Taking COSATU Today Forward, 30 October 2025 #Cosatu@40 #Cosatu40thAnniversary
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #Cosatu’s Just Transition Global South Exchange 2025 adopts a Declaration at Boksburg… #JustTransition #Cosatu scheduled to hold its 40th Anniversary at Dobsonville, Soweto on December 6 #Cosatu@40 #Cosatu40thAnniversary #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
30 October 2025
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- Employment and Labour on joint inspection blitz in Mandeni
- COSATU to host lectures in the lead up to 40th anniversary
- South Africa
- SADTU KwaZulu-Natal statement on the demise of Cde David ‘Mdavu’ Mazibuko
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Organizing for a just future: workers must shape the change
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
Employment and Labour on joint inspection blitz in Mandeni
29 Oct 2025
“Dusk of night” joint inspection blitz nets two employers, 47 illegal workers and leads to closure of no-compliant factory
A joint large-scale inspection blitz by Department of Employment and Labour in partnership with the Department of Home Affairs and the South African Police Service (SAPS) last night (Tuesday) led to the closure of a clothing/textile factory, the arrest of two employers and 47 illegal workers.
The latest intensive operation - led by Employment and Labour Deputy Minister Jomo Sibiya and Mandeni Mayor Thabani Mdlalose was conducted in Mandeni (also Mandini), a town in iLembe District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Province about 96 km north of Durban - has been long in the making.
On the 11th of December 2023 the Department of Employment and Labour embarked on a three-day inspection blitz in partnership with the Department of Home Affairs, the Mandeni Metro Police, the South African Police Service, and the textile sector bargaining council in the area to enforce compliance with the country's labour, and immigration laws and deal with criminality prevalent in the area. Despite the 2023 operation not much has changed in Mandeni.
The Mandeni clothing and textile factories that exploit workers are known to be suppliers of South Africa's major retailing groups, some of whom are JSE Securities-listed.
The purpose of the inspection was to measure and assess the level of compliance with labour-law legislation, including the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act and Employment Services Act, the National Minimum Wages Act, the Unemployment Insurance Act, the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act.
During last night's inspection blitz two factories - manufacturing among them clothing, pyjamas, jump suits, trousers and night dresses - Brightop (Pty) Ltd and “Kwa-Sandra" were inspected.
Brightop (Pty) Ltd was served with a prohibition notice for hiring illegal immigrants, failure to produce workers documents, paying workers at between R12-R17 per hour – which is below the current statutory National Minimum Wage of R28,79, not registering with Unemployment Insurance Fund, the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Deases (Act), failing to adhere to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) by exposing workers to live wiring, failure to conduct risk assessment, and poor housekeeping.
“KwaSandra" was found to be not registered for Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Deases Act, not registering for UIF, and non-compliant with OHS.
Employment and Labour Deputy Minister Jomo Sibiya commended the inter-departmental team for its agility to deal with brazen criminality. Sibiya was appalled that a 14-year-old was found in one of the factories and said: “there should be consequences".
He was also disturbed by the “tons" of empty cans of energy drinks found on the factory floor, saying this was so because workers were subjected to 12-hour night shifts and by consuming these drinks they risked exposing their health to these ubiquitous energy beverages.
Department of Employment and Labour Inspector-General, Aggy Moiloa commended the joint team effort saying this will go a long way to making a difference in protection of the lives of the vulnerable workers.
The arrested illegal workers were mainly Lesotho and Malawi nationals and are expected to be processed at local police stations and be deported.
The inspection is expected to continue on Wednesday (today).
For media enquiries, please contact:
Teboho
Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell: 082 697 0694
E-mail: teboho....@labour.gov.za
Issued by Department of Employment and Labour
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COSATU to host lectures in the lead up to 40th anniversary
Zanele Sabela, COSATU National Spokesperson, 25 September 2025
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is set the host a series of lectures in the lead up to its 40th anniversary celebration at Dobsonville Stadium on 6 December.
The culmination of four years of unity talks, COSATU came into being on 1 December 1985, and brought together 33 competing unions and federations opposed to apartheid and whose common goal was to bring about a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic society.
The Federation has been at the forefront of advancing, defending and protecting the interests and rights of workers since, and has led in the formation of the country’s progressive labour laws including workers’ rights to form trade unions, collective bargaining and to strike, minimum conditions of service, National Minimum Wage, etc.
From its vehement resistance of apartheid to the ushering in of the democratic dispensation and improving the economic and social wellbeing of the working class 31 years post democracy, COSATU has stood the test of time.
In the lead up to its 40th anniversary in December, the Federation will host a variety of activities starting with a series of lectures by its National Office Bearers.
The lectures will tackle diverse subjects from COSATU’s pivotal role in gender struggles to the strike that broke the back of industry-wide exploitative labour practices as far back as 1959.
Province:
Northern Cape
Date:
30 October
Topic: COSATU and the Liberation Movement
Main Speaker: Solly Phetoe, COSATU General Secretary
Province:
North-West
Date:
19 November
Topic: Strengthening Industrial Unions to build a militant COSATU
Main Speaker: Duncan Luvuno, COSATU 2nd Deputy President
Province:
Eastern Cape
Date:
20 November
Topic: COSATU and the Reconfiguration of the Alliance
Main Speaker: Mike Shingange, COSATU 1st Deputy President
Province:
Gauteng
Date:
21 November
Topic: COSATU and the Mass Democratic Movement
Main Speaker: Zingiswa Losi, COSATU President
Issued by COSATU
SADTU KwaZulu-Natal statement on the demise of Cde David ‘Mdavu’ Mazibuko
Nomarashiya Caluza, SADTU KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Secretary, 28 OCTOBER 2025
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) in KwaZulu-Natal is shocked following the death of the Secretary of Magwaza Maphalala Branch (former Bergville Branch) in Phiwo kaMjula Gwamanda Region, David Mazibuko affectionately known as Comrade Mdavu.
Comrade Mdavu passed away on the 26th of October 2025. At the time of his demise, he was the principal of Mafu High School in Uthukela District. He also taught in other schools before becoming a principal where he was Departmental Head and Deputy Principal. It is at Thintwa Secondary where Comrade Mdavu started to lead as a SADTU Site Steward until he moved to the Branch.
The Union and membership find it difficult to accept that comrade Mdavu is no more. In Phiwo kaMjula Gwamanda Region, he was the longest serving branch secretary having been elected to the position in 2017. Out of 89 branch secretaries in the Province, Comrade Mdavu was one of the two branch secretaries who have served at a branch for this long. Before this position he served as the Deputy Branch Secretary from 2014. 2025 was his twelfth year in the Branch Executive Committee of Magwaza Maphalala Branch.
It is this experience that helped him to always guide and develop other leaders and members he served. He was supportive and instrumental in the development of new leaders. Comrade Mdavu believed in unity of the organisation and its structures. He remained loyal and dedicated to SADTU, his union of choice which he served with distinction.
As a result of his belief in unity, he would do everything possible to facilitate unity among members and structures of the Union.
As members of SADTU in the province of Kwazulu Natal and Phiwo kaMjula Region in particular, we lower our banner in remembrance of our leader. We are mindful of the reality that ours now is to continue with his good teachings for us to build and grow our Union.
Comrade Mdavu was also a loyal member of the African National Congress and served in its structures. At the time of his death, he had been appointed to lead in the current Task Teams of the movement. Furthermore, he was elected as the COSATU Local Chair in 2022 and was actively involved in the SACP as the coordinator of a branch.
A true leader, always leading from the front, Comrade Mdavu understood and practically acted on the decisions and campaigns of the Union. A firm believer of Walking on Two legs, he was the Branch Secretary, a school principal, and also taught English and History in Grade 12. The society has been robbed of a great leader and true servant of the people.
We send our sincerest condolences to the family, the school learners, his colleagues, and the community he served.
A memorial service will take place on the 30th of October at the Bergville Sports Complex at 11am.
May his revolutionary soul rest in eternal peace.
ISSUED BY KZN SADTU Secretariat
International-Solidarity
Organizing for a just future: workers must shape the change
By Atle Høie, general secretary, IndustriALL Global Union, 30 October, 2025
In a few days, more than a thousand trade union delegates from every corner of the world will gather in Sydney for IndustriALL Global Union’s 4th Congress. Together, we will set our direction for the next four years under the theme Organizing for a just future.
In a few days, more than a thousand trade union delegates from every corner of the world will gather in Sydney for IndustriALL Global Union’s 4th Congress. Together, we will set our direction for the next four years under the theme Organizing for a Just Future.
Our Congress takes place at a critical moment. Workers everywhere are being hit by converging crises, growing inequality, the climate emergency, digital disruption and the increasing concentration of corporate power. Amid all this change, our mission has never been clearer: to defend workers’ rights and to shape a future that is fair, democratic and just.
Our collective strength, built on unity and solidarity, gives us the power to stand up to global capital and fight for a new model of globalization that puts people before profit.
Defending rights, building power
At the heart of IndustriALL’s identity lies our most fundamental task: organizing workers and defending their right to form and join unions. This is where real power begins. When workers organize, they do more than negotiate better pay and safer workplaces. They create belonging. They build pride and purpose. They transform fear into strength.
Organizing for a just future is not just a theme, it’s our commitment. We will keep building a global movement that connects our struggles and wins justice through unity.
From voluntary promises to binding rights
For too long, multinational corporations have hidden behind voluntary codes of conduct. They use lofty statements and glossy reports to mask exploitation, while workers continue to face poverty wages, unsafe conditions and repression.
We know voluntary commitments are not enough. Without enforcement, rights remain words on paper. That’s why human rights due diligence laws and legally binding agreements are crucial. IndustriALL has proven they work. Our global agreements with H&M and ASOS, and the International Accord on Health and Safety, have saved lives and improved standards across supply chains.
We must build on these successes. It is time to move beyond voluntary initiatives and demand binding, enforceable rights for workers everywhere.
Digitalization: technology must serve people
Automation, artificial intelligence and algorithmic management are transforming industry faster than any of us imagined. In many workplaces, workers are managed not by humans, but by data. Algorithms decide shifts, track performance, even influence who stays and who goes.
Too often these systems are opaque and unfair. Governments are behind the curve. Only a handful of collective agreements address AI directly. Meanwhile, corporate profits rise as workers face surveillance, insecurity and discrimination.
That is why IndustriALL has launched a comprehensive policy paper on artificial intelligence, a blueprint for how unions can respond to AI and ensure technology is governed by fairness, transparency and accountability.
Our responsibility is clear: to make sure technology serves people – not the other way around. Through collective bargaining, we must secure transparency, dignity and control for workers in the digital age
A Just Transition for people and planet
The shift to sustainable industries is essential for our planet’s survival. But it will only succeed if it is just. A green transition built on the loss of good jobs and destroyed communities is not justice.
A Just Transition must protect both people and the planet. It must be driven by social dialogue, collective bargaining and public investment. It must create new opportunities, not sacrifice old ones. Workers must have a seat at the table as industries transform. Because when workers lead, the transition becomes truly just.
United for a just future
As we meet in Sydney, we do so united in purpose. The challenges ahead are enormous, but so is our strength. The future of work, of industry, and of our planet will be shaped by the choices we make now.
Organizing for a just future is more than the theme of our Congress. It is who we are. It is our declaration that workers, standing together, will shape the course of history. Because when we stand united, there is no force stronger than solidarity.
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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