Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 16 September 2025 #CosatuCC2025
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #Cosatu ordinary 8th Central Committee is in session at Benoni #CosatuCC2025 #WorkerControl #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
16 September 2025
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- NUM challenges Afrimat’s anti-worker agenda in Matlosana Region
- COSATU 8th Central Committee Livestream
- South Africa
- COSATU Western Cape condemns abrupt closure of taxi routes, calls for urgent stakeholder engagement
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- SACP condemns apartheid Israel’s attacks in Qatar
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
NUM challenges Afrimat’s anti-worker agenda in Matlosana Region
Mpho Phakedi, NUM General Secretary, 16 September 2025
MATLOSANA, NORTH WEST – The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) today released a statement condemning what it describes as a series of anti-worker actions by Afrimat in the Matlosana Region. The union, which is the majority representative at the company, is pushing back against efforts to reverse long-standing employee benefits following Afrimat's acquisition of Lafarge in April 2024.
The NUM highlights several key points of contention:
• Stalled Wage Negotiations: Wage negotiations have been prolonged since March, with the company showing what the union calls "disdain" for the bargaining process.
• Medical Aid Rollback: Afrimat intends to scrap a comprehensive medical aid plan inherited from Lafarge, which had a 65% company contribution, and replace it with a limited medical insurance policy that imposes a flat R600 per member. This move is a significant reversal of workers' progressive gains.
• Maternity Leave Reduction: The company is also proposing to cut maternity leave from four months months to two months, a change the union finds unacceptable and a direct attack on female employees.
"Afrimat is trying to strip away the benefits our members have fought for and earned over many years," said Mpho Phakedi, NUM General Secretary. "These are not mere habits; these are calculated moves to undermine our members' well-being. The company's posture is anti-worker, and we are prepared to fight back."
NUM members are threatening to strike in the coming week if the company does not reverse its position. The union remains committed to protecting the rights and benefits of its members.
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COSATU 8th Central Committee Livestream
Day 1 (Monday - 15 Sep)
https://youtube.com/live/uxHueFx6RfI?feature=share
Day 2 (Tuesday - 16 Sep)
https://youtube.com/live/IHSq7Oz34mE?feature=share
Day 5 (Friday - 19 Sep)
https://youtube.com/live/gS32xH7gZBk?feature=share
COSATU Western Cape condemns abrupt closure of taxi routes, calls for urgent stakeholder engagement
Malvern De Bruyn, COSATU Western Cape Provincial Secretary, 16 September 2025
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in the Western Cape wishes to express its profound concern and disappointment regarding the recent decision by the Provincial MEC of Mobility, Mr. Isaac Sileku, to close several key minibus taxi routes serving the Mfuleni, Khayelitsha, Nomzamo, Lwandle and Somerset West corridor for 30 days, starting Wednesday, 17 September.
This abrupt decision, taken without adequate consultation or a clear, alternative plan, will have a severe and negative impact on thousands of commuters and the working class across the province.
The minibus taxi industry is the lifeblood of public transport in the Western Cape, and any disruption to its routes directly undermines the ability of workers to get to their jobs, students to reach their schools, and citizens to access essential services.
Our primary concern is that the MEC does not have a viable, sustainable plan to mitigate the immense inconvenience and potential economic hardship this closure will inflict on commuters.
The working class, who are already burdened by the high cost of living, cannot afford increased transport costs, longer travel times, or a complete loss of access to reliable transport.
COSATU Western Cape is therefore calling on MEC Sileku to:
1. Immediately review this ill-considered decision.
2. Convene an urgent meeting with all relevant stakeholders, including COSATU, representatives from the minibus taxi industry, commuter forums, and Labour Unions.
3. Present a comprehensive and practical plan that addresses the concerns of commuters and ensures affordable, reliable, and safe alternative transport arrangements are in place before any such closures are implemented.
We believe that through constructive and genuine engagement, a solution can be found that prioritises the needs of the people. Public transport policy must be developed with the people, not imposed upon them.
COSATU remains committed to defending the rights of workers and the working class and will not stand by while decisions are made that jeopardize their livelihoods and well-being.
Issued by COSATU Western Cape
International-Solidarity
SACP condemns apartheid Israel’s attacks in Qatar
Mbulelo Mandlana, Head of Media, Communications and Information, 16 September 2025
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has observed the persistent violent attacks perpetrated against sovereign states in the Middle East by Zionist Israel, with the most recent assault directed at Qatar. These recent attacks by apartheid Israel constitute a belligerent imperialist series of actions intended to undermine the remaining independent Middle Eastern nation states, thereby facilitating the strengthening of Israel as a preeminent political force representing Western geopolitical interests in the region.
This stance pursued by apartheid Israel is carried out violently, brazenly, and without regard for human lives, human rights, the rights of nations to statehood, and the sovereignty of peoples. This attack occurs within the context of ongoing peace negotiations, thereby undermining the peace process and prolonging the conditions of the imperialist war against Palestine and the broader region.
The pretext presented to justify these Israeli actions as actions to eliminate Hamas is merely another propaganda formulation employed to conceal the power-hungry nature of these attacks. As the Communist Party, we unequivocally condemn these attacks as immoral and inhuman over and above the fact that they amount to a violation of international law.
The SACP calls upon the states in the Middle East to collaborate with each other in resisting the imperialist expansion of Israel, which now not only threatens an irreversible ethnic cleansing of Palestine but also the systematic political capture of the entirety of the Middle East, resulting in the creation of puppet states that serve Western interests. We call for sustained solidarity among all people of the global south with Palestine and all the states of the Middle East.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY,
FOUNDED IN 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA.
Media, Communications & Information Department | MCID
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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