Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 27 June 2025 #CosatuRedFridays
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY Today, it’s #CosatuRedFridays #CosatuCallCentre number is 010 022 2590 #DecentWork #DecentLives #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
27 June 2025
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- Employment and Labour on trial of seven Chinese nationals convicted of human trafficking and child labour
- South Africa
- COSATU congratulates NUM’s newly elected leadership
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Workers need binding corporate HRDD laws
- USB Italy: Meeting between USB and Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo one of “LOS CINCO” Cuban heroes
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
Employment and Labour on trial of seven Chinese nationals convicted of human trafficking and child labour
26 Jun 2025
Proceedings on arguments on the sentencing in the trial of seven Chinese nationals found guilty of human trafficking and child labour at the Gauteng South Division Court in Johannesburg were today (26 June) postponed to next week.
Prosecutor, Advocate Valencia Dube, told the Court that all the accused were allocated probation officers to prepare pre-sentencing reports. She said all the accused were visited by social services; however, their reports were not yet officially submitted to the Court.
In a new development, defence Counsel J. Kruger, who had represented the accused since 2019, said he regretted to tell the Court that his mandate has been terminated.
The accused are now expected to be represented by Goodgall Attorneys.
The seven Chinese nationals in the matter are: Kevin Tsao Shu-Uei, Chen Hui, Qin Li, Jiaqing Zhou, Ma Biao, Dai Junying, and Zhang Zhilian. The accused were facing schedule six offences and were on 25 February 2025 found guilty on 160 counts.
The Chinese nationals were found guilty of violating South Africa's labour laws by not registering with the Compensation Fund and declaring their operations; failure to keep records of their earnings; failure to submit their return on earnings; failure to pay and declare assessments; failure to maintain a safe workplace; failure to report incidents; failure to register and declare with Unemployment Insurance Fund Commissioner; failure to inform the Commissioner on Unemployment Insurance changes.
In addition, they were found guilty of human trafficking, aiding/facilitating human trafficking, bondage, benefiting from victims of human trafficking, and assisting illegal immigrants to remain in South Africa.
The seven were arrested on 12 November 2019 in a joint operation carried out at their premises – Beautiful City Pty Ltd, based at Village Deep in Johannesburg. The joint inspection blitz was carried out by the Department of Employment and Labour's Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) branch together with the South African Police Service (SAPS)/Hawks Unit and the Department of Home Affairs, following a tip-off.
The joint operation uncovered illegal immigrants, some of whom were minors working under horrific conditions and kept in the locked premises of Beautiful City. The factory produced cotton fibre sheets.
Six of the accused were remanded in custody, except accused number six (Dai Junying), who is out on medical grounds. The matter has now been provisionally set for 4 July 2025 for submission of pre-sentencing reports.
Enquiries:
Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell: 082 697 0694
E-mail: teboho....@labour.gov.za
Issued by Department of Employment and Labour
COSATU congratulates NUM’s newly elected leadership
Zanele Sabela, COSATU National Spokesperson, 27 June 2025
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) congratulates its militant Affiliate, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) for their successful National Congress. We look forward to deepening the umbilical bonds between the Federation and its Affiliate, NUM, which played a leading role in the founding of COSATU. The Federation is committed to working with the newly elected leadership to take the union, the Federation and working class struggles forward.
The NUM’s three-day National Congress culminated in the election of former Deputy President, Phillip Vilakazi, as the 42-year-old giant’s new President, Olehile Kgware as Deputy President, Mpho Phakedi as General Secretary, Deputy General Secretary as Phillip Mankge, and Helen Diatile as the Treasurer General. Muzikayise Zakwe has been elected the Chairperson of Education; the Chairperson of Health and Safety is Duncan Luvono, who is also COSATU’s 2nd Deputy President. The Secretary of Health and Safety is Masibulele Naki, while the Secretary of Education is Lefty Mashego.
The Federation is proud of NUM’s steadfast commitment to internal democracy and ensuring that the union remains in the hands of workers at all times and is committed to championing working class interests.
COSATU congratulates the new leaders on their election and conveys its best wishes as they begin to tackle the challenges facing workers in the various sectors the union organises.
Last year alone, the mining sector shed 13 000 jobs and recorded 42 fatalities; whilst this is a record low, one death is one too many given the devastating impact of losing a breadwinner on family.
The construction sector is under siege from the construction mafia, while some unscrupulous employers appear intent on non-compliance as laid bare in the George building collapse report.
Policy uncertainty plagues the energy sector with energy security, thousands of jobs and many host communities intrinsically tied to the coal sector.
The Federation pledges its support to the newly elected leadership and the entire NUM membership to do everything necessary to ensure the union remains strong, united, grows from strength to strength, and continues to fight for and defend the workers’ hard-won gains.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
Workers need binding corporate HRDD laws
26 June, 2025
IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll European Trade Union are pushing back against proposed revisions to key EU sustainability laws, warning that the changes could undermine vital protections for workers. In an open letter, IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll European Trade Union are calling on lawmakers to resist pressure to weaken corporate human rights due diligence rules.
The union organisations are deeply concerned about the current debates and statements in Europe on Omnibus Directive Package I and II, which risk seriously weakening key corporate sustainability laws, namely the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
These packages, framed under a ‘competitiveness’ agenda, aim to revise or roll back key elements of corporate sustainability and reporting obligations. They substantially discourage already-initiated processes in businesses and workplaces through social dialogue and other instruments developed. Many companies see the value of the CSDDD and the CSRD, and they are already actively engaged in making them concrete on the ground.
Watering down these tools would be a serious setback for these front runners.
“Weakening HRDD laws will leave workers exposed and unprotected. Strong, legally binding HRDD is key to rebuilding trust, strengthening democracy and ensuring fundamental rights are upheld in a fairer global economy,”
says IndustriALL Global Union assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan.
The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights warns that the packages do not align with the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and risks undermining important advancements on the business and human rights agenda.
A survey of 1,350 German business decision-makers shows strong support for due diligence rules, with 69 per cent rating them as important and many reporting competitive benefits. Yet, over half of them also report that the proposed Omnibus changes introduce confusion and delay investments.
“This a wrong signal to workers and business in the current global context. we condemn the proposals since they are a direct attack on workers’ rights and corporate accountability. And send a very worrying message to workers,”
says Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe’s general secretary.
According to the 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index, workers’ rights are deteriorating worldwide, with Europe and the Americas seeing their worst scores ever.
IndustriAll Europe and industriALL Global union are standing up for the rights and dignity of millions of manufacturing, energy, and mine workers in industries that are vital to our economies and societies.
Policymakers in Europe must not to weaken the CSRD and CSDDD. These laws must be strengthened to ensure the protection of workers and communities everywhere.
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USB Italy: Meeting between USB and Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo one of “LOS CINCO” Cuban heroes
Central WFTU, 27 June 2025
Meeting between USB and Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo one of “LOS CINCO” Cuban heroes
A meeting was held this morning at the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba between the USB International Department and the National Coordinator of the Cuban Revolutionary Committees, Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo, who for many years has been sequestered with 4 other patriots without any proof in US prisons on charges of being an agent of the Havana services. Present at the meeting was Cuban Ambassador Mirta Granda Averhoff
During the meeting, which lasted around 30 minutes in a very cordial atmosphere, Gerardo Hernandez emphasised the importance for Cuba of solidarity and concrete support from the international workers’ movement and called for efforts to revive the demand for an immediate end to the ‘bloqueo’, the extremely harsh US embargo that has been preventing relations and trade between the Republic of CUBA and the Western world prone to Washington’s wishes for the past 60 years.
The USB reaffirmed its historic brotherhood with the Cuban people and workers, recalled its common militancy within the World Federation ofTrade Union, and pledged its readiness to undertake any action aimed at ending the bloqueo and removing Cuba from the list of nations that support terrorism.
Emphasising once again its gratitude for sending a brigade of Cuban doctors during the Covid pandemic, USB confirmed that its activities will focus, in concrete terms, on relaunching concrete solidarity through a national campaign to collect medical instruments that are in short supply precisely because of the blockade.
Rome, 25 June 2025
USB International Department
______________________________
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