Taking COSATU Today Forward, 16 April 2026 #CosatuMayDay2026
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY COSATU Call Center Contacts: 010 002 2590 #COSATU National May Day will be celebrated at Polokwane, Limpopo on May 1 #ClassWar #Cosatu40 #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
16 April 2026
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- NUM PWV Region to lead a mass protest against the unbundling and privatisation of ESKOM and many other challenges faced by workers
- NUM North East Region to lead a mass protest against the unbundling and privatisation of ESKOM
- Media accreditation for COSATU May Day celebrations officially open
- South Africa
- Deputy President Paul Mashatile: Fifth HRDC Summit 2026
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- United Nations Commission on the Status of Women: Education is foundational to justice
- Bangladesh’s roadmap is stalling
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics #ClassWar
NUM PWV Region to lead a mass protest against the unbundling and privatisation of ESKOM and many other challenges faced by workers
Senzo Mncwango, NUM PWV Regional Secretary, 16 April 2026
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) PWV Region is set to lead a peaceful protest march on Saturday, 18 April 2026, to voice deep-seated frustration with Eskom’s current to unbundle and privatise, and also against other challenges faced by workers at various workplaces. The march will be lead by the NUM General Secretary Cde Mpho Phakedi.
March Details:
• Starting time: 9am and handover of the memorandum at 12pm
• Assembly Point: Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, Johannesburg
• Objective: To submit memorandum of grievances to the Office of the Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi
This mobilisation represents the collective voice of workers who refuse to sit idly by while their livelihoods and statutory rights are eroded. The NUM is marching to the Gauteng Premier's Office to demand immediate intervention and accountability from both the state and the private sector.
The NUM in PWV region is marching against:
• The Unbundling of Eskom: We categorically reject the fragmented unbundling of our national power utility, which we view as a strategic move toward privatisation that threatens job security and the energy sovereignty of our nation.
• Non-Compliance with the BCEA: It has come to our attention that several metal, construction companies are failing to adhere to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) and Labour Relations Act. We will not tolerate the exploitation of workers through the violation of regulated working hours, leave entitlements, and fair remuneration standards.
• Mining Shaft on Care and Maintenance: We are extremely concerned about shafts that have been indefinitely put under care and maintenance as this negatively affects job security, loss of income and safety to mention the view.
• Closure of shaft and Illegal Mining: whenever a shaft closes, thousands of workers lose their jobs. We call for strategic intervention to address these two issues.
• Working Conditions of Construction Workers: Issues including but not limited to low wages, job security, unsafe working conditions and long working hours.
• Taxation: our members and workers in general have raised growing concerns about how taxes are applied to overtime, bonuses and withdrawals under the two-pot retirement system.
• Instability at Arcelor Mital: the instability of the company raises serious concerns and the lack of government support.
· Cast Product of South Africa under business rescue indefinitely: Workers have raised serious concerns in relation to company’s prolonged business rescue process. These concerns relate to job security, unpaid wages and poor management of the rescue process.
· High Electricity Prices: Many families and households are left with high level of stress as their budgets are already stretched by food inflation, interest rates and transport costs.
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NUM North East Region to lead a mass protest against the unbundling and privatisation of ESKOM
Paul Nzimande, NUM North East Acting Regional Secretary, 16 April 2026
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) North East Region is set to lead a peaceful protest march on Saturday, 18 April 2026, to voice deep-seated frustration against the unbundling and privatisation of Eskom. The march will be lead by the NUM Deputy General Secretary Cde Phillip Mankge.
March Details:
• Starting time: 9am and handover of the memorandum at 12pm
• Assembly Point: SABC Park, Polokwane
• Objective: To submit memorandum of grievances to the Office of the Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba
The NUM North East region is marching against:
• The Unbundling and Privatisation of Eskom: We categorically reject the fragmented unbundling of our national power utility, which we view as a strategic move toward privatisation that threatens job security and the energy sovereignty of our nation.
· High Electricity Prices: Many families and households are left with high level of stress as their budgets are already stretched by food inflation, interest rates and transport costs.
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Media accreditation for COSATU May Day celebrations officially open
Zanele Sabela, COSATU Spokesperson, 08 April 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has officially opened media accreditation applications for Workers’ Day celebrations on 1 May 2026. The Federation will continue with its tradition of hosting celebrations across the country, with the national rally to be held at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
The President of COSATU, Zingiswa Losi will deliver the keynote address, with messages of support from leaders of Alliance Partners: the African National Congress (ANC), South African Communist Party (SACP) and South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO).
COSATU National Office bearers will lead provincial commemorations, alongside leaders of affiliated trade unions and members of the Federation’s Central Executive Committee (CEC).
Applications to cover the national rally may be submitted to mam...@cosatu.org.za or non...@cosatu.org.za.
Alternatively, an application form can be completed via this link:
Media accreditation for COSATU May Day celebrations officially open – Fill out form
Applications to cover provincial rallies can be sent to the following contacts:
1. Western Cape- Mbekweni Sport Stadium (Paarl) at 10:00
Malvern de Bruyn 060 977 9027 or Cleopatra Kakaza 072 312 6822
2. Gauteng - Tsakane Stadium (Brakpan) at 10:00
Louisa Modikwe 082 297 2659 or Itumeleng Moloantoa 071 873 5238
3. Free State- Bultfontein Stadium (Bultfontein) at 10:00
Tiisetso Mahlatsi on 077 607 3012 or Mongezi Mbelwane on 072 308 7658
4. KwaZulu Natal Curries Fountain Stadium (Durban) at 10:00
Edwin Mkhize 082 339 7756 or Khaliphile Cotoza 082 339 5760
5. Mpumalanga- Kamagugu Stadium (Mbombela) at 10:00
Thabo Mokoena 082 799 5699 or James Mahlabane 064 753 9055
6. Northern Cape- Open Air Arena (Galeshewe) at 10:00
Thandi Makapela 079 481 9077
7. North West- Olympia Stadium (Rustenburg) at 10:00
Kabelo Kgoro 067 410 4696
8. Eastern Cape - Nangoa Jebe Hall – Gqeberha, Orient Theatre (kuGompo) – Buffalo City, Tobi Kula Indoor Sports Centre (Komani) and Lusikisiki College Great Hall at 10:00
Mkhawuleli Maleki 082 339 5482
Issued by COSATU
Zanele Sabela (COSATU Spokesperson)
Mobile: 079 287 5788 / 077 600 6639
Email: zan...@cosatu.org.za
South Africa #ClassSolidarity
Deputy President Paul Mashatile: Fifth HRDC Summit 2026
16 Apr 2026
Keynote address by Chairperson of the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC), Deputy President Shipokosa Paulus Mashatile, at the 5th HRDC Summit 2026, Gallagher Convention Centre, Gauteng
Programme
Director, Deputy Minister Nomusa Dube-Ncube;
Gauteng Acting Premier, Ms Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko;
Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr. Buti Manamela;
Ministers, Premiers and MECs in attendance;
Deputy Chairs of the HRD Council, Mr. Duncan Luvuno and Dr. Thembi Xaba;
Former Deputy Chairs who are present this morning;
Head of Secretariat of the Human Resource Development Council of South Africa, Mr. Maliviwe Lumka;
Director-General in The Presidency, Ms Phindile Baleni, and other DG’s Present;
Leaders of labour, business, and civil society;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Dumelang/ Avuxeni.
It is both an honour and a privilege, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of South Africa, to welcome you to the Fifth Human Resource Development Council Summit. We have gathered under the timely and compelling theme, “Living and Working in a Changing World.”
We convene during a period of significant transformation, both globally and domestically. Equally, the meeting of the Human Resource Development Council takes place shortly after the successful launch of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Gert Sibande TVET College in Mpumalanga. This initiative adds to a growing number of interventions aimed at aligning skills development with emerging technologies and the evolving needs of the economy.
These efforts include the expansion of Centres of Specialisation at TVET colleges in areas such as digital electronics, automation and advanced manufacturing; the integration of coding, robotics and data analytics into basic and post‑school education curricula; partnerships with the private sector to establish digital skills academies and industry‑aligned training hubs; and the use of online learning platforms to widen access to scarce and future‑oriented skills.
Collectively, such initiatives demonstrate the importance of scaling technology‑driven skills programmes so that South Africa’s human resource development system remains responsive to rapid technological change, including artificial intelligence, digitalisation and automation, while preparing young people and workers for the jobs of the future.
The ways we learn, work, and engage in society are undergoing significant transformation. Technological innovation, demographic shifts, environmental challenges, and economic uncertainty are realities that are reshaping the definition of work itself. In such a context, these realities compel us to rethink not only skills for jobs but also human development for life.
Against this backdrop, this Summit represents an important turning point. It coincides with the launch of the Reconceptualised Human Resource Development Strategy 2025–2035, alongside its implementation framework, the Master Skills Plan 2025–2030, and it will culminate in the adoption of a Summit Declaration that reaffirms our shared responsibility as social partners.
Minister Manamela, we wish to acknowledge and commend your leadership in finalising this Reconceptualised Strategy and the accompanying Master Skills Plan. Together, these instruments will guide and energise our collective efforts to advance human resource development over the coming decade.
This fifth iteration of the HRD Strategy, first introduced in 2001 and periodically reviewed, confronts lessons that have emerged over time, among them, uneven ownership, fragmented implementation, and a limited appreciation of human development beyond narrow skills acquisition.
In earlier phases, particularly within the Post-School Education and Training System (PSET), the focus rested heavily on employable skills, especially within colleges. Since the 2021 Summit, however, the pace and scale of global change, most notably the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI), have compelled a decisive shift in emphasis.
Today, success in a dynamic and uncertain world increasingly depends on human and social capabilities such as analytical thinking, communication, creativity, collaboration, resilience, and adaptability. Automation and AI are transforming industries at a speed that often exceeds the ability of education and training systems to respond, leading to a growing skills gap that threatens workforce readiness and economic stability.
At the same time, South Africa’s youthful population is reshaping workplace culture and expectations, while climate change is redefining how and where people live, learn, and earn, necessitating a shift in educational approaches to better prepare individuals for these evolving challenges.
In this environment of a changing world, technical competence alone is no longer sufficient. Ethical leadership, critical thinking, and social capabilities are now equally essential. Our challenge, therefore, is not simply one of skills alignment but of capability expansion as well.
It is precisely for this reason that the reconceptualised HRD Strategy moves deliberately beyond a narrow, supply-side understanding of human resource development. It embraces a holistic value chain from early childhood development to lifelong learning; from employability to productive citizenship; and from economic participation to social cohesion.
These instruments, the reconceptualised HRD Strategy and the MSP, are launched under the unifying banner of “One Country, One Strategy, One Plan.” This is a conscious response to the fragmentation, duplication, and uneven execution that have, in the past, weakened our collective impact. It is also an apt vision for a nation governed through a Government of National Unity, one that recognises human development as a shared, all-encompassing national endeavour.
As we advance the Medium-Term Development Plan, we are acutely aware of the urgency of confronting South Africa’s triple challenges of poverty, inequality, and unemployment. This Summit must therefore, do more than diagnose problems; it must help us determine how we act together decisively, coherently, and at scale.
The reconceptualised HRD Strategy and the MSP are intended to be practical guides for this joint endeavour, and I trust that by the conclusion of this summit, we will all stand ready to commit to their implementation.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In support of these core policy documents, we are introducing an addendum. A dynamic supporting instrument that the Council will update as circumstances evolve. These documents are the product of extensive consultation across all constituencies. In the interests of progress, the HRD Council has already endorsed the Strategy for implementation.
In a moment, I will formally hand over copies of the Strategy to leaders of business, organised labour, Government, and civil society. I invite every constituency to reflect carefully on how and where it can contribute to advancing these priorities.
This Strategy does not replace existing plans and programmes; rather, it aligns them, clarifies national priorities across each thematic area, and strengthens our ability to monitor progress at a macro level.
The Strategy must be understood as a guide for how we work together. Reports to Council should not be treated as compliance exercises but as opportunities to highlight collaboration, problem-solving, and shared impact.
Guided by the National Development Plan, the reconceptualised Strategy identifies four goals and twelve interventions across the HRDC’s three thematic areas.
In schooling, these include early childhood development, reading for meaning, and curriculum differentiation, each requiring deep collaboration. In youth development, the emphasis falls on relevant short courses and expanded workplace experience, particularly within growth sectors such as the green and digital economies. Building a capable state, the third thematic area, demands close coordination across Government, supported by institutions such as the Public Service Commission and the National School of Government, with active participation from labour and business.
Therefore, what we seek from this Summit is a simple but powerful commitment that whatever we do in the field of human development, we will do together, in partnership with relevant social actors. A draft declaration reflecting this commitment has been circulated, and we hope constituency leaders will formally signal their support as we conclude the Summit.
We recognise, without hesitation, that Government alone cannot deliver human development. Skills, employability, and state capability require deep social compacts grounded in trust, accountability, and shared ownership.
This understanding is formalised in the Summit Declaration, through which we should commit to affirming the Strategy and Master Skills Plan as our collective blueprints; strengthening implementation of existing social compacts; refreshing them to respond to technological and labour market change; and reporting annually to demonstrate real, collaborative impact.
The declaration is significant because it shifts us decisively from policy intent to shared accountability. It recognises that “living and working in a changing world” demands that we work differently together.
Our work should remain firmly grounded in South Africa’s lived realities. While recent labour force data offers modest encouragement, it also reveals a sobering truth. Millions of discouraged work seekers, particularly young people, have disengaged entirely from the labour market. For them, exclusion from work represents not only an economic loss but also a loss of dignity, purpose, and hope.
It is for this reason that the Strategy identifies four catalytic goals with the potential to unlock system-wide impact:
Improving early learning and schooling outcomes, recognising that foundational capabilities determine life opportunities.
Improving the employability of youth who are not in employment, education, or training, especially through short courses, work-based learning, and entrepreneurship.
Enhancing the responsiveness of the post‑school education and training system, particularly to skills demanded by the green, digital, and care economies.
Building a capable, ethical, and developmental state, without which no reform can be sustained.
Together, these catalytic goals are designed to trigger system-wide impact, to ignite renewal, and to ensure that our people live and work with dignity in a changing world.
Colleagues,
South Africa does not suffer from a shortage of plans. Our vulnerability lies in implementation gaps, weak coordination, and uneven ownership, which hinder the effectiveness of existing plans and prevent us from achieving our development goals. That is why the HRD Council, supported by its Secretariat and Standing Committees must now intensify its role as convener, monitor, and problem‑solver. Reports to Council must help unblock constraints, leverage partnerships, and demonstrate real progress on the ground.
The Strategy and the MSP are explicit; they are living instruments, and their custodians will be held accountable over the next decade. This Summit therefore marks not the end of a planning cycle but the beginning of a delivery phase. We need to get things done with no procrastination.
The idea of living and working in a changing world is about agency. It is about ensuring that South Africans, especially the youth, are not passive victims of change but active shapers of their futures. Our responsibility is to keep development pathways open, relevant, and dignified.
Allow me at this stage to formally recognise the members of the newly appointed HRD Council, who will be the custodians of this strategy. This Council represents all constituencies, and we have already witnessed their collaborative efforts to enhance human resource development in South Africa. We trust that Council members will take ownership of the Strategy and ensure that it is properly “socialised” among their members.
Honoured guests, ladies, and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to formally launch the Reconceptualised Human Resource Development Strategy 2025–2035 and to declare the 5th HRDC Summit officially open.
I wish you fruitful deliberations and look forward to receiving your resolutions and recommendations.
I thank you, Inkomu.
Issued by The Presidency
International-Solidarity
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women: Education is foundational to justice
Equity and inclusion Advancing gender equality in and through education, 14 April 2026
A delegation of 15 women education unionists from 8 countries represented Education International at the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which took place in New York from 9 to 19 March. The EI delegation highlighted the role of education in ensuring access to justice for all women and girls, which the Commission recognised in its Agreed Conclusions.
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the United Nations’ principal global intergovernmental body dedicated to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment. The 70th session of the CSW focused on “ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices, and addressing structural barriers”.
“I felt that the 70th session was both challenging and significant. The shift away from consensus was, to me, a serious concern, especially as the United States and several conservative states pushed for a vote. It was worrying to see previously agreed language being reopened, as this risks creating ongoing disputes—not only in gender equality, but in other international processes as well. At the same time, I was encouraged by the strong sense of solidarity, which proved essential in protecting key commitments for women and girls”, stated Ann Mari Milo Lorentzen, Chair of the Education International Status of Women’s Committee, Member of the EI Executive Board, and Vice-President of Union of Education Norway.
Strong commitments to education
Working closely with the global trade union movement, the Education International delegation advocated for the CSW to recognise the critical role of education in ensuring access to justice for all women and girls, as well as the rights of education workers—a deeply feminised profession in many parts of the world.
The Agreed Conclusions of the 70th Session of the CSW reflect many of the points put forward by education unions:
- Education is foundational to justice: The Agreed Conclusions urge all governments to strengthen access to justice for all women and girls by investing in inclusive, quality education and integrating legal literacy into learning programmes and public awareness efforts. The CSW Conclusions also call for the development of national strategies that combine legal reform with public education campaigns to actively engage men and boys as allies in advancing gender equality and supporting women’s and girls’ access to justice.
- Right to work and rights at work: The Agreed Conclusions stress the need to fulfil the obligations arising from relevant conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), addressing violence and harassment in the workplace, and tackling the gender pay gap. The Conclusions also emphasise enforcing labour rights, including the right to organise and collective bargaining, the transition from informal to formal and decent work, and the right to redress and justice for victims of labour rights violations.
- Trade unions are recognised as key promoters of access to justice for women.
- Gender-responsive justice systems: The Agreed Conclusions call for adequate financing of policies on access to justice, gender balance at all levels of public governance and justice systems, capacity building for all justice system professionals, and strengthened institutional capacity to mainstream a gender perspective in laws and policies, including labour inspection.
- Capacity building: Commitments were made regarding legal literacy for women, free legal aid, and investments in education, lifelong learning, and vocational training for women and girls.
- Call for systemic change: The Agreed Conclusions recognise multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, as well as structural and systemic barriers, as major impediment to gender equality.
Global trade union advocacy for women in the world of work
Global trade unions called on the CSW to ensure that justice effectively addresses women's exploitation in the world of work and the discriminatory working conditions they face based on gender. Trade unions called for the Agreed Conclusions to include a bold commitment to the ratification and effective implementation of international labour standards linked to the ILO's fundamental principles and rights at work for all women.
Click here to read the Global Unions’ statement to the 70th session of the CSW.
In a significant victory for the global trade union movement, paragraph 8i of the Agreed Conclusions echoes union demands, urging governments to “enact, strengthen and enforce laws and regulatory frameworks that fully respect, protect and fulfil women’s right to work and rights at work, taking into account obligations under relevant International Labour Organization conventions”.
Union solidarity against regressive forces
During the CSW negotiations, there were efforts, led by the United States, to narrow the definition of gender to “men” and “women”. Progressive actors joined forces and succeeded in blocking this regressive proposal. However, “it was a reminder that accessible, inclusive, and equity-focused values are under attack. Now more than ever, we must remain vigilant in upholding standards that protect everyone”, noted Tesa Fiddler, First Nations educator and the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Indigenous Education for the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, in her article for Worlds of Education.
Solidarity across borders was also highlighted at the reception hosted by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) for the delegations of Education International and Public Services International. AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFT Executive Vice President and EI Executive Board Member Evelyn DeJesus stressed the critical importance of solidarity to the defence of democracy, peace, public education, healthcare, and workers’ rights around the world.
Reflecting on her experience at the 70th session of the CSW, Fiddler stressed that “global commitments only matter if they are carried forward into our daily work and interactions with those around us. The conversations that happen at the United Nations have to continue in our classrooms, our schools, our unions, and our communities.”
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Bangladesh’s roadmap is stalling
14 April, 2026
The ILO Roadmap was established in 2021 because Bangladesh had serious, documented failures on freedom of association, labour inspection, anti-union discrimination and labour law reform. Years on, trade unions are clear: progress on paper has not translated into meaningful change for workers.
In 2025 Bangladesh took notable steps ratifying three ILO Conventions – C155 on Occupational Safety and Health, C187 on the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health and C190 on Violence and Harassment – becoming the first in South Asia to do so. For workers who have spent years fighting for recognition, these are hard-won gains.
But ratification is not protection. And for the millions of workers in Bangladesh’s garment factories, export processing zones and beyond, the gap between what the law says and what actually happens on the factory floor remains vast.
The legal limit for union registration is 55 days. Many applications take far longer — in some cases, up to two years. A concern IndustriALL affiliates have raised repeatedly across multiple ILO Governing Body reporting cycles, the “Nothijat” filing system leaves applications suspended in bureaucratic limbo, with no resolution in sight. Workers who try to organize don’t just face delays. They face dismissal, harassment and intimidation.
Of 42 reported cases of anti-union discrimination and unfair labour practices, authorities acted on only eleven. Employers,
meanwhile, are allegedly actively promoting yellow unions, company-friendly bodies designed to crowd out genuine worker representation.
In the ready-made garment sector is Bangladesh’s largest export industry, employing millions. And yet not a single collective bargaining agreement was active or concluded during the reporting period. The government’s 18-point tripartite agreement, signed in
September 2024 and heralded as a major achievement, was already
raising concern among affiliates about uneven implementation across industrial areas. These figures suggest those concerns were well founded.
Ratification without protection
Workplace safety figures tell a similar story. IndustriALL previously raised serious doubts about the credibility of the government’s inspection statistics, questioning whether 441 inspectors could meaningfully conduct the 85 daily inspections the government claimed. The numbers now bear that out: 1,190 workers were killed in workplace accidents in 2025, up from 905 the year before. Despite reforms, safety protections remain dangerously insufficient.
Workers in export processing zones continue to be denied the right to form independent trade unions altogether, restricted instead to Workers’ Welfare Associations that fall short of international standards. Reform of the EPZ framework has been slow and insufficient.
IndustriALL affiliates have consistently called for their recommendations to be taken seriously throughout this process.
Atle Høie, general secretary of IndustriALL, says:
“The new Bangladeshi government has just passed a strong labour code and we have hopes that this indicates a change in values towards workers. But legislative reform alone is not enough. What workers need now is full and effective implementation in practice, backed by stronger enforcement, greater accountability, and real protection against anti-union retaliation. Without these concrete actions, the objectives of the roadmap will remain unfulfilled.”
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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