Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 16 January 2026 #CosatuRedFridays #Bcak2SchoolCampaign #Right2LearnCampaign
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY Today, it’s #CosatuRedFridays….. #COSATU launches #Back2School and #Right2Learn Campaigns across all provinces #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
16 January 2026
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
Organize at every workplace and demand respect for labour rights Now!
Defend Jobs Now!
Join COSATU NOW!
Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- COSATU Free State Statement on Matric Results
- South Africa
- Government on World Bank Forecast
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Statement of solidarity by the European Office of the WFTU for the Farmers’ Mobilizations in Greece and France
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
COSATU Free State Statement on Matric Results
Tiisetso Mahlatsi, COSATU Free State Provincial Secretary, 16 January 2026
The Congress of South African Unions (COSATU) Free State extends its heartfelt appreciation to the teachers, in particular members of its affiliate, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) for their continuous commitment and dedication towards our children, especially at matric level.
Matric results emerge from a culmination of yearly efforts from Grade 8 to Grade 12; indeed it's that time of year to celebrate achievement and great work.
The Class of 2025 have done us proud. We therefore join the nation in celebrating this remarkable achievement. As we celebrate, we bow our heads in honour of our learners who endured 13 years of schooling and made the country proud by producing 89.33% pass rate.
We call on all institutions, SETA's and businesses to join hands and intensify their efforts and assist learners in realising their potential – whether academic or vocational – to ensure these young people do not add to the shocking and sky-rocketing rate of unemployment.
This achievement didn't come easy, it cost teachers and learners sleepless nights subjecting them to weekends, early mornings, holiday camps in order to bridge the gap.
Even though the Free State didn't retain the number one spot, 89.33% deserves a celebration. We salute the learners, teachers, parents and community, and are assured the province will bounce back to top position. It's time to go back to the drawing board and reflect. We call on all stakeholders to join the effort and ensure that Free State remains a province of excellence.
We encourage all matriculants who passed to pursue tertiary education and seek assistance from SASCO at all institutions of higher learning.
Those who did not pass, should remember that failure is not the end. Rewrite matric, improve your results, and we encourage your communities, families and stakeholders to stand by you in this process.
Issued by COSATU Free State
Government on World Bank Forecast
16 Jan 2026
Government welcomes the World Bank’s assessment that shows economic growth in South Africa strengthened to 1.3 % in 2025, supported by a more reliable electricity supply, a strong agricultural harvest, and improved business confidence toward the end of the year.
The World Bank’s outlook further projects that growth will increase to 1.4% in 2026 and 1.5% in 2027. This reflects the positive impact of continued reform momentum, particularly in the energy and logistics sectors, alongside rising public investment.
According to the World Bank Report, private consumption and private-sector investment are expected to remain the main drivers of growth, supported by ongoing efforts to improve public expenditure efficiency, and ease supply-side constraints.
South Africa’s performance reflects a broader regional trend, with Sub-Saharan Africa’s growth rising to 4% in 2025 and forecast to reach 4.3% in 2026 and 4.7% in 2027. South Africa’s growth outlook contributes to the Southern African regional economic stability, given its central role in trade, investment flows and value chains across neighbouring economies.
The World Bank’s outlook affirms that sustained reforms are beginning to yield positive results. Government remains committed to accelerating inclusive growth that translates into jobs, economic opportunity and improved living conditions for all South Africans.
Government will continue to work with social partners, the private sector and international development institutions to strengthen reforms, unlock investment and build a resilient, inclusive and sustainable economy.
Media
enquiries:
Mr Terry Vandayar
Acting Government Spokesperson
Cell: 0824449092
Mr William Baloyi
Deputy Government Spokesperson
Cell: 0833907147
Issued by Government Communications
International-Solidarity
Statement of solidarity by the European Office of the WFTU for the Farmers’ Mobilizations in Greece and France
16 January 2026
The farmers’ struggles will be victorious!
The European Office of the World Federation of Trade Unions expresses its support for the farmers’ mobilizations in Greece and France. The massive farmers’ protests in France, with hundreds of tractors in Paris, as well as the road blockades and dozens of coordinated protests across Greece, demonstrate that farmers are determined to fight for their survival, for the right to live in their own regions from their own labor, and to continue producing quality, affordable food for the people.
Farmers are also resisting the disastrous management of the nodular dermatosis outbreak. Governments have imposed the systematic culling of entire livestock for every recorded case, without consulting those most affected, further jeopardizing the economic survival of many farms. This policy once again exposes a logic that sacrifices farmers’ livelihoods, leaving them without protection, compensation, or real support.
At the heart of the farmers’ problems lies the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy, which for years has served the interests of large agri-food monopolies, leading to the displacement and destruction of small and medium farmers. The CAP squeezes incomes, increases production costs, imposes suffocating restrictions, and turns land and agricultural production into a field of profitability for big capital.
The same direction is served by the recent EU–MERCOSUR agreement, which opens the door to mass imports of agricultural products for the benefit of multinational corporations and industrial monopolies. The EU imposes extremely costly “green” standards on farmers, while at the same time opening its markets to products from countries that are produced using banned pesticides, hormones, and cheap labour.
Particularly alarming is the fact that, at a time when farmers and workers are being crushed by high prices and poverty, enormous funds are being channeled into the EU’s war preparations. Wages are cut, collective agreements are undermined, fixed working time is dismantled, and resources that should support agricultural production, incomes, social policy, and popular needs are instead diverted to armaments and the profits of the war industry, to be used in the imperialist wars of the USA, NATO, and the EU.
The struggles of farmers in Greece and France objectively converge with the struggles of the working class across the EU. Workers and farmers have common interests and a common enemy: the monopolies, the anti-people policies of the EU, and the governments that implement them. The joint struggle of workers and farmers is the only path to put a barrier against the anti-people offensive and to open prospects for gains in favor of the peoples.
The European Office of the WFTU calls on trade unions to express their solidarity with the fighting farmers and to strengthen the common struggle against the anti-people policies of governments and the EU, which are crushing the working class and farmers for the profits of monopoly groups.
The farmers’ struggles will be victorious!
______________________________
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