Taking COSATU Today Forward, 9 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
9 October 2025
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- NEHAWU Eastern Cape condemns the violence and destruction of property at the University of Fort Hare
- SAMWU demands the immediate prioritisation of outstanding payments by City of Umhlathuze Municipality
- NUM Sibanye-Stillwater Gold members reject insulting wage offer, refer dispute to CCMA
- NUM declares strike at Pharoah Cement after wage negotiations deadlock
- COSATU to host lectures in the lead up to 40th anniversary
- South Africa
- COSATU General Secretary Solly Phetoe: Address SAMWU Northern Cape Provincial Congress
- COSATU Eastern Cape congratulates the newly elected POPCRU General Secretary
- COSATU welcomes interventions by government to pay Education Assistants
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- IndustriALL launches policy paper on artificial intelligence
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
NEHAWU Eastern Cape condemns the violence and destruction of property at the University of Fort Hare
Mlu Ncapayi, NEHAWU Eastern Cape Provincial Secretary, October 09, 2025
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] in the Eastern Cape condemns the violence and destruction of property that has been associated with the student's protest at the University of Fort Hare.
The scenes of burning buildings playing out at such a historic institution scenes are concerning and worrisome. This institution has contributed significantly in shaping the landscape of our country and the African continent. Indeed, the institution has played a tremendous role in the development of our people.
We call on students to desist from violence and destruction of property as it has the potential to overshadow their genuine demands. As NEHAWU, we support the call for the removal of the Vice-Chancellor [VC] of the University of Fort Hare, Professor Sakhela Buhlungu.
Since his arrival in the institution, we have witnessed collapse of governance in the institution as a result of high-handed management by the VC which has led to mismanagement, collapse of cordial relations, maladministration, refusal to respect collective bargaining, complete disregarding of labour laws and authoritarian management including union bashing, victimisation, harassment, intimidation of employees and students.
Hence, the union believes that there should be no way-forward in rebuilding the university with the current VC being involved. He should be proud of himself for having allowed the institution to collapse under his watch and this is the legacy that he deserves. The VC has turned this prestigious institution into a personal fiefdom and the chaos that has erupted is a confirmation that his vision has nothing to bear but pandemonium.
The current ongoing protests are as a result of his failures to govern the institution properly. However, that does not justify the violence and destruction that we are currently witnessing.
The destruction of property must never be condoned. As such, we call on all stakeholders to find common ground and engage each other without resorting to violence and vandalism.
The university must remain a centre of knowledge production that is capable of addressing societal needs as an asset of our nation, whose existence is to benefit our people.
END
Issued by NEHAWU Eastern Cape Secretariat
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SAMWU demands the immediate prioritisation of outstanding payments by City of Umhlathuze Municipality
Zandile Gumede, SAMWU Regional Secretary, 09 October 2025
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Shonamalanga Region, KwaZulu-Natal, is utterly dismayed and gobsmacked by the recent decision of the City of uMhlathuze Local Municipality to advertise 16 job vacancies. This external recruitment, which carries a potential remuneration cost of Sixteen Million Sixty-Six Thousand Three Hundred and Five Rand and Twelve Cents (R16,066,305.12), is being pursued while current employees are receiving short pay and continue to be denied their rightful overtime compensation.
This action is entirely reckless, particularly as the municipality has been placed under Cost Containment for the past three years, a situation that has already deprived workers of basic benefits such as soap and toilet paper.
Furthermore, this is the same municipality that has consistently misled the South African Local Government Bargaining Council for three years, often capping overtime at the threshold and citing a poor financial standing. It is noteworthy that the current salaries budget remains precarious, placing existing employees at risk of having missed payments and tainted Credit Scores.
As a trade union, we are typically enthusiastic about the prospects of municipalities employing more people, recognising their vital role in local economic development.
However, this time, we take a dim view of these developments as there are outstanding wages owed to current employees. The Union views this recruitment as an action that will further exacerbate the challenges faced by our members. SAMWU is not saying the municipality should not employ, but rather, we insist it must first get its house in order.
SAMWU strongly condemns the Municipality’s decision to proceed with external recruitment when it has failed to meet its most basic obligation: paying workers their outstanding salaries and overtime. This is not merely irresponsible, but also a direct affront to the dignity of municipal workers who continue to provide essential services under increasingly difficult circumstances.
We are the champions of workers’ interest in the local government sector and have already resorted to the legal route, serving the municipality with a Letter of Demand for outstanding payments of salaries and objecting to the recruitment of non-essential personnel whilst owing workers’ wages and salaries.
The City continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons. Service providers have taken the City to court, owing to unpaid invoices, yet the municipality attempts to convince the public that they have the financial capacity to dish out patronage. Workers are the backbone of service delivery in our communities, yet they are being forced to shoulder the burden of poor financial management and misplaced priorities.
Many have gone for recurring months without receiving their salaries in full, and others have worked long hours of overtime without any compensation, all in a selfless effort to keep essential municipal services running.
As SAMWU, we therefore demand the immediate withdrawal of all advertised vacancies until the current financial obligations to existing employees are met, and the full payment of all outstanding salaries and overtime owed to municipal workers without any further delay.
We further demand the full Provision of PPE in line with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the provision of Mobile Toilets for all field workers to end this inhumane treatment, and the urgent provision of Tools of Trade and Fleet, as no Member of SAMWU will drive or commute in an unroadworthy Vehicle.
We insist on the payment of Standby Allowances inclusive of Meal Allowances and Danger Allowances and call for an engagement with labour unions to address the Municipality’s financial challenges in a transparent and collaborative manner.
We wish to remind the Municipality that recruitment processes must not proceed while workers’ constitutional rights to fair labour practices and remuneration are being violated.
The continued disregard for the welfare of employees risks undermining morale, service delivery, and labour stability. Should the Municipality fail to act accordingly, SAMWU will not hesitate to escalate this matter, including continuing with exploring all legal avenues and mass mobilisation of workers.
SAMWU stands firm in full defence of its members and will continue to fight for the fair treatment and respect of all municipal workers
Issued by SAMWU Shonamalanga Region
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NUM Sibanye-Stillwater Gold members reject insulting wage offer, refer dispute to CCMA
Mpho Phakedi, NUM General Secretary, 09 October 2025
JOHANNESBURG – The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Sibanye-Stillwater Gold branches have overwhelmingly rejected the company's latest wage offer, calling it insufficient to meet the rising cost of living and a failure to recognize the value of their members' labour.
The rejected offer included a 4.5% wage increase, a R50 increase to the Living Out Allowance (LOA), and a R30 increase to the medical aid subsidy.
“The NUM Sibanye-Stillwater Gold branches view this offer as an insult to the hardworking men and women who generate immense wealth for the company under hazardous conditions beneath the earth’s surface,” said Mpho Phakedi, NUM General Secretary and Chief Negotiator at Sibanye-Stillwater Gold Operations. “The proposed increases do not keep pace with the rising cost of living, and our members deserve better.”
NUM Core Demands:
The NUM is demanding a serious and meaningful offer that reflects the significant contribution of its members. Key demands include:
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Category |
Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
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Category 4-8 Wages |
R1,500 increase |
R1,500 increase |
R1,500 increase |
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Officials, Miners, and Artisans' Wages |
8% increase |
8% increase |
8% increase |
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Maternity Leave |
Six months' full pay (up from four months) |
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Next Steps: Conciliation at the CCMA
In a united front, the NUM, along with other trade unions (AMCU, UASA, and Solidarity), has formally referred a dispute of mutual interest to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
The NUM remains committed to constructive dialogue and will continue to engage with the company through the CCMA process to reach a fair and mutually acceptable agreement.
The NUM will not back down in its fight for fair wages and better working conditions for Sibanye-Stillwater Gold Operations employees. Our branches stand united in their determination to fight for the rights and dignity of their members.
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NUM declares strike at Pharoah Cement after wage negotiations deadlock
Mandla Mgadi, NUM Chief Negotiator at Pharaoh09 October 2025
JOHANNESBURG, 8 October 2025 – The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) PWV Region today served a 48-hour notice of strike action to Pharoah Cement in Alberton following a complete deadlock in wage negotiations. The strike is scheduled to commence on Monday, 12 October 2025.
The union was awarded a certificate to strike by the CCMA on 3 October 2025, confirming the failure of negotiations between the parties.
The Wage Dispute.
The core of the dispute revolves around the current low wages paid by the cement producer and the company's inadequate offer.
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Current Pay Rate |
R35.55 per hour |
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NUM Initial Demand |
R10.00 increase per hour |
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NUM Revised Demand |
R7.00 increase per hour |
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Pharoah Cement Final Offer |
R2.14 – R2.48 increase per hour. |
Our members at Pharoah Cement are currently earning a meager R5,600 per month for demanding and critical work," said Mandla Mgadi, NUM Chief Negotiator at Pharaoh Cement.. "We revised our demand significantly down to R7.00 per hour to find common ground, but the company's final offer is simply an insult to the workers and does not address the rising cost of living."
The decision to strike was mandated by the NUM members after management confirmed they would not improve their final offer. The union confirmed that picketing rules have been agreed upon with the employer and certified by the CCMA.
The NUM remains committed to a negotiated settlement that provides a dignified and fair wage for its members.
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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
COSATU General Secretary Solly Phetoe: Address SAMWU Northern Cape Provincial Congress
Solly Phetoe, COSATU General Secretary, 08 October 2025
Provincial Leadership of our militant SAMWU,
Leadership of the Federation and Alliance Partners,
Most importantly the rank and file of SAMWU, from Springbok to Warrenton,
Comrades please accept warm revolutionary greetings on behalf of the CEC of your Federation and our best wishes for this important Provincial Congress.
We are meeting as our members, the working class and the entire nation face many painful challenges. It takes place as we prepare to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Federation in December in Dobsonville.
This Provincial Congress presents an opportunity to reflect on the challenges facing municipal workers and to empower ordinary shop stewards of SAMWU.
It is essential that we remember those who laid the path for SAMWU and COSATU to be what we are today, the generations of Elijah Barayi and Petrus Mashishi. We owe it to these stalwarts to continue in their footsteps and when we err, to correct our mistakes.
It is no exaggeration to state that the working class is under siege as never before since the democratic breakthrough of 1994.
The economy is barely growing at 1% for the last 17 years. Unemployment continues to rise and is currently a painful 42.9% overall and 72% for the youth. Poverty, inequality, crime and corruption remain entrenched.
The public and municipal services that the working class depend upon are underfunded, reeling from years of budget cuts, corruption and mismanagement and struggling with critical frontline vacancies.
The many gains we have made since 1994 from investing over 61% of the Budget in working class communities, to providing social grants to 27 million, to tackling the legacies of centuries of racism and sexism, are in serious danger of being eroded by budget cuts and the rising costs of living.
The recent gains we have made towards ending loadshedding, rebuilding Transnet and SARS, tackling corruption are at risk of being forgotten as electricity becomes unaffordable, the mining and manufacturing sectors shed jobs and comrades continue to be implicated in unexplained wealth.
We now face a potential bloodbath of jobs from agriculture to motor and other manufacturing sectors as the United States imposes a 30% tariff on South African exports. This is a blow the economy and workers cannot afford. We will continue to intervene with government to ensure that this crisis is resolved and done so urgently.
Government must move with speed to tackle our many existential crises. It is not good enough to say we will resolve the tariff crisis. DTIC must put in place support to protect at risk farms, factories, businesses and workers.
The Unemployment Insurance Fund must fix the many challenges preventing workers from receiving relief, including the Temporary Employee Relief Scheme.
South Africa is at a crossroads that requires a budget that capacitates the state to provide the essential services the working class needs to survive, to stimulate inclusive economic growth to tackle unemployment and poverty and to provide a better life for all.
This requires government led by the African National Congress to engage with the Alliance, with Business and Labour and communities on a bold and progressive budget to take economic growth to the 3% needed to create decent jobs.
It requires the leadership of government to be decisive in implementing programmes, to deal with those who fail to spend their budgets, to arrest those who break the law or steal.
Society is rapidly losing patience with all of us.
Comrades, much work continues to be done by COSATU with affiliates, in particular, SAMWU at Nedlac, Parliament, in the industrial master plans and bargaining councils.
We must not forget that it was SACTWU in March 2020 who first proposed the Two Pot Pension Reforms. Today it is the law of the Republic with more than 3.5 million workers having received over R60 billion to date.
Engagements are taking place on reducing the tax burden upon workers, enabling fund members to access further relief and to ensure that workers losing their jobs are able to access all their savings.
Engagements are taking place at Nedlac on the labour law reforms. In 2022 when government and business tabled their proposals, we were shocked by their attempts to gut the progressive labour laws that took workers decades of hard-fought struggles to win.
We adopted a deliberate strategy to wear down government, to divide government from business and when the time was right after three years of intense monthly and weekly negotiations, to strike and offer compromises on areas that would not harm workers, to block proposals that would weaken workers’ rights and to score victories that would extend protections to millions.
SAFTU and other armchair critics claim the labour laws will be weakened and that COSATU has sold out. They claimed the same lies when we achieved the National Minimum Wage, the Two Pot Pension Reforms and countless other victories.
The reality is that SAFTU does not have capacity and only attended 3 out of more than 30 meetings. Yet they are always available to fly to Europe!
Whilst COSATU did not achieve all we had sought at Nedlac, we are confident that we have managed to ensure workers’ rights remain secure and that many critical gains advancing workers’ protections have been won, including:
Defeating a variety of proposals to weaken our labour laws and roll back workers’ rights.
- Defeating proposals to exempt SMMEs from the majority of labour laws.
- Defeating proposals to reduce the National Minimum Wage to R20 an hour.
- Defeating proposals to extend the limit on labour broking to 12 months.
- Defeating proposals to remove protections from dismissals for persons under 30 years of age.
- Defeating proposals to exempt SMMEs from having to pay retrenchment payments if they had not yet operated for 2 years.
- Increasing severance pay for workers losing their jobs from one to two weeks per year employed.
- Extending protections for the National Minimum Wage including from deductions.
- Guaranteeing on-call workers a minimum number of shifts to ensure they can earn sufficient income to take care of themselves.
- Requiring labour inspectors to check pension fund payments compliance by employers.
- UIF assisting workers in the event of an employer defaulting on monies owed.
- Recognising the rights of atypical workers to join trade unions and engage in collective bargaining e.g. artists, musicians and actors.
- Further negotiations that will take place soon on ensuring atypical workers enjoy the protection of the UIF and Compensation Fund.
- BCEA provisions compelling employers to pay their employees’ pension contributions will be strengthened including requiring interest to be paid for late payments to the workers’ funds.
Some areas of substantial disagreement remain, including exempting start-ups from collective bargaining council agreements and the definitions of unfair labour practices. COSATU is continuing to engage with government on these to ensure that when the Bills are finally tabled before Parliament, those and all other remaining areas of disagreement are resolved in the interests of workers.
The Bills are now before the state law advisor and will then be released for public comment and later retabled at Nedlac for final consideration on any further needed amendments. They will then be submitted to Cabinet and Parliament, which would hold further public consultations. COSATU remains confident that the final legislation will continue to protect workers’ rights and that such protections will be further extended.
We hope that at some stage SAFTU’s leadership will mature to play a constructive role at Nedlac. Seeking media headlines may entertain friends over drinks but does nothing to strengthen workers’ rights in law or reality.
This same SAFTU is absent from the Nedlac engagements on the Merchant Shipping Bill where through COSATU’s interventions we have secured agreement to extend all labour rights to merchant and fishing workers.
Revolutions are won through honesty and hard work. Negotiations required you to pitch up and engage.
Comrades it is important that SAMWU continue to work closely with COSATU at Nedlac. In fact if it were not for SAMWU’s leadership and support, we would not have achieved many of the victories we have won over many years at Nedlac.
It is equally important that we take this information to members and workers, train and empower them to claim their rights.
We will head to the most difficult local government elections in 2026 where if we cannot convince our members, their families and the working class on the importance of voting and voting for the Alliance, we may find the National Democratic Revolution and our many gains under severe threat.
We have seen that coalitions breed instability with mayors changing left, right and centre and little progress made to fix local government or deliver basic services. We have seen municipal workers left unpaid, pensions pickpocketed, and companies close.
Again, our leadership in government needs to move much faster to turn things around before it is too late.
The state of local government is extremely worrying. Approximately 70% of municipalities in South Africa are in serious financial trouble. We have seen up to 36 municipalities struggle to pay staff, including 8 in the Northern Cape with Thembelihle amongst the worse. We have seen many struggling to provide basic services, including Kimberly the provincial capital.
We have managed to intervene with COGTA in January to stop the retrenchment of 67 000 CWP employees. We now need a permanent solution to the crisis of local government, including a new funding model, insourcing EPWP and CWP workers, tackling corruption and removing incompetent politicians and managers.
This is a struggle that SAMWU and COSATU must continue to lead.
We need equally to ensure that the Alliance is not only radically reconfigured but also united. The African National Congress and the South African Communist Party are our allies. We respect and support them. But we need them not to divide workers.
The ANC and the SACP must engage and find each other and explain to us the modalities to unite the Alliance, including the SACP’s decision to contest state power.
This is a matter that Affiliates must deliberate on, not as leaders but with our membership across the country. We have set a process as the CEC to engage on this sensitive issue and receive a clear mandate from workers, including holding Special CECs and the Central Committee in September and ultimately our National Congress in 2026.
We must ensure that the Alliance is united, members are mobilised and the working class turns out in decisive numbers to return the movement to power in the local elections. Not to enrich politicians but to deliver a better life to all our people, from Okiep to Kenhardt.
Leadership, all of these can only be won, if we have a strong SAMWU and COSATU.
We must raise the alarm bells that our membership continues to shrink, many affiliates remain fragile and our campaigns are not felt by workers.
SAMWU remains an example for many to follow. Not so long ago, SAMWU was in serious trouble. Today it is a union that can be felt across factories, that is growing across farms, that is engaged with members and responding to their needs.
SAMWU needs to share these experiences with other unions who struggle to get the basics right.
But SAMWU can and must do better. Your membership is too small. Can we not push it to 200 000 paid up by the COSATU Congress next year?
Can we ramp up our campaigns to recruit and service municipal workers, from Port Nolloth to Douglas?
Can SAMWU not offer training sessions to shop stewards and organisers on how to recruit and service members? How to train and empower workers? How to manage investment funds to benefit members not leaders? How to maintain unity and democratic processes? How to exemplify the non-racial, non-sexist vision of the Freedom Charter?
These are the life and blood of the labour movement. We need SAMWU to share these good stories of the Federation with our comrades as many have forgotten these fundamentals.
Leadership allow me to conclude here, by thanking you for giving COSATU this opportunity to report to you, our members, and for all the support you have given the Federation and most importantly for all that you have done and continue to do for the working class.
Amandla!
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COSATU Eastern Cape congratulates the newly elected POPCRU General Secretary
Mkhawuleli Maleki, COSATU Eastern Cape Provincial Secretary, 09 October 2025
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in the Eastern Cape welcomes the election of Comrade Xolani Prusente as the POPCU General Secretary at its Central Executive Committee that is underway, and congratulates him.
Comrade Xolani Prusente was a COSATU Eastern Cape Provincial Executive Committee member by virtue of him being the POPCRU Provincial Secretary. He represented COSATU in the ANC Provincial Sub-committee on International Relations, Peace and Stability. He played a prominent role in the crime prevention initiative in the province.
COSATU in the Eastern Cape is hopeful that the experience he gained during his tenure as the Provincial Secretary will be of great use in his new area of responsibility as General Secretary.
The Federation takes this opportunity to wish Comrade Xolani success in taking forward the struggle of the workers, working together with POPCRU National Office Bearers collective.
Issued by COSATU Eastern Cape
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COSATU welcomes interventions by government to pay Education Assistants
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 08 October 2025
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes interventions by the Departments of Employment and Labour and Basic Education, the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the Industrial Development Corporation to resolve the unacceptable delays in paying 156 000 education assistants over the past week.
We are pleased that payments to these workers have started, and all should receive their monies by tomorrow at the latest.
The Presidential Employment Programme’s education assistants have been a progressive intervention easing the burdens on teachers and boosting classroom learning. They have unlocked a pathway to finding jobs for thousands of young people by providing them with critical experience, skills and confidence, key to finding long term work whilst earning a salary not less than the National Minimum Wage.
Given our dangerously high and rising 42.9% unemployment level and the struggles of many young people to find work, government needs to drastically expand the Presidential Employment Programme and build upon its successes.
Whilst welcoming government’s interventions to resolve the shameful delay in paying education assistants, we have witnessed previous delays in these workers and other Presidential Employment Programme participants in receiving their salaries.
We appreciate the logistics of verifying and uploading the banking details of thousands of workers, and putting in place clear measures to prevent corruption, such delays must not be allowed to happen again.
Just like politicians and management would not agree to their salaries being paid late, so too should they equally accord these minimum wage-earning workers, the same respect.
Government led by the African National Congress must not allow such instances of callous incompetence to undermine the positive work of the Presidential Employment Programme or tarnish its progressive objectives.
COSATU will continue to engage with government to ensure these teething pains don’t recur. We are hopeful that this episode will help ensure it does not.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
IndustriALL launches policy paper on artificial intelligence
8 October, 2025
IndustriALL has released a new policy paper on Artificial Intelligence (AI): challenges and opportunities for industrial workers and trade union responses, setting out a strategy for how trade unions can respond to the fast digital transformation reshaping workplaces worldwide.
“AI is no longer a distant prospect, it is already transforming industrial sectors through automation, robotics and data-driven management systems. This new policy paper is both a warning and a guide: a resource to help unions navigate the risks and harness the opportunities of AI while protecting workers’ rights, dignity and jobs,”
said Kan Matsuzaki, IndustriALL assistant general secretary
Putting workers at the centre of technological change
As the paper explains, artificial intelligence is redefining how work is organized, monitored and valued. Many workers now find themselves managed by algorithms that determine schedules, track performance and even influence hiring and promotions, often without transparency or accountability.
Meanwhile, governments and companies still lack adequate regulations to ensure fairness, there are still very few collective agreements that address AI directly. The result is an uneven playing field where corporate profits rise, but many workers face insecurity, discrimination and intensified surveillance.
IndustriALL’s policy paper outlines a clear roadmap to change this, ensuring that technological progress goes hand in hand with decent work, equality and a Just Transition.
Five key areas for trade union action
The document identifies five priority areas where unions must act:
Algorithmic management and data privacy to ensure transparency, accountability and limits on workplace surveillance.
Quality jobs and skills to guarantee access to lifelong learning, inclusive reskilling and Just Transition support.
Occupational health and safety to make AI a tool for safer, healthier workplaces, not one that adds new stress or risks.
Redistribution of wealth and productivity, demanding fair profit-sharing, progressive taxation and stronger social protection.
Workers’ rights and collective bargaining to protect the right to organize, strengthen legal safeguards and equip union representatives to negotiate in the digital era.
A global, sectoral and national roadmap
The policy paper calls on unions to act at every level to ensure AI benefits workers:
Globally, by influencing international standards at the ILO and OECD, coordinating with global union federations and demanding fair AI governance;
Sectorally, by negotiating responsible AI implementation, forecasting skills needs and ensuring no worker is left behind;
Nationally, by advocating for inclusive AI policies, tripartite social dialogue and cross-sector union solidarity.
AI must serve people, not profit
The paper concludes that AI can be a catalyst for worker empowerment, or a driver of inequality and union repression, depending on how it is governed.
Unions have a decisive role to play in shaping that future: demanding transparency, ensuring workers share in productivity gains and embedding AI within a framework of social justice and democratic oversight.
“Through strong international solidarity and collective bargaining, IndustriALL and its affiliates can make sure that AI becomes a tool for decent work and sustainable industry, not another engine of exploitation,” says Matsuzaki.
______________________________
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