Insecure contracts and outsourcing disproportionately impact women.
- Gender-based violence and harassment are present in education workplaces.
- Racialised, Indigenous, migrant, disabled, and LGBTI+ women ESP face compounded discrimination.
Fighting for ESP rights is therefore a core feminist and trade union struggle.
Education International policy on Education Support Personnel (ESP)
Education support personnel are essential to quality public education and to safe, inclusive learning environments. Their work must be fully recognised and properly valued. Education International policy is clear: ESP must enjoy the same rights, status, pay, and working conditions as other education personnel with comparable qualifications and experience, as set out in the EI Declaration on the Rights and Status of ESP.
This Declaration also affirms that all aspects of ESP preparation, employment, and remuneration must be free from discrimination. However, unions consistently report that discrimination remains widespread. Women ESP — particularly those who are non‑white, Indigenous, LGBTI+, or living with disabilities — face unequal pay, insecure work, limited career progression, and exclusion from decision-making in education systems.
As recognised in the Aveiro Statement, education unions are key to organising for workplaces that are free from violence, harassment, and intimidation and for quality working conditions necessary for gender equality. The statement also calls for increased domestic and international public education financing and specific funding for education support personnel, to ensure regular salaries and fair working conditions.
Unions also play an essential role in defending the well-being of ESP. The EI World Congress Resolution 2024 on Teacher and ESP Well-being highlights the unmanageable workloads and demands that negatively impact the work‑life balance of ESP. These pressures disproportionately affect women due to unequal care responsibilities at work and at home. These challenges are further intensified by the growing use of artificial intelligence in education, often introduced without consultation, safeguards, or concern for workers’ rights.
Gender justice for ESP will not happen without organising. It requires strong unions, collective bargaining, and sustained action to secure fair pay, safe workplaces, manageable workloads, and full respect for the rights and dignity of all education support personnel.
Join us to mark World ESP Day!
Join us online for “ESP Day 2026: Unions Unite for Gender Justice” on 13 May 2026, 14:00-15:30 Brussels time. A key outcome of this meeting will be a message document on ESP and gender justice to inform our ESP representatives to the EI World Women’s Conference — ‘Rising united for gender justice: educating the world, leading change, fighting for democracy’. We will also hear from EI president Mugwena Maluleke and members from around the world.
Please register to attend the meeting and share the invitation with your colleagues.
Hashtags: #ESPDay #ProudToBe
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Asia Pacific unions tackle low wages in the garment sector
7 May, 2026
Asia Pacific is the engine of global garment and textile production and home to some of its most exploited workers. The region accounts for around 60 per cent of global exports of garments, textiles and footwear and employs more than 40 million workers. Yet for the workers stitching the clothes that fill the shelves of global brands, wages have remained structurally low.
Despite real wage increases in many economies, working conditions have remained poor and characterized by widespread informality and vulnerability. Trade union representatives from across the region met in Penang, Malaysia this week for a two-day workshop on wage setting mechanisms, organized by IndustriALL Global Union and Japanese affiliate UA Zensen. The workshop brought together affiliates to share strategies and build collective capacity to tackle low wages in the sector.
Participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam shared experiences and strategies on wage setting mechanisms, collective bargaining and organizing. Drawing on examples from across the region, the workshop aimed to strengthen their collective capacity to win better wages for garment workers.
Setting the scene: the ILO perspective
Wage policy is the framework through which governments, employers and workers collectively shape wage outcomes. When it functions as a coherent system, it can make an enormous difference. Across Asia, that coherence is often missing. The region has more than 5,000 minimum wage rates; only India has more than 2,000. Yet in countries like Pakistan, one in four workers does not receive even the minimum wage to which they are legally entitled. Informal workers across the region earn roughly half of what formal workers earn.
ILO senior wage expert Xavier Estupinan stressed that setting a minimum wage is only the first step. The real question is whether it is adequate, regularly reviewed, effectively enforced and supported by strong social dialogue.
The ILO’s living wage programme builds on this foundation by bringing together governments, employers and workers to advance effective living wage policies and practices. It rests on two complementary pillars: first, the estimation of living wages and the development of a global wage data hub; and second, the operationalization of living wages in practice, including through technical assistance to countries and sectors ready to act.
IndustriALL’s gender director Armelle Seby warned that wage-setting systems can entrench inequality by institutionalizing the undervaluation of women’s work. Pay transparency and gender-neutral job evaluation are key tools to ensure gender-transformative wage systems. A gender-transformative approach is not an add-on. It must be built into the design of wage policies from the outset, based on gender analysis. Without this, minimum wage frameworks risk replicating, or even widening, the gender pay gap already prevalent in the sector.
The ACT agreement and collective bargaining in practice
The ACT initiative and its work on supply chain industrial relations was presented and discussed. Cambodian affiliates shared their experiences on renegotiating the template CBA, which will be valid for the next three years. They also presented their work on increasing the number of factories signing the agreement.
Wage setting in Japan: lessons from UA Zensen
The workshop also heard from UA Zensen on wage setting in Japan. Union density is shrinking, nearly all unions are company-based and women account for fewer than 30 per cent of union members. Since 2022, the annual Shunto spring wage offensive has delivered general wage increases of around five per cent. However, structural challenges remain. UA Zensen has focused on strengthening bargaining power through leadership training and frameworks for joint action, targeting legislative reform and industry-specific fair labour standards.
“Wages in the garment sector have been kept artificially low for too long. This workshop is about building the union power and knowledge to change that. Because without strong unions at the bargaining table, workers will continue to bear the cost,”
said IndustriALL textile and garment director Christina Hajagos-Clausen.
The regional meeting of IndustriALL’s TGSL network opened the week, before delegates moved into the wage setting workshop. Affiliates from across Asia Pacific came together to share updates and coordinate priorities for the sector.
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Unions to G7: Your trade agenda needs workers’ rights to succeed
7 May 2026
The Labour 7 (L7), representing trade unions across G7 countries and at European level, has warned that the objectives of the French presidency of "addressing global imbalances" cannot be achieved without putting democratic labour rights and green jobs at the core of a new trade model.
The L7 is calling on G7 Trade Ministers meeting in Paris on 6 May to adopt a G7 Action Plan on “Trade and Decent Jobs.”
The communiqué, issued after months marked by geopolitical shifts, trade disruptions and tariff wars, argues that these persistent trade imbalances reflect structural characteristics in both surplus and deficit economies, with workers paying the price on all sides.
The L7 calls on G7 members to require the effective implementation of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the core conventions of the ILO as a condition for market access, and to ensure the enforcement of responsible business conduct through other key instruments such as the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises for Responsible Business Conduct.
Veronica Nilsson, TUAC General Secretary, said: “When wages fail to keep pace with productivity in order to boost export competitiveness and profits, workers on all sides of the equation pay the price. The G7 must use this moment to put enforceable labour standards and collective bargaining at the heart of trade policy – not as an afterthought.”
Luc Triangle, ITUC General Secretary, added: "Against the backdrop of escalating tariff wars, it is more urgent than ever to address the root causes of trade imbalances. G7 Trade Ministers must act: no market access or tariff liberalisation without the effective implementation of fundamental principles, democratic trade union rights at work and ILO core conventions."
The full communiqué is available here.
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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