Taking COSATU Today Forward, 20 March 2026 #CosatuRedFridays
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY COSATU Call Center Contacts: 010 002 2590 Today, it’s #CosatuRedFridays… #ClassWar #Cosatu40 #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
20 March 2026
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- COSATU National Gender Elective Conference
- South Africa
- COSATU congratulates SAMWU newly elected leadership
- COSATU KZN mourns the Passing of former Provincial Chairperson and SACTWU Deputy President, Comrade Beauty Thulani Zibula
- SACP supports the People’s March in Defence of National Sovereignty
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Unions voice concerns over Anglo American restructuring
- Collective bargaining changes lives for South African workers
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
COSATU congratulates SAMWU newly elected leadership
Zanele Sabela, COSATU Spokesperson, 20 March 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) congratulates the new leadership of the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) as elected by the 13th National Congress held in Mbombela, Mpumalanga from 17 to 19 March.
Nkhetheni Muthavhi, has been elected President of SAWMU. Prior to this, he was the union’s Deputy General Secretary, a position now occupied by Sam Lukheleni. Mluleki Mbhele is the SAMWU’s 1st Deputy President; Thobeka Mthintelwa is the 2nd Deputy President; Nwabisa Majola is the union’s National Treasurer and Dumisane Magagula is SAMWU’s General Secretary.
COSATU commends members of the union for the discipline and unity they exhibited during the three-day Congress. This is what will ensure that SAMWU continues to secure victories for workers into the future.
The Federation admires how SAMWU has not only fought struggles to defend and protect its members’ rights but has also advocated for communities by highlighting various challenges in the functioning of municipalities.
COSATU wishes SAMWU’s leadership collective well as they take over the reins at a critical time as the country gears up for the local government elections.
Issued by COSATU
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COSATU KZN mourns the passing of former Provincial Chairperson and SACTWU Deputy President, Comrade Beauty Thulani Zibula
Edwin Mkhize, COSATU KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Secretary, 19 March 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal mourns with deep sadness the passing of its former Provincial Chairperson, former Deputy President of the South African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU), and former Member of the National Parliament, Comrade Beauty Thulani Zibula who passed on Saturday.
Comrade Zibula, affectionately known as “Zodwa” by her peers and comrades, was born in 1961 in KwaMashu, north of Durban. She dedicated her life to the struggle of the working class and the broader liberation of the people of South Africa.
Her activism began at a young age while she was still a learner at Ngazana Primary School, where she was recruited and politically nurtured by committed activists such as Comrade Sbongile Khumalo. Through this guidance, she became involved in student politics and later joined COSAS.
Her political consciousness was further shaped through interaction with distinguished leaders of our struggle, including the late Comrade Victoria Mxenge.
At the age of 14, Comrade Zibula was forced by difficult family circumstances to leave school in order to support her mother. She worked as an office cleaner and tea maker before continuing her studies at night school at Cathedral Secondary School around 1976.
During this period, she deepened her political activism, and in the wake of the 1976 student uprisings, she participated in organising student action and resistance.
Her working-class journey formally began in 1978 when she joined the Da Vinci garment factory, later moving to IM Lokhat Garment Company. It was in these workplaces that her leadership qualities emerged, leading to her election as a shop steward. She was recruited into the union movement by stalwarts such as Comrades Malvern Naidoo and Yunus Shaik, AJ and many other comrades who played a significant role in shaping her ideological and political development.
Comrade Zibula was an integral part of the evolution of the garment workers’ union movement—from the Garment Workers Industrial Union (GWIU), to the Garment Allied Workers Union (GAWU), and ultimately to SACTWU. She remained a committed cadre throughout these transitions, contributing meaningfully to the strengthening of worker organisation.
A resilient and fearless leader, Comrade Zibula endured the harsh realities faced by the working class, including job insecurity and exploitation. She played a leading role in campaigns against job losses and was a strong advocate for initiatives such as Proudly South African. She was also a committed gender activist who stood firmly against all forms of oppression and exploitation.
Her leadership credentials include serving as a SACTWU Shop Steward, elected in 1991 as a Branch Chairperson, Regional Treasurer in KwaZulu-Natal (2002), Deputy Regional Chairperson, and later Regional Chairperson. In 2007, she was elected Deputy President of SACTWU, a position she held until 2019. She also served as Deputy Chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal Bargaining Council.
Beyond national responsibilities, Comrade Zibula represented workers internationally through organisations such as IndustryALL and many others, engaging with global labour movements and advancing international solidarity.
She further served as COSATU KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Chairperson from 2012 to 2018 and later as a Member of the National Parliament from 2019 to 2024, where she continued to champion the interests of workers and the poor.
Comrade Zibula was a disciplined, humble, and deeply committed cadre of our movement. Her life was characterised by unwavering dedication to the struggle, the advancement of workers, and the development of society.
A memorial service in her honour will be held as follows:
Date: Friday, 20 March 2026
Time: 14h00
Venue: SACTWU KZN Headquarters, Bolton Hall, Magwaza Maphalala Street, Durban
The funeral service will take place as follows:
Date: Sunday, 22 March 2026
Venue: Emathole Amnyama, Ndwedwe
COSATU extends its deepest condolences to her family, relatives, friends, and comrades. We have lost a mother, a leader, a revolutionary, and a tireless servant of the working class.
May her soul rest in revolutionary peace.
Issued by COSATU KwaZulu Natal
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SACP supports the People’s March in Defence of National Sovereignty
Mbulelo Mandlana, SACP Head of Media, Communications and Information, 19 March 2026
The South African Communist Party (SACP), as a working class political organisation, is actively cooperating with and is a member of political organisations, community organisations and other social groups that are collectively planning and organising a national march in defence of South Africa’s sovereignty, which is threatened by external forces with the Trump administration leading the US as a primary political force pursuing this agenda.
The SACP hereby endorses and commits its organisational support to the overall objectives of the march.
Details of the People’s March are as follows:
Date: Saturday, 21 March 2026
Time: 08h00
Venue: Johannesburg
The march starts at Mary Fitzgerald Square, proceeds through Queen Elizabeth Bridge, to Constitutional Court
About the People’s March
The People’s March in Defence of Sovereignty and Democratic Gains is a mobilisation initiative by progressive organisations to galvanise the South African public against the blatant imperialist imposition of US and Western powers over the country and its people on various critical international and domestic policy issues.
Cooperating and coordinating with the ANC, COSATU, SANCO, various mass democratic movement organisations, independent progressive social movements and other entities in the republic that share our common revulsion at the undermining of South Africa’s sovereignty by western powers, the SACP will mobilise its members and will play a key role in the People’s March.
The defence of South Africa’s right to establish its own policy on any subject deemed necessary in accordance with its laws and regulations is a shared responsibility for all patriots, particularly those committed to a comprehensive transformation of the country and the liberation of all oppressed peoples across the world.
As citizens and activists, we must find common ground and work together to protect our state’s ability to implement policies within our legislative framework, especially those that protect the vulnerable and strengthen solidarity with the oppressed. The right of South Africans to act in this manner is protected by international law and can never be circumvented by any foreign interests in service of objectives in conflict with ours.
The SACP, in this context, understands the march as an activity of the popular classes and progressive forces asserting a clear anti-imperialist position grounded on human solidarity and resistance to all forms of oppression.
The anti-imperialist foundation of this march reflects our conviction that the sovereignty of countries in the global south, including Palestine, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and Western Sahara, cannot be realised solely through formal diplomacy. It must be built on the mobilisation of a conscious citizenry committed to the freedom of all oppressed people beyond the limitations of state bureaucracy.
At the heart of this national action is a conscious working class whose long-term prospects are tied to a progressive and developmental state, not a bourgeois political system that collaborates with imperialism. The SACP joins this march with the vision of a common condemnation of US imperialism, the revival of a vibrant solidarity movement and the consolidation of a sustained anti-imperialist agenda across the country and the continent.
We call on all working-class organisations and all revolutionaries to form part of this activity as it offers an important platform for solidarity. The SACP continues to participate alongside organisations that have joined the common platform of the Peoples March in order to ensure its success.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY,
FOUNDED IN 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA.
Media, Communications & Information Department | MCID
International-Solidarity
Unions voice concerns over Anglo American restructuring
19 March, 2026
IndustriALL Global Union affiliates from Australia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe stressed on protecting workers’ rights and benefits at the annual global dialogue meeting in Johannesburg on 12-13 March.
After fending off BHP’s hostile bid worth over US$40 billion in 2024, Anglo American chose to streamline. It shed nickel and steelmaking coal assets. The demerger of its platinum business into Valterra Platinum wrapped up in May 2025.
Talks drag on for the sale of De Beers, eyed for completion in 2026. Meanwhile, Anglo American merged with Canada’s Teck Resources to create Anglo Teck, a major copper player.
Workers at Valterra Platinum in South Africa and Zimbabwe, and at De Beers in Botswana and Namibia, demand firm protections. These cover freedom of association, collective bargaining and maternity rights. They insist on a just transition that honours their benefits and interests.
The demands emerged under the existing memorandum of understanding between IndustriALL and Anglo American. The MoU covers dialogue on health and safety, ending gender-based violence and harassment, sustainable mining which includes environmental, social, and governance issues.
The global dialogue tackles new technologies, training, retraining, a Just Transition for coal workers and compliance with the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA).
Key worries surfaced. IRMA audits flagged respiratory risks and exposure issues at Sishen in South Africa. Unions pointed to ageing equipment at Kumba Iron Ore’s Kolomela mine. At Unki mine in Zimbabwe, power cuts weaken ventilation without backups, raising accident risks.
Workers are anxious
Anxiety runs high during disposals. Workers at De Beers in Botswana and South Africa feel lost. Voluntary retrenchment packages for over 1,000 in Botswana triggered panic — refusing might mean no job. “Workers at Joaneng and Orapa feel like lost sheep in the bush,” said Fenellah Thebe from Debswana.
Stephen Smyth, general vice president of Australia’s Mining and Energy Union, highlighted success in Australia. Unions and Anglo American jointly embraced global health standards, hazard identification and risk management on the continent.
Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, stressed full MoU adherence. The MoU upholds global dialogue, collective bargaining and union voice. Anglo American’s policies and culture must address legacy issues in transitions, he said, especially for workers in critical raw materials as well as maintaining industrial harmony.
He emphasized that
“the current global dialogue is essential for aligning IndustriALL’s strategies with corporate changes, ensuring that demergers do not erode hard-won gains in labour rights, fair transition frameworks, and inclusive industrial policies across Southern Africa.”
He further explained that it is the expectation that Anglo’s description on searching for like-minded takeover for diamond operations reflects the standards and values of the company in terms of their operation as well maintaining Industrial harmony and cooperation with its stakeholders.
The meeting covered demerged entities like Valterra Platinum and Unki. Concerns include contractor labour-broking at Unki evading collective agreements, casualisation blocking benefits, rising silicosis claims at Mogalakwena, and for embracing of human rights due diligence by sub-contractors.
Gender mainstreaming and addressing gender-based violence and harassment
On gender, Anglo American reported 38 per cent women in top management and progress via its Living with Dignity hub — reporting of GBVH jumped to 75 from 10-20 per cent. Unions called for harmonising company policies with collective bargaining and ending bullying and harassment.
IRMA findings at Sishen and Kolomela revealed gaps: inconsistent risk assessments, training gaps, weak respiratory programmes, and worker reluctance to refuse unsafe work.
Delegates urged Anglo American to ensure “like-minded” buyers uphold standards. They pushed for extended dialogue covering Anglo Teck and future partners not yet under the MoU.
Unions stay cautiously optimistic. Anglo Teck’s copper projects in Chile and Peru, alongside iron-ore expansion in Brazil, should create more jobs than they cut.
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Collective bargaining changes lives for South African workers
19 March, 2026
More than 400 delegates representing workers across 21 sectors gathered in Cape Town from 7 to 9 March for the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) national bargaining conference, leaving with a mandate to fight for living wages and a declaration naming sweatshop conditions in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal a national crisis.
More than 400 delegates representing workers across 21 sectors gathered in Cape Town from 7 to 9 March for the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) national bargaining conference. They left with a mandate to fight for living wages and a declaration naming sweatshop conditions in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal a national crisis.
“We are workers by day, family members at home and community members by night,”
one delegate told the conference. The remark underscored the many roles workers juggle and why collective bargaining matters beyond the factory floor.
SACTWU, an IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, held the event from 7 to 9 March under the theme: unity, jobs, growth and service to members.
The union has more than 100,000 members across sectors including clothing, footwear, tanning, laundry, farming and agro-processing and was formed in 1989.
Newcastle: when the rule of law collapses
SACTWU delegates march through Cape Town calling for an end to supply chain exploitation, during the union’s national bargaining conference, March 2026.
Delegates condemned appalling conditions in sweatshops in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal. A joint inspection blitz led by the Department of Employment and Labour, overseen by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour, uncovered widespread labour and immigration violations in the Amajuba district on 5 February 2026.
The operation exposed extreme exploitation, unsafe workplaces and slave-like practices in factories supplying major South African retailers including Mr Price, Pick’n Pay, Ackermans, Pepkor and JET, all violating labour laws and safety standards. Most workers in the factories are undocumented, SACTWU general secretary Bonita Loubser confirmed. The union is taking legal action through the courts and bargaining councils to enforce compliance with national labour laws.
Inspectors found undocumented foreign nationals living on the premises of clothing and textile factories in conditions described as unhygienic and at serious risk of fire. Video footage recorded during the raids showed hundreds of boxes of clothing bearing labels of well-known South African retail brands.
“The Newcastle horror shows what happens when the rule of law collapses,” SACTWU said in its conference declaration. Weak policing, sparse inspections, lax immigration controls and broken health, safety and justice systems have allowed profit-driven employers to exploit workers unchecked.
Conference delegates took the fight outside, picketing retail shops to “break the chains” of worker exploitation in national supply chains.
Fighting for living wages
COSATU president Susan Khumalo addresses delegates at the SACTWU national bargaining conference in Cape Town, 7–9 March 2026.
The next round of negotiations will cover annual and family-responsibility leave, working hours, job grading, healthcare, retirement benefits and job security.
The union also seeks organizational rights, wage guarantees and expanded bargaining units, with delegates stressing that demands must remain sector-specific to reflect the realities of each industry.
Bonita Loubser, SACTWU general secretary, called the conference vital.
“The conference consolidates living-wage mandates from workplaces, strengthens shop stewards, sharpens strategy and prepares for negotiations,” she said.
Susan Khumalo, SACTWU president and IndustriALL’s Sub-Saharan Africa regional co-chair, added:
“Collective bargaining changes lives through living wages, better conditions, stable industrial relations and protection of the right to organize.”
Unions transform society
Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) president Zingiswa Losi addressed delegates, telling them:
“Trade unions organize workers, defend rights and transform society.”
With many young shop stewards attending for the first time, Losi emphasized that recruiting young workers is a way to secure union power. SACTWU is affiliated to COSATU.
“Our membership growth campaign is crucial because membership is the heart of the union. Without sufficient and large membership, there is no strong union power. Our collective bargaining season provides us with a fantastic opportunity to further grow our union membership,”
said Michael Shabalala, SACTWU 2nd national organizing secretary.
On job protection, the conference stressed the need for campaigns to secure decent jobs under the African Continental Free Trade Area and other trade agreements.
Delegates also called for implementation of the Retail-Clothing Footwear Textile Leather masterplan and stronger safeguards against cheap imports.
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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