Taking COSATU Today Forward, 29 January 2026 #Right2LearnCampaign #Back2SchoolCampaign
Norman Mampane
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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
29 January 2026
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- COSATU celebrates CEPPAWAWU court victory
- COSATU KZN Statement on the historic victory of NEHAWU and Community Health Workers
- Committee calls for localisation, job creation and transformation within the automotive industry
- South Africa
- COSATU urges SARB to cut the repo rate by at least 25 basis points at its MPC meeting
- NEHAWU statement on the recovery of R1.7 billion by the SIU for NSFAS
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- WFTU honors José Martí and expresses solidarity with the Cuban people
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
COSATU
celebrates CEPPAWAWU court victory
Zanele
Sabela, COSATU Spokesperson, 28 January 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is in a celebratory mood following the rescue of its Affiliate, the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union (CEPPWAWU), from the stifling grip of its administrator, Mr. Sipho Sono.
CEPPWAWU was initially put under administration by the Registrar of Labour Relations in June 2020, following a failure to manage its own affairs as far back as 2018. The first administrator appointed by the Registrar was axed after members of the union expressed
dissatisfaction with her administration.
Sono, a business rescue specialist, was brought in as interim administrator for six months before eventually being appointed. His mandate was simple – to appoint an experienced and reputable facilitator to ensure the union’s Congresses were convened as per
the organisation’s constitution for the purposes of electing a new national leadership for CEPPWAWU.
The said Congresses were to be convened and concluded by 30 September 2023, after which the control, management and affairs of the union would be handed over to the new leadership on expiry of Sono’s term on 12 December 2023. However, this did not happen. As
a result, the Registrar approached court to have Sono legally removed. The matter was heard on 30 July 2025.
Shockingly, Sono contested the matter in court even though he had not delivered on his task 19 months after his term of appointment was to have expired. It was apparent he had no intention to leave even though union members, former leaders, employees and the
Registrar wanted him gone.
But in a victory for workers, a Labour Court judgement delivered on 28 January, found in favour of the Registrar and ordered the removal of Sono as administrator of CEPPWAWU. Sono will be replaced by Gerhard Vosloo, whose term as administrator will commence
on 1 March 2026 and expire on 30 December 2026.
As per the court order, Vosloo has to finalise outstanding audited financial statements for the years ending 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. He must also convene a National Congress to elect the national leadership of CEPPWAWU; after which
he must handover control of the union to the national leadership.
COSATU is pleased that CEPPWAWU is finally rid of Sono and what we believe have been his murky intentions to bleed the union dry, by continuing to pay himself an exorbitant daily rate for as long as possible, while not lifting a finger to fix the union. His
behaviour is an indictment to his profession; he should not be afforded the opportunity to do this to other organisations.
COSATU is delighted that CEPPWAWU is one step closer to returning to its rightful owners – the workers. The Federation will be keeping a close eye on Vosloo to ensure he delivers on his task.
Issued by COSATU
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COSATU KZN Statement on the historic victory of NEHAWU and Community Health Workers
Edwin Mkhize, COSATU KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Secretary, 28 January 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in KwaZulu-Natal welcomes and salutes the historic victory achieved by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) following the successful court ruling that has paved the way for the immediate permanent employment of more than 27 000 Community Health Workers (CHWs) nationally.
In KwaZulu-Natal, this victory has already begun to materialise. On Tuesday, the Department of Health announced the appointment of more than 5 000 Community Health Workers on permanent positions, restoring dignity, job security, and full labour rights to workers who have for years been trapped in exploitation, insecurity, and uncertainty.
This breakthrough is a major victory in the struggle against casualisation, labour broking, and the abuse of fixed-term contracts. It affirms COSATU’s long-standing position that permanent work must be done by permanent workers, with full benefits and protection.
COSATU KZN congratulates all Community Health Workers and salutes our affiliate, NEHAWU, for this principled, courageous, and revolutionary victory.
This achievement is not accidental. It is the product of years of disciplined struggle, political clarity, and militant union organisation. In January 2025, the courts delivered a watershed judgment in favour of CHWs in a case led by NEHAWU, challenging the Department of Health’s systematic and perpetual use of fixed-term contracts. The union correctly argued that CHWs who played a decisive role during the COVID-19 pandemic and remain central to the success of the National Health Insurance (NHI) deserve permanent employment, benefits, and security.
NEHAWU did not stop at winning the case. The union continued to apply pressure to ensure the implementation of the settlement agreement, preventing delays and non-compliance. As a result, we now see:
- The permanent employment of 5 000 eligible CHWs in KwaZulu-Natal;
- An interim increase in stipends for the remaining 16 867 CHWs for the 2025/2026 financial year, effective from September with a promise for their consideration as well.
- Engagement on the compensation for CHWs who have reached pensionable age.
This victory responds decisively to those who question the relevance of trade unions. It demonstrates in practice that organised workers, united under principled unions, can defeat exploitation, win in the courts, and force the companies and state to act.
COSATU has always maintained that defending and advancing workers’ rights to lead their struggle for full emancipation is the core mission of the trade union movement. This case once again proves that unions are not relics of the past, but powerful instruments of working-class struggle.
We further commend NEHAWU for its high level of political consciousness in representing all affected workers without discrimination, regardless of union membership. This reflects the true values of working-class solidarity and revolutionary unionism.
At the same time, COSATU calls on all workers, especially those in insecure, temporary, and outsourced employment to join trade unions. Union membership is not an individual favour; it is a collective weapon to strengthen the struggle, defend workers’ rights, and ensure that more victories are won for the working class.
This victory must inspire us to intensify the campaign against casualisation and perpetual temporary employment across all sectors of the economy.
Workers of the world, unite — you have nothing to lose but your chains.
United we stand, divided we fall.
An injury to one is an injury to all.
Issued by COSATU KZN
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Committee calls for localisation, job creation and transformation within the automotive industry
Parliament, 28 January 2026
The Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition has called for deeper localisation, job creation and meaningful transformation in South Africa’s automotive industry, as it assessed progress on the South African Automotive Industry Master Plan 2035.
The committee met with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), its entities and key automotive industry stakeholders yesterday, to evaluate how far the Master Plan has gone in strengthening the automotive value chain and growing the local economy.
The Automotive Industry Master Plan 2035 aims to expand the industry by increasing local content, improving global competitiveness, deepening value addition, and transforming ownership and participation across the value chain. A key goal of the plan is to double employment in the automotive sector by 2035.
During the engagement, the DTIC and industry stakeholders reported that vehicle production, employment and exports have recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels. However, they cautioned that performance remains well below the targets set in the Plan. Of particular concern was the fact that local content levels remain stagnant at around 40%, limiting the industry’s ability to create more jobs and grow domestic suppliers.
In response, the DTIC indicated that it is reviewing automotive policies to ensure stronger and more effective interventions. These include addressing challenges such as competition from cheaper vehicle imports, ongoing global economic uncertainty, and the global transition from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. The policy review also seeks to accelerate localisation and transformation across the industry.
Industry stakeholders stressed the urgent need to restructure tax and incentive systems to promote domestic vehicle production and sales. They argued that the current system allows independent importers and semi-knocked down (SKD) kit assemblers to bring vehicles into the country at much lower costs, with limited multiplier effects for the local economy. This, they said, suppresses demand for locally manufactured vehicles and threatens jobs across the value chain.
Stakeholders further called on government to make stronger use of local public procurement policies, particularly in public fleet management, to support domestic vehicle manufacturers. They emphasised that incorporating black entrepreneurs and service providers into public fleet systems would help grow the local value chain, create jobs and deepen transformation.
Chairperson of the committee, Mr Mzwandile Masina, emphasised the strategic importance of the automotive industry to South Africa’s economy.
He said: “The automotive industry plays a critical role in our economy and presents real opportunities for transformation and the growth of township economies. Local public procurement must be leveraged to support domestic vehicle production, improve economies of scale and expand the range of components produced locally.”
Mr Masina noted that many of the challenges raised by industry stakeholders cut across the mandates of the DTIC, National Treasury and the Department of Transport. The committee will compile a report which will be submitted to the National Assembly and make recommendations to the Minister of the DTIC, informed by the inputs received during the engagement.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TRADE, INDUSTRY AND COMPETITION, MR MZWANDILE MASINA.
For media enquiries, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Ms Faith Ndenze
Parliamentary Communication Services
Email: fnd...@parliament.gov.za
COSATU urges SARB to cut the repo rate by at least 25 basis points at its MPC meeting
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 28 January 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) urges the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to cut the repo rate by at least 25 basis points at its much anticipated Monetary and Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Thursday 29 January 2026.
Workers have struggled to cope with the rising costs of living, with electricity and transport prices far exceeding the overall inflation rate. All too often callous employers have resisted paying workers a living wage or ensuring their meagre salaries keep pace with inflation.
Whilst the first phase of the Two-pot pension reforms initiated by COSATU with the support of the African National Congress led government has released over R60 billion into the pockets of nearly 4 million workers, reports from the National Credit Regulator paint a depressing picture of the overwhelming majority of workers remaining heavily indebted.
Inflation has been continuously falling and at 3.5% currently, is well within SARB’s target range. SARB has ample room to provide relief for the working class and to give the economy badly needed stimulus after a very difficult year and the barrage of repo rate hikes since the war in Ukraine started in 2022 and international oil prices spiked.
It is critical that the SARB stand with the working class and cut the repo rate by at least 25 basis points tomorrow. This will provide invaluable comfort to millions of households, help workers pay their debts and inject cash into an economy desperate of stimulus.
We cannot afford to continue suffocating an economy that has been stumbling along 1% growth for over a decade, more so with growth projections for 2026 a mild 1.4% due to the global tariffs and trade turmoil.
Issued by COSATU
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NEHAWU statement on the recovery of R1.7 billion by the SIU for NSFAS
Zola Saphetha, NEHAWU General Secretary, January 28, 2026
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union [NEHAWU] welcomes the recovery of R1.7 Billion by the Special Investigative Unit [SIU] for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme [NSFAS].
The recovery follows the proclamation by President Cyril Ramaphosa authorising the Special Investigating Unit [SIU] to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme [NSFAS] and recover any financial losses suffered by the institution through corruption and negligence.
The probe by the SIU focused amongst others on two areas namely: management of NSFAS's finances and the allocation of loans, bursaries and any other funding payable to students in terms of the NSFAS Act.
As NEHAWU, we have been in the forefront of highlighting the dire state of NSFAS for the past couple of years due to poor governance, maladministration and mismanagement of finances at the institution. The recovery of these monies proves correct our assertions about the state of NSFAS.
It is against this background that we call for decisive consequences against all those implicated in the misuse of much needed public funds. The consequence management should begin with the management of NSFAS, which has demonstrated its inability to adequately implement control systems and monitoring mechanism of the distributed funds to students and institutions, which resulted in the scheme being unable to recover funds.
The recovery of the funds by the SIU is an indictment on NSFAS, which is tasked with providing bursaries and loans to eligible students at public higher education institutions and for the administration of such loans and bursaries, as well the recovery of those loans. The fact that NSFAS had failed to monitor and recover the funds in question is of serious concern.
Furthermore, this recovery by the SIU clearly highlights the urgent necessity for a comprehensive forensic investigation into all acts of wrongdoing, financial mismanagement, maladministration, and corruption at NSFAS, in order to get to the bottom of the rot.
Equally, the Department of Higher Education and Training must take full responsibility for what has transpired at the financial scheme. The department has an oversight role on NSFAS as a national public entity. The administration, financial mismanagement and governance failures of NSFAS should not have occurred, had the department played its oversight role in NSFAS and as such those tasked with responsibility at DHET much be held accountable.
As NEHAWU, we call on relevant law enforcement authorities to implement measures which will include amongst others; criminal prosecution, and litigation for all those that misused public funds. There must be decisive consequence for all those involved in the misuse of these funds to send a clear message.
Equally, NSFAS must use the NSFAS Act and the Public Finance Management Act to hold accountable all those that have transgressed and misused public funds.
The recovery of the funds for the scheme, will play a critical role in the core mandate of NSFAS, which is to provide bursaries and loans to eligible students at public higher education institutions. In this regard, the DHET, NSFAS Executive Management and the Board must ensure that the recovered money is used to address the many challenges that confront the post-schooling and training, which include the following amongst others; financial and academic exclusion of students, lack of student funding, student accommodation and housing as a result of maladministration and corruption at the scheme.
The DHET and NSFAS must ensure that these monies are directed towards ensuring that the scheme is strengthened and provided with the necessary resources, bearing in mind that National Treasury is hell-bent on continuing with its policy of seeking to scale down allocations to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme [NSFAS].
Indeed, NSFAS remains at critical component in the task of transforming the higher education sector. Equally, NSFAS remains a critical instrument in the realisation of providing access to free quality education for poor and working class students.
Lastly, as NEHAWU we will continue working with our progressive allies in the higher education terrain to fight and struggle for the transformation of NSFAS into an instrument that will serve and cater for the needs of poor and working class students.
END
Issued by NEHAWU Secretariat.
International-Solidarity
WFTU honors José Martí and expresses solidarity with the Cuban people
28 January 2026
The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) participated in the symbolic event of solidarity with the Cuban people, held at the José Martí Monument in Nicosia, Cyprus, on the occasion of the 173rd anniversary of the birth of Cuba’s national hero, José Martí.
José Martí embodied the struggle for liberation and gave his life for Cuba’s independence on 19 May 1895. Honoring Martí means honoring the ongoing struggle of the Cuban people for sovereignty, dignity, and self-determination.
The hero remains to this day a powerful symbol of freedom, dignity, and internationalist solidarity in the struggle of peoples against exploitation and oppression, in the struggle of the peoples against imperialism.
The WFTU reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the Cuban people and the workers of Cuba, in their struggle for sovereignty, social justice, and peace.
______________________________
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