Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 19 January 2026 #Back2SchoolCampaign #Right2LearnCampaign
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #COSATU provinces are leading the #Back2School and #Right2Learn Campaigns across all locals #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
19 January 2026
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- SADTU mourns the loss of thirteen learners in a Vanderbijlpark accident
- COSATU dismayed by the crash that claimed 13 young lives
- South Africa
- COSATU welcomes the Public Procurement Amendment Bill
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Lululemon supplier terminates 500 Philippine workers during Christmas
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
SADTU mourns the loss of thirteen learners in a Vanderbijlpark accident
Nomusa Cembi, SADTU National Media Officer, 19 January 2026
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) is deeply shocked and devastated by a tragic accident involving a scholar transport minibus taxi that claimed the lives of thirteen learners in Vanderbijlpark this morning, just days after the reopening of schools
The learners, who were from Sebokeng, were being transported to various schools in VanderbijlPark. According to unconfirmed reports, the driver of the scholar transport minibus taxi was trying to overtake three vehicles and collided with an oncoming heavy-duty truck, resulting in the fatal accident.
Reports indicate that 12 learners died at the scene and four others were rushed to hospital. Tragically, one of the injured learners later succumbed to injuries. The driver survived.
SADTU reiterates its call for a comprehensive scholar transport plan to ensure that all vehicles are roadworthy and that drivers are vetted and qualified.
The Union extends its heartfelt condolences to the families and relatives of the deceased learners, , their schoolmates, teachers, and support staff. SADTU also wishes the injured learners a speedy and full recovery.
ISSUEDBY: SADTU Secretariat
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COSATU dismayed by the crash that claimed 13 young lives
Zanele Sabela, COSATU Spokesperson, 19 January 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is deeply saddened by the accident that claimed the lives of 13 school children in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng this morning.
COSATU sends its heartfelt condolences to the parents and wishes them strength at this time. The loss is all the more devastating because the deceased were young and still had their whole lives ahead of them.
Should the investigation into the crash reveal that the driver was reckless, he must be arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to the maximum period possible.
Scholar transport operators must recognise that they have a responsibility to not only ensure their vehicles are roadworthy but also to drive safely to ensure tragedies of this scale do not occur.
It is equally critical that municipalities prioritise road safety including checking and enforcing our traffic laws, especially for those involved in public and learner transport.
Society as a whole must begin to prioritise safety on the road from driving cautiously, observing the rules of the road and being courteous to other road users.
Issued by COSATU
COSATU welcomes the Public Procurement Amendment Bill
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 19 January 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes the proposed Public Procurement Amendment Bill (Private Member’s Bill – Honourable Ms. M. Kobe, Member of Parliament). It responds positively to calls repeatedly made by COSATU at Nedlac and Parliament to overhaul the Protected Disclosures and the Public Procurement Acts.
COSATU is pleased that the Bill provides incentives for whistleblowers whose disclosures lead to successful convictions and the recovery of stolen state assets, to receive between 15% and 25 % of the recovered funds.
Rewarding whistleblowers will be a major boost in the war against state capture and crime. It will help incentivise whistleblowers to risk their careers and lives and enable them to relocate and start afresh.
This will ease the burden on a state whose ability to protect and relocate whistleblowers will always be limited.
The Federation appreciates further provisions protecting whistleblowers from victimisation, including increasing the sanctions for acts of intimidation to up to 20 years in prison. Proposed provisions enabling private prosecutions will send a clear message of consequences to those who steal from the state.
Whilst the Federation supports this bold and progressive Private Member’s Bill, we urge the Member, Ms. Kobe, and the Ministers for Justice and Constitutional Development, Ms. M. Kubayi, and Finance, Mr. E. Godongwana, to urgently engage on this matter as the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is currently finalising an executive Bill also seeking to strengthen the Protected Disclosures Act.
A single combined and comprehensive Bill(s) containing these progressive provisions will be an invaluable weapon in the war against state capture and corruption.
COSATU will engage both the Member of Parliament, Ms. Kobe, and the Ministers to urge such discussions and to offer its full support to these progressive legislative amendments. This is a war that workers who have paid the price for state capture and corruption, and whistleblowers who have lost their lives, need to see won.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
Lululemon supplier terminates 500 Philippine workers during Christmas
19 January, 2026
On 22 December, Hong Kong–based garment company Charter Link Clark, a supplier to athletic brand Lululemon, terminated 500 workers in the Philippines with immediate effect during a Christmas party.
Although the company paid one month’s wages in lieu of notice, severance pay and prorated 13th-month pay and coordinated with other freeport employers and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on re-hiring activities, the union TF2 said the severance pay was inappropriate, as it amounted to only 50 per cent of the agreed amount. TF2 also said the closure could be an act of union busting in disguise.
TF2 representative Laudicia Casana says:
“The closure has resulted in serious economic and psychological impacts on workers and their families. DOLE, Lululemon and the Clothing, Textile Industry Tripartite Council (CTITC) should convene a thorough investigation. The closure is tantamount to the abolition of the sole and exclusive bargaining agent (SEBA) union, which constitutes an unfair labour practice under the Philippine Labour Code and must not be tolerated.”
Members of the IndustriALL Global Union affiliate TF2–FFW Kilos Damit at the factory said they were shocked by the announcement. TF2 expressed deep regret over what it described as an inconsiderate decision, noting that the employer did not engage the union in social dialogue over such an important management decision.
In 2021, the company cited the Covid-19 pandemic as justification for placing more than 100 workers on indefinite unpaid leave. It also delayed the collective bargaining process and dismissed eight union leaders from the Charter Link Inc Employees Union (CLIEU-FFW). Following the intervention of IndustriALL, Lululemon and the labour court, the eight union leaders were reinstated.
In a letter to the Department of Labor and Employment, IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie urged the Philippine government to conduct a full and transparent investigation into the closure of Charter Link Clark, including verification of the reasons given by the company.
“The government must ensure full compliance with the collective bargaining agreement and all applicable labour laws. Should the company resume operations under the same or a different name, and in the same or a different location, we strongly request that affected workers be given priority in recall and re-employment, in line with Philippine labour standards and principles of fair labour practice,” Atle Høie added.
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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