Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 25 March 2026 #CosatuNationalGenderConference2026
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY COSATU Call Center Contacts: 010 002 2590 #CosatuNationalGenderConference scheduled to commence tomorrow, at Benoni #GenderTransformativeChange#GenderStruggle #ClassWar #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
25 March 2026
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
Organize at every workplace and demand respect for labour rights Now!
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- NEHAWU King Sabatha Dalindyebo Region statement on the fire incident at Botha Sigcau Building, Mthatha
- COSATU National Gender Elective Conference
- South Africa
- COSATU presented its submission on the Budget's Division of Revenue Bill
- Minister Gwede Mantashe on Ekapa Minerals following retrieval of all bodies trapped during a mud rush accident
- National Treasury launches SA-TIED Phase III to deepen evidence-based economic policymaking in South Africa
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- The fight for democracy begins at work: Why and how trade unions must prioritise organising workers
- From law to action: New centre to strengthen workers’ rights through human rights due diligence laws
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
NEHAWU King Sabatha Dalindyebo Region statement on the fire incident at Botha Sigcau Building, Mthatha
25 March 2026
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) in the King Sabatha Dalindyebo Region has noted with deep concern the devastating fire that engulfed the Botha Sigcau Building in Mthatha overnight.
As a union organising workers across more than seven government departments that were housed in this building, we are alarmed by this incident, particularly in light of longstanding Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) concerns that have repeatedly been raised regarding the condition of the facility. This unfortunate event highlights the urgent need for employers to take OHS matters seriously to prevent such disasters and to ensure the safety of workers at all times.
NEHAWU in the region extends its heartfelt sympathy and solidarity to all affected members who have lost personal belongings and work resources in the fire. We recognise the distress and uncertainty this situation has caused and assure our members that the union stands firmly with them during this difficult time.
Furthermore, the union calls on all affected members to remain vigilant and united. Members are strongly advised not to be coerced or pressured into accepting any temporary or permanent workplace arrangements without proper consultation with NEHAWU. The union will engage the relevant authorities to ensure that any alternative working arrangements meet acceptable standards and fully protect the rights, safety, and well-being of workers.
NEHAWU remains committed to defending the rights of its members and will continue to monitor the situation closely while advocating for safe and dignified working conditions.
Issued by NEHAWU King Sabatha Dalindyebo Region
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COSATU National Gender Elective Conference
Zanele Sabela, COSATU Spokesperson, 17 March 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is set to convene its 2nd National Gender Elective Conference from 26 to 27 March as part of the organisation’s three-year accountability cycle.
The Gender Office Bearers and Gender Structure will report on the implementation of resolutions and programmes adopted at the Gender Conference in 2022. The Conference takes place at a time of sharpened gender inequalities in the workplace and in society, particularly for women workers, workers with disabilities and LGBTQI+ workers.
The conference will deliberate on the following:
- GBV and sexual harassment, including the implementation of the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 190 and Recommendation 206, which relate to the elimination of violence (including GBV) and harassment in the workplace.
- Care Economy and Care Workers’ Rights
- Gender and climate change: Examining the impact on workers with disabilities.
- Engendering collective bargaining, in particular advancing parental rights and maternity protection.
- Ensuring implementation of COSATU’s gender policies and organisational power.
Alliance partners, ANC Women’s League, SACP and SANCO will deliver messages of support.
The conference will also elect National Gender Office Bearers who will assume responsibility to ensure that the Federation’s work of striving for gender equality is taken forward.
The details of the National Gender Elective Conference are as follows:
•
Date: 26
& 27 March
• Time: 9am
• Venue: Anew Hotel, OR Tambo, 1 Country St, Lakefield, Benoni.
All members of the media are invited to the conference.
RSVP to mam...@cosatu.org.za or non...@cosatu.org.za
Issued by COSATU
Zanele Sabela (COSATU Spokesperson)
Mobile: 079 287 5788 / 077 600 6639
Email: zan...@cosatu.org.za
South Africa #ClassSolidarity
COSATU presented its submission on the Budget's Division of Revenue Bill
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 25 March 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) presented its submission on the 2026/27 Budget's Division of Revenue Bill to Parliament’s Select Committee: Appropriations.
COSATU is extremely disappointed with the lackluster 2026/27 Budget and Medium-Term Expenditure Framework. Whilst appreciating that there are some important allocations that COSATU campaigned for in the Budget, it fails to respond decisively to the fundamental crises facing the working class and the economy, in particular a 41.1% unemployment rate, economic growth far below the 3% needed to create jobs, struggling public and municipal services and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), entrenched levels of poverty and inequality, and endemic crime and corruption.
Tragically the Budget is focused on balancing the books not at aggressively kickstarting economic growth or tackling unemployment.
Key to providing an environment where the economy can take off and the lives of the working class are improved, is to ensure that frontline public services have the resources needed to fulfill their constitutional and developmental mandates.
We welcome investments in health and education, in particular R19 billion allocations to enroll 300 000 Grade R learners; R7.8 billion for the National Health Insurance Grants plus R24 billion for revitalising public healthcare, R92 billion for district health programmes, the building of 7 new provincial hospitals and R21 billion for the employment of doctors over the MTEF.
Local government remains the state’s Achille’s heel with more than 60% of municipalities in financial distress and many struggling to provide basic services or pay staff. The allocation of R27 billion to improve metros’ abilities to provide basic services and bill correctly is critical, as are plans to strengthen national government’s ability to timeously intervene in and hold failing municipalities accountable. Plans to connect over 320 000 houses to electricity and roll out 258 000 smart meters are welcome.
However, these interventions do not go far enough to capacitate often highly dysfunctional municipalities, tackle rising municipal debt or deal with corrupt and incompetent municipal management.
Much more must be done to enable Eskom to reduce the price of electricity. The substantial infrastructure investments over the MTEF of R1.07 trillion, in particular for energy, rail, ports, water, roads and airports will help boost economic growth and jobs.
The absence of a bold stimulus package for SMMES, industrial and export sectors badly needed to boosting economic growth and jobs is deeply worrying. It is beyond disappointing that the Presidential Employment Programme has been cut by half despite SONA’s commitments to increase it.
Although there are important allocations for some frontline services and infrastructure, COSATU is extremely frustrated that Treasury and government collectively, have once again reduced the Budget to balancing books and missed the opportunity to table a bold stimulus package that would fix public and municipal services, spur economic growth, boost employment, provide relief for the poor and unemployed, and ramp up tax compliance.
COSATU will be seeking urgent engagements with Treasury and government to ensure these failures are addressed. We cannot afford to continue to normalise 1% economic growth nor 41.1% unemployment.
The patience of the working class and society are not unlimited.
Issued by COSATU
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Minister Gwede Mantashe on Ekapa Minerals following retrieval of all bodies trapped during a mud rush accident
23 Mar 2026
The Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Mr Gwede Mantashe on Monday, 23 March 2026, conducted an oversight visit to Ekapa Minerals Joint Shaft Mine in Kimberley, Northern Cape, where rescue operations of the five mine workers was taking place following a mud rush accident which occurred on 17 February 2026. The first body was recovered on 9 March 2026, while the remaining bodies were recovered on 22 and 23 March 2026.
During the visit, Minister Mantashe accompanied by the Chief Inspector of Mines, Mr David Msiza, and other senior officials from the department received a comprehensive briefing from mine management and rescue personnel on the efforts that led to the successful retrieval of the bodies.
The department will initiate a formal investigation in line with the Mine Health and Safety Act into the circumstances surrounding the accident. Minister Mantashe has extended his sincere condolences to the families of the deceased.
Minister Mantashe commended the rescue operation, including support received from the mining sector and Minerals Council South Africa for their due diligence during the rescue operation, as well as for deploying its senior team to support the rescue mission.
Enquiries:
Lerato Ntsoko
Cell: 0824592788
E-mail: Lerato...@dmpr.gov.za
Ms
Yolanda Mhlathi
Cell: 067 258 1122
E-mail: Yolanda...@dmpr.gov.za
Issued by Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources
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National Treasury launches SA-TIED Phase III to deepen evidence-based economic policymaking in South Africa
25 Mar 2026
The National Treasury, together with its partners, has launched the third phase of the Southern Africa – Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED) programme, reaffirming a shared commitment to grounding South Africa's economic policy decisions in rigorous, co-produced evidence. The launch took place at the closing of the SA-TIED Phase II Close-Out Conference on 24 March 2026.
SA-TIED is a research-policy partnership between the National Treasury of South Africa, the South African Revenue Service (SARS), and the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), with financial support from the European Union and the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Now entering its third phase, the programme works to close the gap between research and policy implementation by embedding evidence directly within government systems and building analytical capacity.
Speaking at the launch, Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr David Masondo, highlighted the programme's significance at a moment of heightened domestic and global uncertainty.
"At its core, SA-TIED is anchored on a simple and yet powerful principle — good policy must be grounded in credible evidence. Better evidence leads to better policy, and better policy leads to better outcomes for our people," said Deputy Minister Masondo.
Phase II: a record of achievement
Phase II has produced a substantial body of evidence directly informing South Africa's policy priorities. Over 130 research papers have been published, with 65% authored or co-authored by South African researchers and 63% featuring women as authors or co-authors. More than 200 participants, half of them from government, have been trained in advanced economic modelling, econometrics, spatial analysis, and data science, building skills that will endure well beyond the programme's lifecycle.
A defining achievement of Phase II has been the growth of the National Treasury Secure Data Facility (NTSDF), one of the first such institutions in the Global South, which links anonymised administrative tax data. The facility has supported over 65 researchers in the past year alone and has directly informed government policy outputs. It is increasingly recognised as a model for responsible administrative data use, with several countries already seeking to replicate the approach.
Research under SA-TIED has addressed six core areas central to South Africa's development agenda:
enterprise development for job creation and growth;
public revenue mobilisation for inclusive development;
structural transformation, labour markets, and inequality dynamics;
macro-fiscal analysis and policy modelling;
food, energy, and water in the context of climate change; and
reform implementation and delivery
Phase III: deepening the foundation
Phase III, running from 2026 to 2029, will consolidate and expand on these gains. It will focus on a set of core priorities, including strengthening the link between research and policy implementation, expanding access to administrative datasets and building state capability through training, skills development, and greater integration of research within government. Phase III also introduces a new emphasis on public expenditure efficiency, reflecting the reality that, in a constrained fiscal environment, the question is no longer only how much the state spends, but how effectively it spends.
Incoming UNU-WIDER Director Patricia Justino, who takes up her role on 1 May 2026, spoke to the importance of sustaining this work in the current global climate.
"Research is not a luxury, if anything, it is needed more than ever. In times of uncertainty, bad decisions become very costly, short-term thinking becomes very tempting, and political pressure can crowd out careful thinking. What SA-TIED has built is something very rare: trust between research and policymaking. That trust is the foundation on which Phase III will be built," said Justino.
International partnership renewed
The launch brought together senior representatives from South Africa's key international partners, each reaffirming their commitment to the programme's next phase.
EU Deputy Ambassador Fulgencio Garrido Ruiz described SA-TIED as embodying three core elements of the EU–South Africa strategic partnership: "Innovation, partnerships, and commitment, to go where the evidence leads us, as opposed to being driven by short-termism and opportunism."
British High Commissioner Antony Phillipson highlighted the critical role of evidence in navigating complex and fast-moving policy challenges: "A sophisticated, targeted evidence base is vital to ensuring that our responses are rooted in an understanding of what works and the trade-offs inherent in any policy choice."
SARS Deputy Commissioner Johnstone Makhubu reaffirmed SARS' strategic commitment to data-driven policymaking: "We see tax administration data as the lifeblood of research and economic policy design. We gather data with the end in mind, not only for tax administration purposes, but also for research."
Enquiries:
Abena Larbi-Odam
E-mail: abena.l...@wider.unu.edu
Cleopatra
Mosana
E-mail: me...@treasury.gov.za
Issued by National Treasury
International-Solidarity
The fight for democracy begins at work: Why and how trade unions must prioritise organising workers
25 March 2026
For trade unions, organising workers is not an optional activity; it is central to their strength, independence and democratic design. Organising brings workers together in all of their diversity to build collective power and take collective action.
"For some time now, nearly all trends in unionisation have pointed in the wrong direction," wrote Dr Jelle Visser in the 2019 International Labour Organization (ILO) working paper, Trade Unions in the Balance :
“If the decline of the past twenty to thirty years continues, the survival of trade unions will be at risk by the middle of the century in many countries.”
In its 2025 brief, Trade Unions in Transformation, the ILO’s ACTRAV section argued that to change the negative trends in unionisation: "Trade unions must invest in strengthened organisational ability, understood as unions’ ability to effectively organise, retain, and engage all workers."
The call to “organise the unorganised” has echoed around the world for more than a century.
In its constitution, the ITUC embraces organising democratic trade unions and supports their organising campaigns as a "permanent responsibility … inspired by the profound conviction that the organisation of democratic and independent trade unions and collective bargaining are crucial to achieving the well-being of working people and their families and to security, social progress and sustainable development for all."
The urgency is only growing. In a 2026 interview with the ILO, ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle said:
"The ITUC is prioritising support for organising and inclusion, especially for informal workers, migrants, women and young people - because the future strength and independence of the trade union movement depends on growing our numbers."
The 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index underlines the scale of the challenge:
74% of countries impeded the registration of trade unions.
In 75% of countries, workers were denied the right to establish or join a trade union.
That is why the ITUC places a high priority on defending and expanding the right to organise and on practically supporting campaigns in different countries, industries and workplaces.
How can unions organise in practice?
Too often, organising becomes someone else’s task. In some cases, it is seen as a specialised, high-cost activity that the union cannot afford. In others, it has been added as yet another responsibility for already overburdened section leaders. However, it is clear that more organising must be done and that every union member and every part of the union movement has a role to play. Organising is how unions grow, but also how they adapt to a globalised economy undergoing rapid change and confront the billionaire coup against democracy.
While large organising campaigns may be coordinated or supported by union leaders or staff, the basic reality of signing up large numbers of people means that all members must be involved if campaigns are to win. These are workers willing to give their time to listen to their co-workers, identify shared issues, make a plan, and recruit and train others - especially those they do not already agree with - to take collective action together.
Research supports this approach. The European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), in a 2023 study on member participation, pointed to earlier research in Belgium showing that around 41% of newcomers to unions are enthusiastic about becoming more involved through less demanding tasks, such as informing colleagues, friends, or family about union demands, or distributing campaign materials. The ETUI found that across Europe no fewer than 46% of existing union members are “inclined to be more involved in union work”.
Organising training matters
Around the world, organising training commonly breaks organising down into small, practical steps that workers can learn and apply- exactly the kind of activities the ETUI study describes. Worker to worker, step by step. In this way, organising is not only a growth strategy; it also builds democracy. By listening to one another, taking part, and building collective ownership of the struggle, workers strengthen solidarity, improve retention, and deepen commitment to the union. They win better wages, better working conditions and greater respect. They fight for democracy at work together and, concretely, for their rights, safety and livelihoods.
That is why in June 2025, the ITUC launched a collaboration with Organizing 4 Power (O4P) to make free organising training available to all affiliates and workers. O4P is an independent project that runs online training in multiple languages on the fundamentals of organising.
The first collaboration, in November 2025, showed that demand is strong and diverse. More than 500 group leads signed up through the ITUC to join O4P trainings and brought thousands of their co-workers with them. The results were striking:
Group leads from 57 countries signed up to bring their co-workers.
84% of group leads came from African countries, no doubt in part due to the ITUC Africa Kigali Roadmap process underway since 2024.
53% of group leads identified as women and 46% as men.
56% of participants signed up for English, 28% for French, 8% for Arabic, 5% for Hausa, and 3% for Spanish.
46% of group leads said they were primarily focused on informal workers, 29% on women workers, 21% on young workers, and 4% on migrant workers.
Nearly every sector was represented, from the public sector to heavy industry to arts and culture.
The ITUC affiliate, the Confédération Démocratique du Travail (CDT), Morocco, has been working with O4P since before the ITUC partnership. To date, CDT has put nearly 2,000 members through the programme.
Boutayeb Bouchkhachakh, deputy General Secretary of CDT affiliate SNIME, said:
“The training has profoundly transformed the way that we ... organise, build collective strength, and believe once again in our power. A strong union cannot be decreed - it must be organised!”
As the ITUC mobilises this year to Fight For Democracy, every worker can join that fight by learning how to organise and build democracy where it is needed most: on the job.
Sign up here for updates on the next courses in the ITUC-O4P partnership in May 2026.
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From law to action: New centre to strengthen workers’ rights through human rights due diligence laws
25 March, 2026
On 26 March 2026, global trade unions, responsible employers and representatives of the German government will gather in Berlin to launch the Competence Centre for Human Rights Due Diligence. The new centre will partner with unions and companies to secure workers' rights across global value chains and corporate operations – in sectors as diverse as garment, technology and critical minerals.
With regulations like the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), millions of workers around the globe have access to new tools to protect their rights. However, without adequate enforcement and accountability support, these laws risk becoming box-ticking measures rather than real safeguards.
The new centre fills a much-needed gap.
Pilot programmes are underway with trade unions in the mining sector in Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, and the garment sector in Cambodia, Indonesia and Bangladesh, to test and develop strategies for workers to be meaningfully involved in the human rights due diligence process for their value chains.
The vision for these pilots is to move companies from an overreliance on social audits, which often amount to box-ticking exercises, to a dialogue-based process with workers at the core. The centre will support unions to advocate for their role as stakeholders in risk identification, in action plan design, and in dialogue to define and ensure remedies.
“We are at a pivotal moment. New human rights due diligence and trade laws are fundamentally changing how business is done in global supply chains. The legal infrastructure for responsible business is still being built across the world, but practices must start changing now. Workers and their unions must be at the centre of company assessment, mitigation and remediation of human rights risks. The Competence Centre will support workers and their representatives to make sure these new laws deliver concrete results for workers in value chains that underpin our global economy,”
says Kelly Fay Rodríguez, head of the new Competence Centre.
The official launch event on 26 March will focus on the evolving legal landscape, models for embedding workers’ rights in supply chain due diligence, and workers’ perspectives on responsible business conduct.
“For too long, human rights due diligence has meant paperwork, not progress. Workers in global supply chains need more than laws on paper – they need the tools and support to make those laws work for them. The Competence Centre gives unions the leverage to do exactly that: to move from compliance rituals to real accountability, and to ensure that workers are at the heart of the process, not an afterthought,”
says Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary.
Workers will talk about their real-life experience with human rights due diligence, how it has improved conditions and why it is urgently needed. Companies will detail how workers and unions augment their approach to risks and human rights due diligence. Policy makers will frame the need for the centre to strengthen due diligence laws.
“We’ve already seen what’s possible. Our members have used the German supply chain law to stop anti-union campaigns and improve their jobs through collective bargaining. The Competence Centre will help unions everywhere do the same – because when these laws work properly, the result goes beyond legal compliance. It means safer jobs and lives protected,”
says Christy Hoffman, UNI Global Union general secretary.
The centre will operate a virtual helpdesk for trade unions – a strategic hub providing advice, guidance and referrals on human rights due diligence laws. The helpdesk will identify where regulatory frameworks and accountability mechanisms create additional leverage for unions to challenge rights violations and get remedy for workers where it is due. It will also provide a crucial connection for rightsholders to legal and advocacy groups who can support them in bringing cases.
“Due diligence laws are only as strong as their enforcement. Without real accountability, they risk becoming box-ticking exercises. This new Competence Centre will help ensure workers have a seat at the table and a real say in how risks are identified and addressed. When properly implemented, due diligence not only protects workers’ rights – it also strengthens the resilience of global supply chains. For the DGB, that is non-negotiable,“
says Yasmin Fahimi, president of the German Confederation of Trade Unions.
The centre’s steering committee, comprised of UNI, IndustriALL and DGB, will focus on three key objectives:
1. Build capacity of trade unions globally to use human rights due diligence obligations to defend workers’ rights.
2. Support strategic interventions using HRDD instruments to address specific workers’ rights violations.
3. Advocate for effective human rights due diligence laws and their implementation.
UNI Global Union and IndustriALL Global Union have worked with partners in Germany, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the German trade union confederation DGB, to build this new resource for the global labour movement. The establishment of the Competence Centre is financed by IGS (Investing in Resilient and Sustainable Global Supply Chains), a global programme of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), on behalf of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The Competence Centre is a non-profit foundation registered in the Netherlands and is building a small, remote team based in Europe, the US, Asia and Africa.
Background
The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act has been in effect since January 2023 and will be a key focus of the centre’s activities. The Supply Chain Act requires large companies (over 1,000 employees) to conduct human rights due diligence to identify, mitigate and prevent risks of abuse of human rights and environmental harm in their global operations and supply chains.
The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) was adopted in February 2026 and must be implemented by all EU member states by July 2028. The centre’s mandate will be expanded once the CSDDD is in force.
Other relevant corporate legal accountability instruments include the EU Forced Labour Regulation, the US Forced Labour Prevention Act, and trade agreements containing labour rights provisions.
______________________________
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