Taking COSATU Today Forward, 29 January 2025
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #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
29 January 2025
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- COSATU to march in solidarity with SAMATU to the National Treasury offices in Pretoria on Friday
- Minister Enoch Godongwana invites 2025 budget tips
- South Africa
- COSATU condemns torching of Putco buses
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Is our obsession with economic growth fuelling a global mental health crisis?
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
COSATU to march in solidarity with SAMATU to the National Treasury offices in Pretoria on Friday
Zanele Sabela, COSATU National Spokesperson, 28 January 2025
The Congress of the South African Trade Unions(COSATU) will march alongside its affiliate, the South African Medical Association Trade Union(SAMATU) to seek urgent action from the National Treasury in Pretoria. The union demands government’s intervention in the health sector which includes the plight of unemployed medical doctors, shortage of staff and the improvement of the infrastructure and security at healthcare facilities.
COSATU stands in support of SAMATU in its sharp disapproval of National Treasury’s ill conceived reduced spending and budget cuts in crucial departments. Austerity in departments such as health have dire consequences that adversely affect the public and the quality of services.
The march will take place as follows:
Date: Friday, 31 January 2025
Gathering Point: Union Buildings( The Triangle)
Destination: National Treasury, 40 Church Square
Time: 10am
Issued by COSATU
Zanele Sabela (National Spokesperson)
Mobile: 079 287 5788
Email: zan...@cosatu.org.za
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Minister Enoch Godongwana invites 2025 budget tips
28 Jan 2025
2025 budget tips – Make your voice heard
The
Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana, invites South Africans to share their suggestions on the Budget.
Minister Godongwana will deliver the National Budget Speech in February 2025. The budget allocation aims to strike a balance between growing the economy and supporting the vulnerable amid limited resources. People may submit views on:
government spending priorities
addressing a large budget deficit
stabilising State-Owned Entity finances
energy funding solutions
tax revenues
debt sustainability
municipal finances
any other economy-related topics
Minister
Godongwana looks forward to your contributions.
Submissions can be sent to the National Treasury using this link: 2025
Budget Tips.
Please keep contributions concise and to the point, not longer than 300 words.
Tag us on our social media accounts using the hashtag #TipsForMinFin and #Budget2025:
X - Treasury_RSA
LinkedIn - National Treasury RSA
Tik Tok - @TreasuryRSA
Facebook - National Treasury RSA
Closing date for submissions: 10 February 2025
Issued by National Treasury
COSATU condemns torching of Putco buses
Zanele Sabela, COSATU National Spokesperson, 28 January 2024
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) condemns in the strongest terms the burning of 51 Putco buses in Mpumalanga overnight.
In what appears to have been a well-orchestrated attack, assailants descended on four Putco bus depots, ambushed security and set a total of 51 buses alight. Two workers were injured in the attack, one was shot in the leg, and the other was hit with a chair on the head.
COSATU wishes the workers a speedy recovery and calls on Putco to ensure they receive the best care possible.
The intent of this attack might have been to cripple Putco’s operation in the province, but the people that will bear the brunt are the working class and poor who use these buses for their daily commute. A modest estimate puts the number of commuters that will be affected by this callous act at 3,000. Most of these passengers will have bought monthly tickets but will now be forced to scramble for alternate transport, which is very unfortunate.
This brazen act of shameful criminality threatens the livelihood of Putco’s employees and their families’ wellbeing. It is critical that the employer engage with workers and their union, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), to ensure that no jobs or salaries are affected by this criminal sabotage. If needed, the company should engage with the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration for relief under the Temporary Employee Relief Scheme as Putco sees how it can replace its destroyed bus fleet. It must expedite its insurance claims and put in place temporary measures to ensure the local economy and commuters are not left stranded.
The Federation calls on law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned to apprehend these criminals and ensure they face the full might of the law. It is time such criminals are dealt with decisively by the police and the judiciary.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
Is our obsession with economic growth fuelling a global mental health crisis?
23 January 2025
In a 2024 report titled The Burnout Economy: Poverty and Mental Health, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Olivier De Schutter highlights a problem that is often ignored: our capitalist societies, obsessed with economic growth, are facing a global mental health crisis. This crisis disproportionately impacts the most disadvantaged, revealing the flaws of an economic model that prioritises financial metrics over human well-being.
What are the harmful effects of the relentless pursuit of economic growth?
Since the industrial revolution, economic growth has been viewed as an essential driver of progress. Governments, businesses and international institutions have adopted policies that prioritise GDP growth, often at the expense of social and environmental considerations.
But this pervasive goal comes at a human cost. Fierce competition, long working hours and economic instability create conditions that fuel anxiety, depression and other mental disorders. In OECD member countries, between a third and a half of new disability claims are linked to mental health. Among young adults, this proportion is estimated at over 70 per cent, according to the report.
Why are people on low incomes more vulnerable to mental health issues?
The link between poverty and mental health is well established. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), while 970 million people (11 per cent of the global population) suffer from mental disorders, “those on lower incomes are up to three times more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and other common mental illnesses than those with the highest incomes”. People living in extreme poverty are exposed to chronic stressors due to a lack of financial security, limited access to mental health services and social stigma.
Is the burnout epidemic among white-collar workers also a product of this economic system?
The relentless drive for productivity, combined with a growing disconnect between the work being done and its purpose, is fuelling a sense of emptiness and exhaustion. Long hours, often unattainable goals and stressful work environments create a fertile breeding ground for burnout. This pressure is not only felt in large corporations; even small businesses and self-employed workers are trapped by the demands of an economic system that prioritises performance at any cost, to the detriment of individual well-being. Regarding work-related mental health, the WHO reports that only 35 per cent of countries report having national promotion and prevention programmes for workers.
How can we realign our economic goals to prioritise well-being?
Economists and policymakers should embrace models that prioritise well-being, such as Gross National Happiness (GNH) indicators (inspired by Bhutan), along with strengthened social protection policies, including universal access to mental health care. The UN estimates that, on average, governments allocate just 2.1 per cent of their health spending to mental health.
The very structure of our economy needs to be reimagined, with people placed back at the centre. The UN report details how shifts in working conditions and policies aimed at ‘flexibilising’ labour have significantly contributed to the mental health crisis among low-income workers. These changes have led to fewer long-term contracts, a rise in precarious part-time or self-employed work, and a decline in both wages and worker protections. De Schutter notes that in today’s 24/7 digital economy, it can be less harmful to one’s mental health to be unemployed than to take on a precarious job. Insecurity, lack of decent pay and unpredictable hours make it virtually impossible to achieve a healthy work-life balance.
What initiatives can be taken to tackle this crisis?
Some existing initiatives demonstrate that change is possible: Iceland, for example, successfully introduced a four-day working week with no reduction in pay, which has enhanced employee well-being. In New Zealand, former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern proposed a ‘Wellbeing Budget’ in 2019, offering an alternative approach to public policy development.
The Special Rapporteur also calls on governments to implement regulations that guarantee decent work and fair pay, including measures such as universal basic income and more predictable working hours. He emphasises the need for a ‘biopsychosocial’ approach and advocates for the active involvement of those directly affected in the policymaking process. Finally, he recommends expanding access to green spaces, which can help people reconnect with nature and provide significant benefits for mental well-being.
Learn more here:
Read the press release: WHO and ILO call for new measures to tackle mental health issues at work
Watch the video interview (in French) with sociologist Nicolas Framont, author of the book Vous ne Détestez Pas le Lundi, Vous Détestez la Domination au Travail (You Don’t Hate Mondays, You Hate Domination at Work).
See the website of UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Olivier De Schutter and view his presentation of the report to the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (from 49:54).
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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