Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 30 January 2026 #CosatuRedFridays
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY Today, it’s #CosatuRedFridays #Back2SchoolCampaign #Cosatu40 #SACTU70 #ClassStruggle “Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism” #Back2Basics #JoinCOSATUNow #ClassConsciousness |
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
30 January 2026
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- Department of Employment and Labour call for proposals on training or workshops session on labour laws to vulnerable worker
- Department of Employment and Labour invites written submission on the intention to deem all performers in the performance
- South Africa
- COSATU welcomes NERSA ruling providing reprieve for ferrochrome smelters for 12 months
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Mentorship programme empowers young African women to transform trade unions
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
Department of Employment and Labour call for proposals on training or workshops session on labour laws to vulnerable worker
29 January 2026
The Department of Employment and Labour is inviting labour service organisations from all provinces to submit proposals on training or workshops session on labour laws to vulnerable workers.
The call for proposals from organisations such as non-profit organisations (NPOs) and public benefit organisations (PBOs) targets organisations that specialise in labour matters to provide training or workshop sessions to domestic workers, farm workers, retrenched workers etc.
The training should focus on the following:
- Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA)
- Labour Relations Act (LRA)
- Employment Equity Act (EEA)
-
Unemployment
Insurance Act (UIA)
Enquiries can be sent to: Sipho....@labour.gov.za / Saraphina....@labour.gov.za and applications can be emailed to: civilsociet...@labour.gov.za
Or
- Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA)
-
Occupational
Health and Safety Act (OHSA)
Enquiries can be sent to: Busisiw...@labour.gov.za / Tandisw...@labour.gov.za and applications can be emailed to: civilsociety.c...@labour.gov.za
A single application per organisation for each of the legislation is required.
Applicants must meet the following requirements: organisation must be registered with the Department of Social Development(DSD) in terms of NPO Act of 1997 and (Attach NPO certificate); have an active bank account; must have an existing office, send an audited financial statement for a previous project; must have knowledge and understanding of labour related matters and labour laws; must have knowledge and understanding of COIDA and OHSA; latest NPO compliance letter issued by DSD; and attach a valid letter of good standing for COIDA/OHSA proposals.
The closing date for submission of proposals is 20 February 2026 at 16:00.
For
media enquiries, please contact:
Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
082 697 0694/ teboho....@labour.gov.za
-ENDS-
Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour
_______
Department of Employment and Labour invites written submission on the intention to deem all performers in the performance as employees
28 January 2026
In a move designed to protect vulnerable employees the Department of Employment and Labour is inviting interested stakeholders and parties on the intention to Deem Performers in the Performance of Advertising, Artistic, and Cultural Activities in South Africa as Employees.
Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth has signed the notice as per the government gazette on her intention.
In terms of the notice employees in these sectors will enjoy privileges enjoyed by other employees in other sectors in terms of coverage to various labour market legislations such as: The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA); the National Minimum Wage (NMW); and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA).
These processes form part of government's broader efforts to address reported challenges in the sector, including income insecurity, unsafe working conditions, and limited access to social protection, while ensuring that any regulatory intervention is evidence-based, consultative, and responsive to the realities of the industry.
This intention arises from widespread evidence and stakeholder representations indicating that performers in these sectors often operate under conditions characteristic of employment relationships, including fixed working hours, supervision, and payment for services rendered.
However, they are frequently excluded from basic labour protections due to their classification as “independent contractors".
This measure seeks to extend the fundamental protections of employment law to these vulnerable workers and provide a basis for regulatory and enforcement mechanisms that promote decent work in the creative economy.
The notice was published on 23 January 2026. Interested persons are invited to submit written representations regarding this proposal within 30 (working days) of publication of this notice to:
The Director-General: Department of Employment and Labour Attention: Acting Deputy Director General: Labour Policy and Industrial Relations Private Bag X117, Pretoria, 0001 or Email: SDinvest...@LABOUR.gov.za
For media enquiries, please contact:
Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
082 697 0694/ teboho....@labour.gov.za
-ENDS-
Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour
COSATU welcomes NERSA ruling providing reprieve for ferrochrome smelters for 12 months
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 30 January 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes the National Electricity Regulator (NERSA)’s ruling providing a 35% reduction in electricity tariffs for 12 months for ferrochrome smelters. This is a positive step towards finding a solution for these intensive electricity users whose sustainability as well as the jobs of thousands have been threatened by the increasingly unaffordable price of electricity.
Whilst appreciating this progressive ruling and the relief it provides to Samancor Chrome and Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture, we fear that it does not go far enough to prevent some smelters from still closing in March. It is critical that engagements continue between Eskom, government and the ferrochrome industry, in particular Ferroglobe, Transalloys, Vanchem as well as Mozal, to find short term solutions for these critical companies, sectors and the thousands of jobs linked to them. It is essential that these companies’ Section 189 retrenchments simultaneously be suspended for this period to allow negotiations to continue.
COSATU applauds the efforts by the parties to find solutions and provide space for further engagements on a sustainable long-term solution for a long festering crisis that has seen many smelters close, workers retrenched and communities plunged into economic depression.
We appreciate the tireless efforts of unions in the sector, in particular the National Union of Mineworkers and the National Union of Metalworkers, as well as the Presidency, the Ministries for Electricity and Energy and Trade, Industry and Competition, Eskom and the affected companies and industries.
Key to finding a sustainable long-term solution is to provide Eskom with the necessary support to plug its many financial holes, from corruption to wasteful expenditure, from cable theft to infrastructure vandalism, and most critically to ensuring that all Eskom and municipal electricity consumers are moved to pre-paid meters.
This needs to include a comprehensive package of interventions to arrest the crisis of municipal debt owed to Eskom currently nearing R100 billion and increasing at an alarming rate of R20 billion per annum.
Eskom cannot be sustained nor end its dependence upon unaffordable above inflation tariff hikes, unless all consumers pay for electricity consumed. Improved daily revenue will enable Eskom and municipalities to increase the allocation of free electricity to indigent households whilst continuing to ramp up maintenance programmes and investments in new generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Whilst welcoming this jobs saving agreement it is sacrosanct that all parties honour their agreed obligations, in particular the companies suspending retrenchments proceedings. We cannot afford to see a single worker added to the already dangerously high unemployment rate of 42.4%.
We expect all parties to offer solutions and make compromises to ensure that the jobs of these workers are saved and the sustainability of this strategic industry as well as Eskom are ensured.
Key to unlocking the economy and achieving the 3% growth rate necessary to slashing unemployment, is an affordable electricity tariff regime. Working- and middle-class families too need to see the price of electricity become affordable once again.
Lower prices will help workers take care of their families’ needs and see more money spent stimulating economic growth. This is a matter that requires an urgent solution and prioritisation by the most senior leadership of government and industry.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
Mentorship programme empowers young African women to transform trade unions
29 January, 2026
A two-year mentorship scheme, backed by LO Norway, has equipped a dozen young women trade unionists from Ghana, Malawi and Tanzania with vital skills. Its overarching purpose is to bolster young women’s access to decent employment while promoting more inclusive, gender-responsive trade unions across Sub-Saharan Africa.
The initiative, run by IndustriALL Global Union, with support from LO-Norway, seeks to promote young female leaders within
affiliated unions. These women are positioned to drive reforms that promote gender equality, combat gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) and elevate the participation, visibility, and influence of young women in union structures, collective bargaining,
sectoral networks and international forums. Mentees receive targeted training in leadership, organising, advocacy, feminism ideology and technical competencies essential for reshaping unions’ gender priorities and fortifying worker representation.
The seven mentors, drawn from backgrounds in union revitalisation, feminism, gender equality, and skills development, brought considerable expertise to the programme and offered sustained guidance throughout.
Among its specific objectives the mentorship project aims to empower participants to emerge as future women union leaders, build their confidence and support their pursuit of elected roles at workplace, branch, sectoral, or national levels. The project also
aims to deepen young women’s involvement in union activities by integrating them into collective bargaining teams, organizing drives and advocacy efforts; to establish study circles that mobilise and educate broader cohorts of young women; and to expand female
engagement in sectoral, regional and IndustriALL initiatives.
On the policy front, it advances gender equality and the eradication of GBVH in unions and workplaces by aiding mentees in crafting equality policies, response mechanisms and awareness campaigns. All participants undergo training in gender equality, GBVH prevention,
and mainstreaming, aligned with ILO Convention 190 and Recommendation 206 on ending violence and harassment in the world of work. Mentees are further encouraged to contribute actively to women’s structures and gender committees in their respective unions.
Agnes Ama Agamasu, a human-resources professional at the Ghana Gold Board and member of the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union, reflected on her experience:
“The mentorship programme allowed me to reset and become a more effective leader. It built my confidence to engage with senior government officials and offered invaluable learning and cross-learning opportunities.”
Priscilla Aboagye, an accountant at PUMA Energy and member of the Ghana Transport, Petroleum and Chemicals Workers Union (GTPCWU), added:
“I joined the programme when my baby was just four months old and learnt to balance family life with working in a male-dominated industry. It was a genuine opportunity to step into leadership. I came to realise that skills and talent alone are insufficient; guidance is essential.”
IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa regional secretary, Paule-France Ndessomin, described the programme’s broader significance:
“The LO Norway mentorship initiative is more than mere capacity-building, it serves as a potent catalyst for gender transformation within Africa’s trade unions. By arming young women workers with the tools to champion inclusivity and spearhead resolute campaigns against GBVH, it not only fortifies unions in the present but also lays the foundation for a future in which every worker, irrespective of gender, enjoys equality, safety and empowerment.”
______________________________
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