Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 10 February 2026
Norman Mampane
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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
10 February 2026
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- COSATU will be seeking urgent engagements with government on the Post Office
- POPCRU Mpumalanga mourns the death of Provincial Inspector Dumisani Ndlovu
- DITSELA Institute invites Educators, Skills Development Officers in all federations at the 2026 Worker Education Program Launch
- South Africa
- COSATU pays tribute to Hosi N’wamitwa II
- COSATU Gauteng statement on Primrose scholar transport protests
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Import bans can help tackle forced labour
- Cambodia advances action to protect garment sector from heat risks
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
COSATU will be seeking urgent engagements with government on the Post Office
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 10 February 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) will be seeking urgent engagements with the Ministers for Digital Communications and Technology, Treasury, and Employment and Labour to find progressive solutions for the ongoing crises threatening the collapse of the South African Post Office (SAPO) and the jobs of thousands of its employees.
We are extremely worried about reports that the R3.8 billion committed by National Treasury has still not been received by SAPO and that only three out of six agreed to trenches of payments from the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (UIF’s TERS) have been paid. These not only make the long-promised turnaround of the SAPO impossible but also risk its remaining employees’ jobs.
It is very concerning that SAPO’s Business Rescue Practitioner is now said to be considering approaching the courts to liquidate SAPO. If true, this would be an absolute calamity for SAPO’s workers and their families, the customers and communities who depend upon its services.
If SAPO is allowed to collapse and if reports that government funds earmarked to assist its turnaround have not been paid are true, these will undermine the efforts of government, Parliament and Nedlac who spent countless hours amending the SAPO and Postbank Acts to enable SAPO to embark upon a new and sustainable business model, in particular entering the highly lucrative courier business and becoming a one stop shop for members of the public to access government services, as well as to enable the Postbank to become a fully licensed state consumer bank.
COSATU shares government and workers’ concerns that SAPO’s Business Rescue Practitioners have failed to develop and action a sustainable turnaround plan. They’ve been content to close branches and retrench thousands of workers instead and thus further weakening the ability of SAPO to recover.
The solution to stabilise and set SAPO as well as the Postbank, on the path to sustainability, is not to deny it funds committed to its recovery, nor to apply for its liquidation. It is urgent for government to act, including putting in place a far more competent Administrator, actioning a progressive turnaround plan and providing SAPO with the agreed to funding from the Fiscus and the UIF’s TERS.
Issued by COSATU
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POPCRU
Mpumalanga mourns the death of Provincial Inspector Dumisani Ndlovu
Mahlatsi Mashaba, POPCRU Mpumalanga Deputy Provincial Secretary, 9 February 2026
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) Mpumalanga Province conveys its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Provincial Inspector Dumisani Ndlovu (49), who tragically lost his life while performing his official duties.
Provincial Inspector Ndlovu, who was stationed at the Piet Retief Cost Centre, was fatally struck by a minibus taxi at approximately 17h00 on Thursday, 05 February 2026, while con-ducting routine traffic duties on the N2 route between Piet Retief and Phongola, near Mkhondo. He was declared dead at the scene.
This tragic incident marks:
• the third traffic law enforcement officer from Piet Retief to be killed by motorists while on duty, and
• the fifth traffic officer in Mpumalanga Province to lose their life under similar circum-stances.
POPCRU Mpumalanga is deeply disturbed by this recurring and deadly pattern. The continued loss of traffic officers on the same routes points to systemic failures in occupational health and safety planning within the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison.
We are particularly concerned that, despite these repeated fatalities, the Department appears to lack adequate constituency- and route-based safety plans to protect traffic officers. Instead, emphasis is increasingly placed on extended and 24-hour shifts, without due consideration for:
• roadside safety infrastructure,
• adequate backup and visibility,
• high-risk route assessments, and
• the growing dangers posed by reckless and lawless motorists.
This approach places our members in avoidable danger and treats traffic officers as expendable rather than as essential frontline workers whose lives must be protected.
While a case of culpable homicide is reportedly under investigation, POPCRU maintains that jus-tice cannot be limited to post-incident investigations. Preventative measures, proper staffing, safer deployment models, and meaningful engagement with organised labour are urgently re-quired to stop this bloodshed.
POPCRU Mpumalanga calls on the Department to:
• urgently review and overhaul its traffic officer deployment and safety strategy;
• engage organised labour on safe working conditions, especially on high-risk routes;
• abandon reckless operational demands that prioritise visibility statistics over human life; and
• ensure accountability for failures that continue to cost traffic officers their lives.
We will communicate details regarding funeral arrangements and organisational support to the family in due course.
POPCRU Mpumalanga once again extends its heartfelt condolences to the Ndlovu family, friends, and colleagues.
May the soul of our fallen comrade, Provincial Inspector Dumisani Ndlovu, rest in eternal peace.
Issued by: POPCRU Mpumalanga Province
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DITSELA Institute invites Educators, Skills Development Officers in all federations at the 2026 Worker Education Program Launch
January 2026
Attention: Educators & National/Provincial Office Bearers Responsible for Education
Dear comrades and colleagues,
Ditsela Programme 2026 Theme: “Educate, Engage, Empower for Resilient and Inclusive Labour Movement”
You are invited to the launch of the 2026 Ditsela Programme
Date: Thursday 12 February 2026
Time 10h00 – 12h00
Venue: Ditsela Offices
Johannesburg Office
21 Marshall Street
4th Floor t
Johannesburg
We would like to urge educators to make every effort to ensure that office bearers responsible for education are available for this meeting. In 2025 we tried to include office bearers in all strategic activities so that they could engage with Ditsela on the priorities for workers’ education; this has proved to be a very successful way of communicating with our constituency about workers’ education.
In this meeting we will be sharing:
▪ New developments for 2026 Programme
▪ Recruitment processes to Ditsela Programme
▪ Required documentation for the application
Note: Ditsela would like affiliates to share their Union programme as well to establish areas of collaboration.
Please confirm your attendance by completing the reply slip to vero...@ditsela.org.za
Fax: 011 492-0302
Yours in the continued struggle for power through education.
Khanyisile Khanyi
Programme Manager
South Africa #ClassSolidarity
COSATU pays tribute to Hosi N’wamitwa II
Zanele Sabela, COSATU Spokesperson, 10 February 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) pays tribute to a pioneer, Hosi Dr Phylia Tinyiko N’wamitwa II, following her passing on Monday, 9 February. She was 85 years of age.
We offer her family, community, friends and comrades, the Federation’s best wishes during this period of mourning.
The first female traditional leader of the Vatsonga people and the first woman in South African history to be appointed Hosi. The only child of Hosi Fofoza N’wamitwa, she could not ascend the throne when her father died in 1968 due to her gender.
Her uncle Richard became regent until his passing in 2001. With South Africa’s Constitution in place, in a precedent setting case, she reclaimed her right to the throne when the Constitutional Court ruled in her favour after her cousin, Sidwell (Richard’s son) contested the throne. She set an example for young girls and women across the nation.
A groundbreaker, Hosi N’wamitwa II paved the way for women in traditional leadership. She was a powerful advocate against gender-based violence and femicide. Beyond the royal sphere, she was a dedicated Member of Parliament for the African National Congress from 1994 to 2009. In the early 1990s, she participated in the CODESA negotiations that cemented the foundation for a democratic South Africa.
A teacher by training, Hosi N’wamitwa was fiercely committed to education and community development and served as a Circuit Inspector.
Speaking of her impending retirement from politics, Hosi Phylia said she longed to be closer to her people and planned to oversee the construction of a dam which she expected to create jobs for the local people.
Hosi Dr N’wamitwa will be deeply missed for her glass ceiling breaking spirit.
Etlela hiku rhula Hosi ya Valoyi.
Issued by COSATU
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COSATU Gauteng statement on Primrose scholar transport protests
Louisah Moepeng Modikwe, COSATU Gauteng Provincial Secretary, 10 February 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Gauteng has noted with serious concern the protest action by residents of Primrose, where roads have been blocked with burning tyres following the suspension of scholar transport services due to non-payment of service providers.
COSATU understands the deep frustration and anger of parents and community members who are witnessing working-class children being denied their constitutional right to education. The failure to pay scholar transport operators has resulted in buses being taken off the road, leaving learners stranded at home, forced to walk long and dangerous distances, or to miss school entirely. This crisis is a direct consequence of poor planning, weak financial management and a lack of accountability within the relevant government departments.
We strongly condemn the situation where working-class families are once again made to carry the burden of government inefficiency. Many parents rely on scholar transport because they cannot afford private alternatives. When these services collapse, it is the poorest households that suffer most through lost school days, unsafe travel conditions for children, and increased financial pressure on already struggling families.
While COSATU acknowledges the desperation that leads communities to protest, we call for calm and urge residents to avoid actions that may endanger lives, destroy infrastructure or expose the community to police confrontation. Burning tyres and blocking roads pose serious safety risks to residents, motorists and workers who rely on these roads to earn a living.
COSATU calls on the Gauteng Department of Education and all relevant authorities to urgently ensure uninterrupted scholar transport services as a matter of urgency. Put systems in place to prevent a recurrence of this crisis.
The education and safety of working-class children cannot be treated as an afterthought.
COSATU stands in solidarity with the residents of Primrose and all affected communities and will continue to demand accountability, proper governance and respect for the rights and dignity of the working class.
Issued by COSATU Gauteng
International-Solidarity
Import bans can help tackle forced labour
4 February 2026
New ILO research brief provides evidence that banning goods produced with forced labour can help counter the illegal practice.
The potential of import bans to address forced labour
GENEVA (ILO News) – A new ILO brief finds that import bans can play a role in tackling forced labour, especially when accompanied by policies that address underlying structural issues.
Forced labour remains a major global challenge, with ILO estimates showing rising numbers of affected people and increasing illegal profits. In response, several economies – the United States, Canada, Mexico and the European Union – have introduced import bans targeting goods produced with forced labour.
The ILO brief, The Potential of Import Bans to Address Forced Labour, examines whether import bans on goods produced with forced labour can help reduce labour rights abuses in the global economy. Drawing on two case studies, the brief finds that import bans can, in some cases, contribute to remedial action and generate momentum for change. Evidence also suggests that company-level social dialogue can help resolve the issues that triggered the ban.
At the same time, the analysis emphasizes that import bans alone are unlikely to address the structural factors driving forced labour. It underscores the importance of complementary measures – including effective labour regulation, social dialogue and engagement with local stakeholders – and calls for further research to better understand the impacts of import bans on workers and enterprises across different contexts.
This brief was developed under the project “Trade and Investment Arrangements: Implementation and Stakeholder Engagement for Promoting Decent Work” (IMPLEMENT), which is funded and supported by the Government of Flanders, Belgium.
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Cambodia advances action to protect garment sector from heat risks
9 February 2026
ILO-led discussions result in a shared commitment to integrate heat-risk prevention into national occupational safety and health policies and climate strategies for garment workers and enterprises across the country.
Phnom Penh (ILO News) – Cambodia is strengthening its policy responses to rising workplace heat risks in the garment industry.
On 19 January 2026, policymakers, employers, workers’ representatives, international brands, researchers and development partners met in Phnom Penh to discuss the implications of heat risk for safety, health and productivity in Cambodia’s garment sector.
The consultation took place at a critical moment for Cambodia’s labour-intensive export industries. Cambodia has experienced record-breaking temperatures in recent years. New national and international research presented during the consultation highlighted that unmanaged heat stress is already translating into higher occupational health risks, reduced output, and operational disruptions for enterprises.
The discussions reinforced the importance of aligning occupational safety and health measures on heat stress with Cambodia’s broader climate adaptation and green economy objectives, ensuring policy coherence across labour, industry, and climate frameworks.
The consultation will directly inform ongoing national policy efforts, including the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training’s work on a forthcoming regulation (Prakas) on heat in the workplace, alongside the development of the Occupational Safety and Health Law.
“Rising temperatures are already affecting workers’ health, factory efficiency and productivity in Cambodia’s garment sector. This dialogue will help translate climate risks into concrete policy and workplace solutions that protect workers while sustaining competitiveness,” said Xiaoyan Qian, ILO Director of ILO Country Office for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
The consultation was convened under the United Nations’ Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) and led by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Better Factories Cambodia, together with ILO-Japan project “Promoting a Safe and Healthy Working Environment in Thailand and Cambodia”, GIZ/FABRIC Cambodia, Cornell University, National University of Singapore, and EuroCham Responsible Business Hub.
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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