Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 23 Marh 2026 #COSATUFeministSchool2026
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY COSATU Call Center Contacts: 010 002 2590 Today, #CosatuFeministSchool commences 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
23 March 2026
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
Organize at every workplace and demand respect for labour rights Now!
Defend Jobs Now!
Join COSATU NOW!
Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- COSATU National Gender Elective Conference
- South Africa
- Deputy President Paul Mashatile: 2026 Annual Labour School
- Minister Blade Nzimande pays tribute to Nicholas Fink Haysom
- Gender Equality undertakes national study on digital gender transformation and women’s participation in the digital economy
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Syntagma Square – Athens Today pensioners are making their voices heard
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
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
Deputy President Paul Mashatile: 2026 Annual Labour School
22 Mar 2026
Keynote address by Deputy President Shipokosa Paulus Mashatile at the 2026 Annual Labour School, Kievits Kroon, Pretoria
Programme
Director,
Organised Labour Overall Convenor, Mr Gerald Mkhomazi Twala;
Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour, Ms Judith Nemadzinga-Tshabalala;
Leaders of our trade union federations, Zingiswa Losi, President of COSATU, and GS Solly Phetoe; Comrade, Godfrey Selamastela of FEDUSA; Comrade Steve Manganye of NACTU, and Comrade Maredi, Acting President of SAFTU, led by President Maredi;
Fellow compatriots,
Good Morning,
Comrades, leaders of our great federations, we gather at a decisive moment in our nation’s journey, a moment where the choices we make, and the actions we take, will profoundly shape the future of South Africa.
Today, I invite you to return to the roots of our struggle, to the spirit of activism anchored in three enduring pillars: mobilisation, education, and unity. These pillars must guide us as we confront the defining challenges of our time: global economic instability, widening inequality, and the disruptive impact of technological change.
These challenges call on us to reignite the fire of activism. The fire that blazed in Durban in 1973, when mass strikes revived black unionism. The fire that forced recognition of black unions in 1979.
The fire that gave birth to COSATU in 1985, whose courage helped cripple the apartheid economy and advance our liberation.
And indeed, COSATU was not alone.
The National Council of Trade Unions carried forward unity and resistance. The Federation of Unions of South Africa brought diverse voices together. In our democratic era, SAFTU emerged to continue the fight against job losses, inequality, and poverty.
From apartheid’s crucible to democracy’s promise, trade unions have been more than defenders of workers’ rights, they have been architects of a just society.
Today, as unemployment and inequality continue to scar our nation, we draw strength from the resilience of leaders such as Elijah Barayi and James Mndaweni, who ensured that the worker’s voice became the voice of dignity and transformation. Their legacy must guide us as we confront urgent challenges:
Unemployment, especially among the youth, is a challenge that must never be normalised. Inequality is deepening, with the risk that digital economies benefit a few while excluding many. Poverty continues to undermine dignity and opportunity.
These challenges demand a unified response bringing together workers, unions, communities, government, and society at large.
The 7th Administration has prioritised three strategic objectives: Driving inclusive growth and job creation; Reducing poverty and the cost of living; Building a capable, ethical, and developmental state.
In the 2026/27 Budget, social protection remains central, with the social wage accounting for over 60% of non-interest spending.
At the same time, we are expanding employment through infrastructure investment and the Presidential Employment Stimulus, particularly targeting young people and women.
Through Operation Vulindlela, we are addressing structural constraints in energy and logistics, laying the foundation for sustained, inclusive growth. Encouragingly, the economy grew by 1.1% in 2025, with inflation easing to 3.0% in February 2026. But we must be clear: growth without jobs is not enough.
Our task is to ensure that growth is inclusive—that it reaches: The young jobseeker in Muyexe; the discouraged worker in Ntabankulu; the struggling family in every corner of our country. True progress is measured not in statistics, but in lives uplifted, dignity restored and hope renewed.
However, our public employment programmes must not entrench dependency. They must create pathways to skills, work experience, and long-term opportunities. This is how a capable state acts, protecting the vulnerable today while building productive capacity for tomorrow.
Comrades,
International experience reinforces this approach. For instance, China has reduced poverty through targeted reforms and skills development, and the United Kingdom has demonstrated how public institutions can be both compassionate and efficient.
Here at home, our reforms are guided by the same objective: to build a state that is the greatest ally of the worker. Yet we must confront a difficult reality: the labour market is changing.
Formal employment is shrinking. Precarious work is rising. Too many workers live with uncertainty. We must therefore act decisively: to protect workers from exploitation; expand access to secure employment; and enforce health and safety standards without compromise. No worker should lose their life or livelihood due to non-compliance.
Compatriots, our trade unions must also evolve! Beyond wage negotiations, unions must: shape macroeconomic policy; support labour-intensive investment; and drive skills development and job creation.
This perspective also brings us to the discussion around the future of work. Workers with access to skills and training should be able to secure better wages, stability, and dignity. The Human Resource Development Council remains central in aligning education with labour market needs. As Chair of the HRDC, I reaffirm our commitment to this agenda.
We must also confront the rise of Artificial Intelligence. AI is already transforming sectors from freight logistics at Transnet to predictive maintenance at Eskom. While these innovations improve efficiency, they also reshape jobs and demand new skills.
Our responsibility is clear: no worker must be managed or dismissed by an algorithm alone; workers must share in productivity gains; displaced workers must be retrained and supported. Technology must empower workers, not replace them and their dignity!
Comrades,
This Labour School must be more than a forum; it must be a platform for shaping the future. I challenge our federations to develop a Digital Workers’ Charter, grounded in the right to retraining; data sovereignty; digital dignity; human oversight in all automated systems.
Regarding the issue of the urgent housing needs of workers, we acknowledge that too many public servants fall into a gap where they earn too much for RDP housing, yet too little to access mortgage finance.
This is unacceptable. Minister of Human Settlements is We developing innovative housing solutions that ensure access to affordable, quality housing. Supporting public servants in this way is not just social policy, it is an investment in the capability of the state.
Compatriots,
We
cannot achieve our goals without organised labour.
Through NEDLAC, in the upcoming National Dialogue, we have an opportunity to forge a new social compact that unites government, business, labour, and civil society. But dialogue alone is not enough. Dialogue must lead to action!
As I conclude, allow me to make a point at the geopolitical level. Firstly, South Africa posture remains of being non-aligned, in the interests of promoting a multipolar world order and defending national interests.
Secondly, South Africa will continue to stand for peace in the Middle East and other parts of the world. We are committed to silencing the guns on our continent and promoting peace and cooperation across the world. We condemn the unprovoked attack on Iran by the US and call for de-escalation from both sides. This is primarily because development cannot exist without peace.
Compatriots,
May we see this platform as an opportunity to continue standing in solidarity with the people – workers, women, youth, and other marginalised groups. Let us not act as isolated voices, but as one chorus for dignity, justice, and opportunity. Only together can we bend the arc of our nation toward hope and renewal.
Let us continue working together to build a South Africa where every worker enjoys dignity, security, and opportunity, as promised in the Freedom Charter: “The people shall share in the country’s wealth. There shall be work and security for all.”
Aluta Continua!
I thank you.
_____________________
Minister Blade Nzimande pays tribute to Nicholas Fink Haysom
22 Mar 2026
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Blade Nzimande joins his Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa in mourning the passing of Mr.Nicholas Haysom.
"Mr Haysom was a progressive lawyer who played a significant role in crafting the constitutional architecture for our democracy. I particularly recall my interaction with him in the 80s, when I was serving on the Editorial Board of the South African Labour Bulletin. At the time, he was what is often referred to as “struggle lawyer". He selflessly provided critical legal support to the independent black labour movement, through Cheadle Thompson & Haysom (CTH), which was an influential human rights law firm that he cofounded.”
“It is saddening that he left us just a few days before the 30th anniversary of the adoption of our constitution because, as a coarchitect of our democracy, he made a substantial contribution to the drafting and adoption of our country’s interim and final constitutions”.
“His work as a human rights lawyer earned him both local and global recognition, which includes honorary doctorates in law from the University of Cape Town and the New York Law School. As the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, he also distinguished himself as a Global Peace Mediator in countries that were afflicted by armed conflict such as Afghanistan, Burundi, Iraq, Somalia, and Sudan.”
“We will remember Mr Haysom as an indefatigable human rights defender and distinguished patriot, whose life was anchored on such values as peace, social justice and dialogue and whose spirit of human solidarity, knew no borders. I wish to send my heartfelt condolences to his wife Delphine, children, family, friends, and colleagues.”
Enquiries:
Veli Mbele (Media Liaison Officer and Spokesperson to the Minister)
Cell: 064 615 0644
E-mail: Veli....@dsti.gov.za
Issued by Department of Science, Technology and Innovation
___________________
Gender Equality undertakes national study on digital gender transformation and women’s participation in the digital economy
19 Mar 2026
The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) is undertaking a national study on digital gender transformation and women’s participation in the digital economy, as part of its ongoing commitment to advancing substantive gender equality in South Africa.
The rapid expansion of the digital economy presents significant opportunities for economic growth, innovation, and inclusion. However, persistent gender inequalities in access to digital technologies, skills development, and online economic participation continue to exclude many women, particularly those in historically marginalised communities from fully benefiting from these opportunities.
In response, the CGE has initiated a comprehensive, multi-provincial study to examine patterns of digital access, usage, opportunities, and barriers affecting women, students, and small, medium, and micro-enterprises (SMMEs). The study places particular emphasis on women-owned and women-led enterprises, recognising their critical role in local economic development, growth, and job creation.
The findings of this study will contribute to a robust, gender-responsive evidence base to inform policy advocacy, legislative oversight, and targeted interventions to close the digital gender gap in South Africa.
The CGE calls on SMMEs, especially women-owned and women-led businesses to participate in this important national initiative by sharing their lived experiences of engaging with the digital economy.
Participation entails completing a short survey, through which businesses will directly contribute to shaping evidence-based policy recommendations and advocacy efforts focused on improving digital access, strengthening digital skills, and enhancing economic inclusion.
Through this initiative, the CGE aims to:
generate policy-relevant research to inform national and provincial interventions;
strengthen understanding of institutional, structural, and socio-economic drivers of digital exclusion;
advance inclusive digital transformation that prioritises women’s empowerment and economic participation.
The CGE reiterates that digital inclusion is not only a technological issue but a fundamental gender equality concern. Ensuring that women are fully included in the digital economy is essential to achieving inclusive growth, reducing inequality, and advancing social justice in South Africa.
The Commission remains committed to monitoring, advocating, and holding stakeholders accountable to ensure that no woman is left behind in the country’s digital future.
To participate in the study, please contact: Ms. Grace Rapholo and Dr. Jamela Hoveni
Email Addresses: grace....@gmail.com and Jam...@cge.org.za
Cellphone
numbers: 082 775 7446 and 069 007 4036
Enquiries:
Javu Baloyi
Spokesperson
Cell: 083 579 3306
E-mail: me...@cge.org.za
Website : www.cge.org.za
X : @cge_za
Issued by Commission for Gender Equality
International-Solidarity
Syntagma Square – Athens Today pensioners are making their voices heard
by WFTU, 20 Mar 2026
Today, pensioners are making their voices heard
We are many, we are strong!
Increase pensions now
Pay the bonuses now
Greece out of the war
______________________________
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