Taking COSATU Today Forward, 13 October 2025 #Cosatu@40 #Cosatu40thAnniversary
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #Cosatu scheduled to hold its 40th Anniversary at Dobsonville, Soweto on December 6 #Cosatu@40 #Cosatu40thAnniversary #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
13 October 2025
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- NEHAWU to launch public service delivery campaign focusing on public healthcare in the Eastern Cape
- SADTU congratulates Team North-West for their excellent performance in the National Teaching Awards
- COSATU to host lectures in the lead up to 40th anniversary
- South Africa
- Eastern Cape Provincial Alliance statement on the unfolding crisis at the University of Fort Hare
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Europe’s responsibility in the textile industry: a push for stronger due diligence
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
NEHAWU to launch public service delivery campaign focusing on public healthcare in the Eastern Cape
Lwazi Nkolonzi, NEHAWU National Spokesperson, October 11, 2025
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] invites the media to a press conference on the launch of our Public Service Delivery Campaign focusing on Public Healthcare in Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape.
The state of healthcare system in the Nelson Mandela Bay is confronted by insurmountable challenges which include systemic failures in the provision of basic health services, including neglect of patients, prolonged waiting times, and compromised healthcare delivery.
The press conference will be used to outline our program in contributing towards the building of a capable and functioning public healthcare system, delivery of quality healthcare services to our people, and the campaign to transform the public healthcare system for the benefit of our people.
The press conference will be addressed by the National Office Bearers.
Details of the Press Conference:
Date: Monday October 13, 2025
Time: 11H00
Venue: NEHAWU Office, 286 Cape Rd, Newton Park, Gqeberha, 6055
Members of the media are invited to attend and to cover the press conference.
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SADTU congratulates Team North-West for their excellent performance in the National Teaching Awards
George Themba, SADTU North West Provincial Secretary, 10 October 2025
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) in the North-West province extends its warmest congratulations to Team North- West for their outstanding performance in the National Teaching Awards (NTA).
Your exceptional achievement is a testament to your dedication, professionalism, and commitment to excellence in education. You have brought pride not only to the province but to the entire union, embodying the true spirit of service, resilience, and transformative teaching that SADTU champions.
SADTU celebrates your success as a reflection of the hard work of educators who continue to make a meaningful difference in the lives of learners under challenging conditions. Your recognition at national level affirms that quality education is driven by passionate, skilled, and committed teachers.
We salute Team North-West for flying the SADTU and provincial flag high, and for being an inspiration to all educators across the country. May your achievement motivate others to strive for excellence and uphold the noble values of the teaching profession.
Well done comrades, your success is our collective victory!
ISSUED BY: SADTU North Secretariat
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COSATU to host lectures in the lead up to 40th anniversary
Zanele Sabela, COSATU National Spokesperson, 25 September 2025
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is set the host a series of lectures in the lead up to its 40th anniversary celebration at Dobsonville Stadium on 6 December.
The culmination of four years of unity talks, COSATU came into being on 1 December 1985, and brought together 33 competing unions and federations opposed to apartheid and whose common goal was to bring about a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic society.
The Federation has been at the forefront of advancing, defending and protecting the interests and rights of workers since, and has led in the formation of the country’s progressive labour laws including workers’ rights to form trade unions, collective bargaining and to strike, minimum conditions of service, National Minimum Wage, etc.
From its vehement resistance of apartheid to the ushering in of the democratic dispensation and improving the economic and social wellbeing of the working class 31 years post democracy, COSATU has stood the test of time.
In the lead up to its 40th anniversary in December, the Federation will host a variety of activities starting with a series of lectures by its National Office Bearers.
The lectures will tackle diverse subjects from COSATU’s pivotal role in gender struggles to the strike that broke the back of industry-wide exploitative labour practices as far back as 1959.
Province:
Mpumalanga
Date:
16 October
Venue: Ikhethelo Secondary School, Bethal
Topic: Gert Sibande Potato Boycott
Main Speaker: Duncan Luvuno, COSATU 2nd Deputy President
Province:
Northern Cape
Date:
30 October
Topic: COSATU and the Liberation Movement
Main Speaker: Solly Phetoe, COSATU General Secretary
Province:
North-West
Date:
19 November
Topic: Strengthening Industrial Unions to build a militant COSATU
Main Speaker: Duncan Luvuno, COSATU 2nd Deputy President
Province:
Eastern Cape
Date:
20 November
Topic: COSATU and the Reconfiguration of the Alliance
Main Speaker: Mike Shingange, COSATU 1st Deputy President
Province:
Gauteng
Date:
21 November
Topic: COSATU and the Mass Democratic Movement
Main Speaker: Zingiswa Losi, COSATU President
Issued by COSATU
Eastern Cape Provincial Alliance statement on the unfolding crisis at the University of Fort Hare
Cde Lulama Ngcukayitobi: ANC Provincial Secretary, Cde Mkhawuleli Maleki : COSATU Provincial Secretary, Cde Xolile Nqatha : SACP Provincial Secretary , Cde Tony Duba: SANCO Provincial Secretary, 10 October 2025
The Eastern Cape Provincial Alliance, comprising the African National Congress (ANC), South African Communist Party (SACP), Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), and the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO), convened its secretariat on the evening of 9 October 2025 to reflect on the unfolding crisis at the University of Fort Hare, an institution that holds a proud place in the history of our liberation and in the collective consciousness of the African people.
Fort Hare is not just a university, it is a living monument of struggle and empowerment, a home of leaders, thinkers, and activists who changed the course of our nation and continent.
What happens within its walls is therefore of great concern to the entire democratic movement.
The Alliance affirms and defends the constitutional right of students, workers, and communities to protest, to organise, and to demand accountability. The right to protest is part of our hard-won democracy, born out of generations who dared to challenge oppression and exclusion. No one should be criminalised for raising legitimate concerns.
At the same time, the Alliance strongly condemns violence, vandalism and destruction of property. Acts of violence weaken the very cause they seek to advance and rob the poor of the infrastructure that serves them. Fort Hare belongs to the people, its destruction is an injury to all who look to education as a pathway out of poverty and inequality.
The current developments at Fort Hare point to deep-rooted governance challenges and unresolved tensions that have long undermined stability and progress at this historic institution. The Alliance calls for decisive, transparent and inclusive leadership to confront these issues head-on and restore confidence in the institution’s management.
The Alliance further calls on all stakeholders, including management, students, workers, and government to act with urgency and responsibility to protect the 2025 academic year. Losing this year would be a devastating blow to thousands of students and families across our province and beyond.
We reiterate that Fort Hare must be governed by its own statutes and policies applied equally to all without fear or favour. No individual no matter their position is above the institution.
The Alliance stands firm in support of students’ democratic right to freely elect their own representatives, without interference or imposition. Student leadership must emerge from the will of the student body, not through administrative manipulation or selective recognition.
In this regard, the Alliance calls upon the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Cde Buti Manamela to institute an independent and credible investigation into the root causes of the crisis. The situation has reached a point where the intervention of national government is both necessary and urgent to ensure that Fort Hare is not allowed to slide further into instability.
The Alliance also urges the University Council and Management to open genuine channels of dialogue with students and workers, guided by the principles of mutual respect, fairness, and accountability. It is only through engagement not confrontation that sustainable solutions can be found.
The Eastern Cape Alliance remains committed to the defence of our democratic gains, the transformation of higher education, and the protection of institutions that serve as engines of empowerment for the people. Fort Hare must once again become a beacon of hope, academic excellence, and social justice.
ISSUED BY: THE EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL ALLIANCE SECRETARIAT
Cde Lulama Ngcukayitobi: ANC Provincial Secretary, Cde Mkhawuleli Maleki : COSATU Provincial Secretary, Cde Xolile Nqatha : SACP Provincial Secretary , Cde Tony Duba: SANCO Provincial Secretary
Enquiries :
Cde Gift Ngqondi
Provincial Head of Communications
ANC Eastern Cape
Mobile No-0849519924/0848439706
International-Solidarity
Europe’s responsibility in the textile industry: a push for stronger due diligence
10 October, 2025
A day of action in Brussels in September highlighted the urgent need for stronger EU due diligence and labour rights protections in the textile industry. Through debates, high-level meetings and a public demonstration, unions and allies called on Europe to deliver real sustainability for workers across global supply chains.
IndustriALL Global Union and IndustriAll Europe, togeher with members of the European Parliament and trade unionists from Türkiye, Cambodia and Indonesia, spent a day in Brussels highlighting the urgent need for stronger European due diligence legislation to protect textile workers around the world. The day’s events, spanning debates, high-level meetings and public mobilization, underscored one key message: Europe must deliver on its promises to ensure fair, safe, and sustainable working conditions in global supply chains.
Says IndustriALL textile and garment director Christina Hajagos Clausen:
"Behind every T-shirt made for European consumers are workers fighting for their most basic rights. Our message to EU leaders is simple: voluntary measures are not enough. We need legally binding agreements that make brands responsible for the people who make their profits. Europe has both the power and the duty to ensure that sustainability starts with respect for workers’ rights.”
The day began with a breakfast debate in the European Parliament, co-hosted by industriAll Europe and MEP Saskia Bricmont, co-chair of the Parliament’s Sustainable Textile Working Group. Participants discussed the ongoing challenges facing textile workers in countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia, and Türkiye, where labour rights violations remain widespread.
Speakers stressed the urgency of robust due diligence obligations for European companies, particularly in light of ongoing negotiations around the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The debate served as an important opportunity to engage directly with MEPs, parliamentary staff and European Commission officials on the need to safeguard workers’ rights throughout textile supply chains.
Meetings with the European External Action Service (EEAS)
Later in the morning trade unionists from Türkiye, Cambodia and Indonesia met with officials from the European External Action Service to discuss labour rights in Türkiye, Cambodia, and Indonesia.
In talks with Gabriel Munuera-Vinals from the Türkiye division, the delegation raised the dire conditions faced by textile and refugee workers, emphasising that sustainability cannot be achieved without freedom of association and the protection of fundamental labour rights.
Discussions with Leila Fernandez-Stembridge, head of the South-East Asia division, focused on regional developments and cooperation on labour rights. IndustriAll Europe highlighted the legally binding TAFTAC agreement in Cambodia, a landmark accord between trade unions and employers supported by 12 major brands, as a positive example of social dialogue. The delegation also drew attention to Indonesia’s new labour law and its impact on textile workers and trade unions.
Engagement with the European Commission
In the afternoon, the delegation from industriALL Global and industriAll Europe met with two key units of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW).
Unit G1, responsible for Business Conduct, discussed the upcoming EU regulation on forced labour and the Commission’s efforts to implement it. IndustriAll Europe reiterated that the textile sector remains at particularly high risk for labour rights abuses and expressed its willingness to contribute to the expert group overseeing the new rules.
Meanwhile, Unit F3 presented the EU’s Sustainable Textile Strategy, with exchanges focusing on the realities of textile workers’ lives — including the urgent need for living wages in Cambodia and Indonesia.
Evening demonstration: standing in solidarity
The day concluded with an evening demonstration organized by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), bringing together trade unions, parliamentarians and NGOs. The mobilization called on EU policymakers to reject the proposed Sustainability Omnibus deregulation and to strengthen, rather than weaken, sustainability and labour protections.
Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe general secretary, says:
“Textile workers worldwide are counting on Europe to stand up for fairness, dignity, and justice. Europe must adopt laws that truly protect workers along supply chains - not create loopholes that allow exploitation to continue. Weak due diligence is not an option; only strong, enforceable rules can ensure that European action benefits people, not multinationals.
“Our action day in Brussels shows a united movement determined to resist deregulation and demand an ambitious due diligence framework that fully respects workers’ rights.”
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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