Taking COSATU Today Forward, 5 February 2025
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
5 February 2025
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- COSATU KZN to Picket Outside KZN Premier’s Office on the State of the National Address [SONA] Day
- SAMWU calls for the suspension of Rea Vaya Bus Services until worker safety can be guaranteed
- South Africa
- COSATU welcomes the progressive increase in the National Minimum Wage of inflation plus 1.5% increase from 1 March 2025
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Morocco braces for general strike on 5-6 February
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
COSATU KZN to Picket Outside KZN Premier’s Office on the State of the National Address [SONA] Day
Edwin Mkhize, COSATU KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Secretary, 05 February 2025
COSATU in the Province of KwaZulu natal will stage a Picket outside the KwaZulu-Natal Premier’s Office in demand of responses to our memorandum submitted last year October 2024.
On the 7th of October 2025, COSATU had a march in which a Memorandum with clear demands was submitted to government on behalf of the workers.
These Memorandums were collected by MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi on behalf of the Premier of the Province, the National Government was represented by Prof. Blade Nzimande, CCMA was represented by the Acting Regional Commissioner Dube and Jwayelani Butcheries was also represented by its Senior Management.
The Memorandums were clear in terms of time frame for responses, which was 14 Days, and as COSATU we have been knocking at the doors of government and CCMA in vain for responses to our Memorandums.
COSATU in the Province has decided to use the Day of SONA to stage a Picket Demonstration in Pietermaritzburg outside Premier’s Office in 300 Langalibalele Street, Moses Mabhida Building in Pietermaritzburg on the 6th of February 2025 from 10h00 a.m. – 12h00 p.m.
We are expecting the Premier and CCMA to address the Picket on whether our demands have been prioritised as part of their key projects, and what progress has been made.
Workers also deserve to be respect and prioritised!
Issued by COSATU KwaZulu-Natal
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SAMWU calls for the suspension of Rea Vaya Bus Services until worker safety can be guaranteed
Lebogang Ndawo, SAMWU Deputy Regional Chairperson, 5 February 2025
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Petrus Mashishi Region (Johannesburg) has been left reeling in shock and devastation following the brutal and senseless assassination of two Rea Vaya bus drivers on 3 February 2024. These cold-blooded killings, which occurred mere minutes apart in Soweto, bear the hallmarks of a coordinated attack by criminals who deliberately targeted Rea Vaya buses. This is not just an attack on individuals; it is an assault on the very fabric of public safety and the dignity of workers who serve our communities.
As a union, our hearts are heavy with grief, and we extend our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the families of the two deceased drivers. We mourn with you, and we share in your pain. To the colleagues of these brave workers, who are undoubtedly shaken and traumatised by this horrific event, we offer our words of comfort and solidarity. These were not just drivers; they were breadwinners, fathers, brothers, and sons whose lives were cut short in the most cruel and unjust manner.
While we acknowledge the City’s decision to immediately halt Rea Vaya operations following this tragedy, we are deeply concerned by the rushed decision to resume services on 5 February. This decision, made in the shadow of such a well-planned and executed attack, places the lives of both drivers and commuters at grave risk. The perpetrators remain at large, and the threat of further violence looms large. To resume operations under these circumstances is not only irresponsible but also a betrayal of the trust workers and commuters place in the City to protect them.
The City’s promise to provide escorts for the buses offers little reassurance. Historically, Rea Vaya buses have been escorted by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), but these escorts have significantly diminished due to the fraudulent Afrirent fleet contract, which has left the majority of the JMPD fleet grounded. This failure of leadership and accountability lies squarely at the feet of the City’s management. They have failed in their duty to safeguard the lives of workers, and they must take full responsibility for these tragic killings.
SAMWU firmly believes that even with the deployment of JMPD escorts, the safety of drivers and commuters cannot be guaranteed. The City simply does not have the fleet capacity to ensure adequate protection. We therefore demand the immediate suspension of all Rea Vaya operations until such a time that the safety and lives of commuters and drivers can be assured.
Furthermore, we call on the City of Johannesburg to abandon its reliance on corruption-prone contracts and to urgently embark on a process of procuring its own fleet of vehicles for all departments. The lives of workers and commuters must never again be jeopardised by the failures of mismanagement and greed.
This is a moment for accountability, for action, and for justice. SAMWU stands united with the families of the victims, with our members, and with the broader community in demanding that the City prioritise the safety and dignity of all who rely on public transport. We will not rest until justice is served, and until every worker can return to their duties without fear of violence or death.
Enough is enough!
Issued by SAMWU Petrus Mashishi (Johannesburg) Region
COSATU welcomes the progressive increase in the National Minimum Wage of inflation plus 1.5% increase from 1 March 2025
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 05 February 2025
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes the progressive increase in the National Minimum Wage (NMW) of inflation plus 1.5% to R28,79 per hour from 1 March 2025. Whilst COSATU had tabled a slightly higher proposal to the NMW Commission, we are pleased that our demand for a positive above inflation increase prevailed and secured the unanimous support of the Commission and the Minister for Employment and Labour, Ms. N. Meth.
This positive increase will help protect the value of the NMW and workers’ ability to take care of their families. It will inject badly needed stimulus into the economy, spurring growth, sustaining and creating badly needed jobs. It will provide relief to 6 million workers earning within the NMW range in particular farm, domestic, construction, retail, transport, hospitality, security, and cleaning workers.
The NMW Act mandates the Commission to ensure the NMW is not eroded by inflation as this would plunge many workers deeper into debt, poverty and despair.
COSATU is pleased with the progress that has been made with the NMW since it came into effect in 2019 at R20 per hour with domestic workers then pegged at R15 and farmworkers R18. They have both since been equalised with the NMW. The NMW is a far cry from the poverty wages farm and domestic workers were paid a few years ago, at times as little as R6 an hour.
It is one of the government led by President Cyril Ramaphosa and the African National Congress’ most important and transformational achievements.
Engagements need to be accelerated with the Presidency, Treasury and the Departments of Cooperative Governance, Public Works and Infrastructure on a road map to ensure Community and Expanded Public Works Programmes’ workers are raised from R15,83 to the NMW.
It is unacceptable such workers remain pegged at 55% of the NMW. This must now come to an end.
Whilst we have made progress, it is critical the Department of Employment and Labour intensify its crack down on employers who ignore the NMW Act. Unions must expose such employers.
Organised Business must play its part. It is unacceptable that an estimated 45% of employers refuse to comply with the NMW. This matter should be treated as the criminal offence it is, and such employers made to face the full force of the law. These employers cannot be allowed to behave like they are above the country’s laws and treat their employees little better than slaves.
Minister Meth’s progressive commitment to employ 20 000 inspectors over the next three years must be expedited to ensure the abhorrent defiance of the rule of law by some employers is dealt with decisively.
Many miserly critics of the NMW said before it came into effect in 2019 that it would lead to a jobs’ bloodbath. Independent research by the University of Cape Town has proven this not to be the case. It has had a positive impact on reducing poverty and inequality levels and boosting the economy. Other countries who have introduced a NMW like the US, Germany and Brazil have had similar positive experiences.
Beyond the NMW, government needs to tackle the network and other obstacles to growing the economy in particular cable theft, aging infrastructure, endemic crime and corruption, and entrenched poverty and inequality.
These are critical to fixing the state, unlocking the economy, creating decent jobs as well as ensuring workers earn a living wage.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
Morocco braces for general strike on 5-6 February
4 February, 2025
Trade unions unite in protest against government policies affecting workers' rights and purchasing power. This follows on nationwide protests last month.
A nationwide general strike will take place in Morocco on 5 and 6 February, as trade unions protest against government policies they say undermine workers' rights and erode purchasing power.
The Confédération Démocratique du Travail (CDT) announced the strike following a meeting of its National Council in Casablanca on 1 February. The Union Marocaine du Travail (UMT) confirmed its participation on 2 February. Other unions, including the Democratic Organisation of Labour, the Federation of Democratic Trade Unions, and the National Federation of Labour, are also backing the strike call.
At the heart of the dispute is the government’s proposed legislation on strike regulation, along with a controversial plan to merge the National Fund for Social Reserve Organisations (CNOPS) into the National Social Security Fund (CNSS). Unions argue that these reforms will erode workers' hard-won gains, weaken trade union rights, and harm the benefits of insured employees.
Union leaders have accused the government of:
Ignoring social dialogue and bypassing trade unions in key decision-making.
Forcing through unpopular laws with a parliamentary majority, without consensus
Failing to control rising inflation and worsening the economic burden on citizens
Undermining the right to strike, a constitutionally protected right
Moroccan trade unions also criticise the government for its handling of inflation, arguing that rising prices are exacerbating poverty and social vulnerability.
In a statement issued on 2 February, the UMT, said the strike is called to demand price controls to limit inflation and speculation, the suspension of the draft strike law, due for discussion in the House of Councillors on 3 February, and urgent negotiations on labour rights and economic policies.
Says IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie:
“We stand in solidarity with Morocco’s workers who are protesting against the government’s disregard for their rights and wellbeing. We urge the government of Morocco to heed the call and engage with the unions for a better future for the workers in the country. And we strongly call for all discussions on limiting the right to strike, a fundamental workers’ right, to end immediately.”
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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