Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 13 October 2025 #Cosatu@40 #Cosatu40thAnniversary
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #Cosatu holds bilateral with #SACP… #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 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
13 October 2025
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
Organize at every workplace and demand respect for labour rights Now!
Defend Jobs Now!
Join COSATU NOW!
Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- All-Africa Trade Union Virtual Forum Energy Poverty, “Mission 300” and the Fight to Reclaim & Restore Public Energy Systems
- Media Statement: SAMATU Free State decries the dire state of healthcare in the province
- COSATU to host lectures in the lead up to 40th anniversary
- South Africa
- POPCRU Post-CEC Statement
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- NEHAWU Message to the Commemoration of WFTU 80th Anniversary Delivered by General Secretary, Cde. Zola Saphetha
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
All-Africa Trade Union Virtual Forum Energy Poverty, “Mission 300” and the Fight to Reclaim & Restore Public Energy Systems
13 October 2025
Please join us for a virtual meeting of African unions and their allies on:
October 22nd, 2025. Time: 13:00 Lome, Togo/14:00 Tunisia/15:00 Johannesburg, South Africa. Find your local time here.
Anyone that wants to attend must please register. All registrants will receive a zoom link. REGISTER HERE!
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/VpEYufYwSAK3aoP-5TJnpQ
Interpretation: to be confirmed! Dependent on the need and resources required.
Why This Meeting?
In early August 2025, the Africa Region of the ITUC convened an 80-person convening in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that committed to lead broad-based effort to Reclaim & Restore public energy systems.
Consistent with this commitment, national centres, affiliated unions, representatives of Global Union Federations and other allies are invited to join us for a discussion on the recently released “Mission 300” electrification proposal from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank.
Informed by existing anti-privatisation struggles and campaigns being waged by unions in several countries on the continent, the meeting will consider ways to develop a unified response to Mission 300 and its push for further privatisation.
Attached please find the invitation to the meeting and ensure that you register so as to receive the link for the meeting. Here is the link to information on Mission 300 and the latest push to privatise public energy systems in Africa: “Mission 300” electrification proposal.
This meeting is co-hosted by the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation, Public Services International and Trade Unions for Energy Democracy.
Kind Regards
Suraya Jawoodeen
on behalf of the TUED team
___________________
Media Statement: SAMATU Free State decries the dire state of healthcare in the province
Bokang
Motlhaga, SAMATU Corporate Affairs Manager, 10 October 2025
The South African Medical Association Trade Union (SAMATU) in the Free State wishes to formally address a series of pressing issues that have come to the forefront regarding the state of public healthcare in the province. The persistence of these issues compromises
not only the quality of care extended to our communities but also the well-being of healthcare professionals tirelessly working within a flawed system.
Despite
numerous engagements that the SAMATU Free State leadership has had with the MEC of Health on the issue of the unemployed doctors, there has been no action by the MEC to resolve this key issue that has reduced the quality of healthcare delivery at various public
healthcare facilities.
Whilst other provinces have begun opening vacancies to employ doctors who were unemployed post community service, many doctors in the Free State are still unemployed with no surety of when the provincial department of health intents to advertise vacancies. The department has so far not advertised any posts for doctors since the beginning of the new financial year, meanwhile National Treasury has allocated funds for the employment of doctors who are currently unemployed.
This
negligence continues to exacerbate the staff shortages within healthcare facilities to an extent that some doctors have to do duties beyond those of a doctor in trying to deliver the best care to patients.
Moreover,
district hospitals are left glaringly under-resourced, particularly in terms of medical personnel. The situation is compounded by the Free State Department of Health’s insufficient investment in registrar posts. The low number of specialists being trained
within the province underscores the neglect which has consequently led to shortage of specialists in the province.
Further
complicating the situation is the implementation of Circular 6 of 2024, which has disrupted vital specialist services for patients.
The
delays in payments of commuted overtime, particularly for medical interns and community service doctors, has created a frustration and uncertainty. These young professionals are essential to the function of the healthcare system, and the failure to compensate
them in a timely manner is not only unjust but also erodes morale within the medical community.
The
disproportionate budget allocation by the department to various facilities is another issue which worsens the situation as it creates a mismatch between financial resource allocation versus necessity. Some hospitals are allocated funds which are extremely
insufficient to cater for the needs of the immediate communities that they serve.
SAMATU
Free State calls upon the MEC of Health to take immediate action to address these critical issues. The Free State Department of Health must advertise posts which are currently vacant before the end of October 2025. Quality healthcare is a fundamental human
right; it should not be treated as luxury.
ENDS.
Issued by:
SAMATU
Free State Task Team
Enquiries:
Bokang
Motlhaga
Corporate
Affairs Manager
069
586 8430
__________________
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:
Mpumalanga
Date:
16 October
Venue: Ikhethelo Secondary School, Bethal
Topic: Gert Sibande Potato Boycott
Main Speaker: Duncan Luvuno, COSATU 2nd Deputy President
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
POPCRU Post-CEC Statement
Xolani Prusente, POPCRU General Secretary, 13 October 2025
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU), representing over 160 000 members across the Criminal Justice Cluster (CJC), successfully convened its Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting from 6–10 October 2025 at the Birchwood Hotel & OR Tambo Conference Centre under the theme “Building a self-sustainable union in defence of collective bargaining”
The gathering brought together 423 delegates from the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), and Traffic Departments nationwide. Delegates engaged in robust, solution-oriented discussions, reflecting on the union’s progress since the previous CEC held in November 2024, while developing a focused programme of action for the year ahead.
The CEC was enriched by the presence of POPCRU’s federation, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), as well as the latter’s alliance partners — the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) — alongside international guests and fraternal organisations.
Together, they reaffirmed the union’s unwavering commitment to advancing the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) as the most direct route towards socialism, and to confronting the deepening crises of capitalism that continue to manifest in unemployment, inequality, and poverty.
The meeting served as a platform to renew unity, sharpen political clarity, and strengthen the resolve of the organisation to defend the rights, dignity, and wellbeing of all workers within the Criminal Justice Cluster and beyond.
• The state of the NDR
The CEC engaged in a critical assessment of the current state of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) and expressed deep concern at its regression and distortion in recent years. Delegates observed that the momentum of the NDR — once a guiding vision for the transformation of South African society towards equality, social justice, and socialism — has been severely undermined by the neoliberal austerity agenda pursued by the Government of National Unity (GNU).
These austerity measures, coupled with the government’s increasing dependence on the private sector to drive development, have placed corporate profit above human need and reduced the state to a facilitator of capital rather than an instrument of transformation. Instead of building an inclusive developmental state, the policies of fiscal restraint, wage freezes, and privatisation have further entrenched unemployment, inequality, and poverty — the very conditions the NDR sought to eradicate.
The CEC noted with alarm that economic growth remains stagnant at around 1%, while unemployment has risen to 42.9%, and youth unemployment (ages 15–24) has reached a devastating 73.1%. The social fabric of the country is under immense strain, with communities ravaged by crime, corruption, gender-based violence, and the collapse of essential public and municipal services. These crises are not accidental; they are the direct result of policy choices that have prioritised fiscal discipline over human development and elite consensus over working-class empowerment.
POPCRU asserted that this situation represents a serious betrayal of the working class, whose sacrifices laid the foundation for South Africa’s democracy. The revolutionary objectives of the NDR — to dismantle the structural legacies of apartheid and build a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist, and egalitarian society — have been eroded by technocratic governance, internal divisions, and a lack of ideological coherence within the movement.
However, the CEC reaffirmed POPCRU’s unwavering resolve to defend and advance the NDR as the most viable path toward genuine liberation and socialism. The union emphasised that the NDR is not a relic of the past but a living, ongoing struggle that must be revitalised through working-class leadership, ideological clarity, and mass mobilisation.
To this end, the CEC called for a renewed programme of action aimed at reuniting the progressive forces of the Alliance around the strategic objectives of the revolution — including transforming the economy in favour of the working class, building a capable developmental state, and deepening democratic participation.
The CEC concluded that while the current challenges are grave, they cannot deter the working class from its historic mission. POPCRU remains steadfast that the NDR must be reclaimed from the grip of neoliberalism and redirected towards its original socialist objectives, ensuring that the promise of liberation is not deferred, but realised in the lived experience of the South African people.
• Police Killings Summit
The CEC expressed profound alarm at the continuing and senseless slaughter of police officers across the country — a tragic reality that has become a near-daily occurrence. Delegates noted with deep pain that, whether on or off duty, our men and women in blue are increasingly being targeted, often for their firearms, or because of the critical investigations they are pursuing in the fight against crime.
The recent Port Shepstone incident, where both a retired police officer and a serving member were brutally murdered, stands as a stark and painful reminder of the dangerous conditions under which our officers operate. These brutal killings are not isolated incidents; they form part of a broader pattern of violence that undermines the morale, safety, and integrity of the policing profession.
The CEC underscored that every attack on a police officer is an attack on the rule of law, the security of our communities, and the very foundations of our democratic state. When those tasked with protecting citizens become targets themselves, society edges dangerously closer to lawlessness. The message such killings send is devastating — that criminals can act with impunity, that the state is losing control, and that the lives of those who uphold justice are dispensable.
It is against this backdrop that the CEC resolved to convene a National Summit on Police Killings, as a matter of urgent national importance. This summit will not be a symbolic gesture — it must become a turning point in how South Africa confronts the crisis of police safety. POPCRU will work closely with the Ministry of Police, SAPS management, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), civil society, the broader labour movement, and community structures to ensure that this platform delivers practical, lasting solutions.
The summit will examine the deep-rooted causes of these attacks — from the proliferation of illegal firearms, poor resourcing of police units, inadequate training, unsafe working conditions, and the emotional and psychological toll faced by officers on the frontline. It will seek to develop clear, implementable measures to enhance officer protection, strengthen community–police relations, and restore morale and public confidence in the police service.
The CEC emphasised that this initiative is not merely about protecting the uniform but about defending the integrity and authority of law enforcement itself. A society that fails to safeguard its protectors risks descending into insecurity and mistrust. The safety of police officers is inseparable from the safety of the public they serve.
In addressing this crisis, the CEC further resolved that there must be an urgent review of the Criminal Procedure Act and all related laws or operational directives that hinder police officers from acting decisively when confronted by armed and violent criminals. Law enforcement must be empowered — both legally and operationally — to respond firmly, within the confines of the law, to ensure the protection of themselves and the public.
No police officer should lose their life because they hesitated in a moment of danger due to fear of legal repercussions. The Criminal Justice System must therefore ensure that the balance between accountability and operational decisiveness is restored in favour of the safety of our officers and communities.
The CEC further called on the state to treat the killing of police officers as an attack on the sovereignty of the Republic, warranting the harshest punishment under law. POPCRU therefore proposes that those who deliberately kill police officers be charged with high treason or equivalent serious offences, as such acts are direct assaults on the constitutional order and the authority of the state.
POPCRU also calls upon the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Judiciary, and Parliament to ensure that such cases are prioritised, prosecuted with urgency, and met with maximum sentences. Justice delayed in these cases is justice denied to the families of fallen officers and to society as a whole.
POPCRU therefore calls on all relevant stakeholders — from government to community organisations, religious institutions, and the private sector — to rally behind this national effort. This is not only a policing issue; it is a national imperative tied to the defence of democracy, justice, and social order.
The union reaffirmed its determination to ensure that this summit produces actionable resolutions that go beyond words — resolutions that result in a safer environment for officers, a reinvigorated justice system, and a renewed sense of trust between law enforcement and the public. The CEC concluded that the lives of our officers can no longer be reduced to mere statistics. Their protection is the cornerstone of a peaceful, stable, and democratic South Africa.
• On the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry
The CEC took note of the formation and commencement of the Madlanga Commission, established following the revelations made on 6 July 2025. POPCRU recognises the importance of transparency, accountability, and due process in upholding public confidence within the Criminal Justice Cluster (CJC).
While the union refrains from making any pre-emptive judgments on the matter, the CEC expressed measured concern about the potential implications that the proceedings and outcomes of this Commission may have on the stability, morale, and operational integrity of institutions within the CJC.
POPCRU reaffirmed its respect for the rule of law and the independence of judicial processes, noting that such inquiries must be guided by fairness, objectivity, and an unwavering commitment to justice. At the same time, the union stressed that the process must not inadvertently compromise the functioning or public credibility of law enforcement agencies, nor should it be used as a political tool to settle scores or discredit individuals without due cause.
In this regard, the CEC resolved to allow the Commission to complete its work and will, upon its conclusion, engage the outcomes through the appropriate institutional and social dialogue platforms. POPCRU remains committed to ensuring that any process of accountability strengthens — rather than weakens — the collective mission of building a credible, professional, and people-centred criminal justice system.
• On The Unity of the Tripartite Alliance
In reaffirming our revolutionary commitment to the liberation movement and the broader working-class struggle, the CEC underscored that the Tripartite Alliance remains the most critical and historically tested instrument for advancing the National Democratic Revolution. POPCRU recognises that despite the many challenges confronting the Alliance today — including policy disagreements, organisational drift, and a weakening connection with the working class — our collective strength lies not in separation, but in principled unity and renewal.
The CEC firmly believes that the time has come for the Alliance partners — the ANC, SACP, COSATU, and SANCO — to find one another once more, not merely through formal statements of intent, but through honest dialogue, introspection, and a shared recommitment to the founding values that united us in struggle. The Alliance was not born out of convenience, but out of necessity — as a political home for the working class and a strategic centre for the transformation of South African society. To abandon that mission now would be to betray the sacrifices of countless generations who fought and died for a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist, and socialist-oriented South Africa.
In this context, the CEC calls for the urgent convening of a Special Alliance Summit as a platform to confront our collective challenges, clarify our strategic direction, and rebuild the unity of purpose that must guide our movement forward. This summit must move beyond rhetoric — it must produce concrete resolutions to realign our political, economic, and organisational priorities with the aspirations of the working class and the poor.
POPCRU believes that our shared history, common struggles, and collective vision for a just society remain far greater than the divisions that may have emerged in recent times. Unity is not the absence of differences, but the ability to confront and manage them in a manner that strengthens the collective. It is through principled engagement, mutual respect, and a shared understanding of our revolutionary responsibilities that we will rekindle the confidence of our people in the movement and in the transformative project we lead.
As a proud affiliate of COSATU, and as part of the broader working-class family, POPCRU remains steadfast in its commitment to play a constructive and militant role in reviving the Alliance, deepening class consciousness, and ensuring that our collective efforts once again serve the interests of the workers, the poor, and the marginalised. Our unity remains our greatest weapon — and only through it can we defend the gains of our democracy and advance towards the society we envisioned in the Freedom Charter.
• International
The CEC reflected on the shifting global balance of forces, characterised by escalating imperialist wars, deepening ecological destruction, and the continued exploitation of the Global South as mere suppliers of raw materials. It condemned the increasing aggression of the global powers of the industrialised North — including the Trump administration’s trade wars and the European Union’s so-called “green” protectionist measures — which pose direct threats to South Africa’s sovereignty and economic stability.
The CEC further echoed COSATU’s call for the South African government to resist such unilateral actions through multilateral institutions like the World Trade Organisation, while prioritising the strengthening of intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The disruptions caused by protectionist tariffs demand strategic engagement to safeguard national interests, promote fair global trade, and create new opportunities for South Africa’s economic sectors. In doing so, the expansion of trade relations must be guided by the imperative of protecting and advancing decent jobs at home.
POPCRU reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to international solidarity with oppressed peoples across the globe. The CEC endorsed ongoing solidarity campaigns in support of the struggles of Palestine, Swaziland, Western Sahara, Cuba, and Venezuela, and pledged to deepen efforts towards building a united, militant, and class-conscious international trade union movement. The enduring call — “Workers of the world, unite!” — remains at the heart of POPCRU’s internationalist vision for justice and working-class emancipation.
• COSATU’s 40th Anniversary
As COSATU approaches its 40th anniversary celebration at Dobsonville Stadium on 6 December, POPCRU recognises this as both a moment of pride and a call to renewal. The CEC reflected on COSATU’s historic role as the voice of the working class and reaffirmed POPCRU’s commitment to mobilising workers within the Criminal Justice Cluster to mark this milestone.
The CEC cautioned, however, that the trade union movement faces a critical period marked by neoliberal austerity, anti-union sentiment, and attempts to weaken collective bargaining. These challenges demand a revitalisation of activism and relevance within COSATU and its affiliates.
POPCRU emphasised that the anniversary must not only celebrate past victories but reignite worker consciousness, unity, and militancy. It is a call to rebuild a strong, activist, and class-conscious federation rooted in the struggles of workers at all levels.
In honouring COSATU’s four decades of struggle, POPCRU recommitted to defending the federation’s legacy, strengthening worker solidarity, and ensuring that trade unions remain a powerful force for social and economic justice in South Africa.
Issued by POPCRU
International-Solidarity
NEHAWU Message to the Commemoration of WFTU 80th Anniversary Delivered by General Secretary, Cde. Zola Saphetha
Zola Saphetha, NEHAWU General Secretary, 10 October 2025
Comrades and Friends
It is a pleasure to join millions of workers all over the world in commemorating and celebrating the 80th anniversary of the World Federation of Trade Unions, the WFTU since its founding on the 3rd of October 1945 in Paris, France in the aftermath of the Second World War, born as a united voice of the world’s militant and fighting federation of the class oriented of trade unions.
At its first World Trade Union Congress, which voted to establish the WFTU, was attended by delegates representing 67 million workers from 56 national organisations drawn from 56 countries and 20 international organisations, positioning itself as true representatives of the international class struggle and standing firmly on the side of workers and oppressed peoples everywhere.
On the 3rd of October 2025, we celebrated the 80th Anniversary, despite setbacks and splits, the WFTU bigger, stronger, intact and united, representing over 110 million workers across 134 countries with eleven (11) solid and functioning Trade Union Internationals (TUIs) as its sectoral components informed by its organizational strategy to ensure its presence in every corner and everywhere in the world.
The momentum with which the founding of WFTU armed the global trade union movement, and especially its ideological and political direction and class orientation, as expected, seriously alarmed the ruling circles of global capitalism.
Especially in the circumstances at the time, a united class oriented global trade union movement was one of their worst nightmares, as they tried through unions and trade unionists under their influence, to manipulate WFTU at its establishment, using pressure and blackmail.
However, the firm stance of the vast majority of consistent class-based organisations and the strong anti-fascist and anti-imperialist sentiments of the time forced them to back down.
However, they did not give up their efforts, having failed to manipulate the new international trade union movement of workers, they began to prepare for its split under various pretexts and accusations leading up to the refusal to accept the well-known Marshall Plan and proceeded to create a new yellow trade union body of collaborists- the International of so-called “Free” Trade Unions, ICFTU which is highly influenced by American CIO, British TUC and AFL of America.
Of course, they were only free from their commitment to the working class and its struggles, but there is no doubt that they were completely dependent on the multinational monopolies and imperialist centres of the time.
The withdrawal and split were followed by attacks, pressure, blackmail and buyouts. Nevertheless, WFTU continued its militant action, successfully serving the aims and objectives of the world class-oriented labour movement.
As we celebrate this milestone of 80 years of life and struggles of WFTU today, we should recognize that the world working class and peoples are facing great and complex problems brought about capitalist exploitation and imperialist aggression hence workers are becoming poorer and poorer – that is the truth.
Today, we gathered here to fulfil a debt of honour to a rich and proud historical journey with unity, solidarity and international working class struggle which united many workers from all over the world under difficult but great struggle for a better world.
Unlike others, the WFTU was born out of the united struggles of the workers and the working class against facism, capitalist exploitation and imperialist aggression, for the liberation of all the colonies, for improved and better working conditions and for better living conditions of the working class.
The newly formed World Federation from its inception sets the mobilization of workers into unions, the fight against war and its causes, fight for trade union freedoms, the promotion of economic and social rights, the representation of the interests of the international labour movements and the education and class consciousness of workers as an organized contingent of the working class in order to venture into a real class struggle for its class interest.
Indeed, we come from far back in history and we move far into the future, from the beginning, the WFTU stood on the right side of history, in the struggles of workers everywhere, for jobs, pensions, wages, and rights.
Under the banner of WFTU many workers’ demands were written for the first time, has been in the frontlines of the struggles against colonialism and apartheid, on the side of North Korea, Chinese Long March, Cuban Revolution, the heroic struggle of the Vietnamese People, the Palestinian People and South African struggles.
The WFTU further has been on the side of all peoples who fought and fight to decide their own future such as the peoples of Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Venezuela, and many others. We are proud of the WFTU because it stands always with ordinary people.
We stand today to assert that history is not just the past but it is a tool for the present and the future, because yesterday still has many lessons for the struggles of tomorrow.
The battle for history, I would call it “the mother of battles” because the bourgeoisie tried to rewrite history for purposes of winning the minds of the society particularly the young for the benefit of monopolies and multinationals as they used everything they have everywhere – the army of ruthless people across the world.
This makes the ideological and theoretical battle very important because we are in an ideological war. So, our key task is not to allow them to erase the truth of history – the history of struggles and social conflicts therefore we must expose them by giving the younger generations our history – our truth.
On the 3rd October 2025 in Paris, France, once again, we stood in front of the global working class with respect, with responsibility and with pride because the seeds and roots of WFTU go long back with its principles and values that come from long ago and will continue far into the future.
Indeed, all those who planted the first seeds, all the pioneers, are happy today because they see their struggles were not in vain.
In commemorating the 80 years of our existence, the WFTU must renew its commitment:
• To defend the rights of all workers, everywhere.
• To stand in solidarity with every people fighting for freedom.
• To continue with its struggle until we build a society of justice, peace, equality and dignity.
• To oppose capitalist exploitation and to struggle against imperialist domination, unlike the reformist and reactionary international trade union federations that chose a path of compromise and collaboration.
• To always remain a class-oriented world federation of workers with a clear militant stand.
With this commitment and declaration, we have no doubt that the WFTU will continue to grow, and positively influence to the world society to challenge capitalism and imperialism in every corner of the world.
Further its presence and viability will continue to be felt through struggles and material difference it brings to bear on the international class struggle and the working conditions of workers.
Dear brothers and sisters,
At the same time, the strategic sector component of the WFTU which was established on October 29, 1949, the Trade Union International of Public Service and Allied, the TUI PS&A which NEHAWU is an affiliate to, will be celebrating its 76th anniversary here at home in Johannesburg, South African on the eve of its Directive Committee.
At the centre of its 76th anniversary, our TUI will thank the affiliated trade unions to the WFTU and its Coordinating Centres and TUI’s for keeping the flame of class oriented trade unionism alive and being cognizant of the fact that the actual work and day to day activity that makes the presence of both WFTU and its TUI’s to be felt internationally is carried out at a local, country to country by millions of workers.
As its celebrates its 76 years of its existence, the TUI of Public Service and Allied will once again join millions of workers on behalf of its over 36 million members to salute the 80th anniversary of the formation and existence of WFTU as an instrument in the international working class struggle to make a clarion call that its mother body, the WFTU must continue serving as a beacon of hope and torch-bearer of revolutionary trade unionism, workers and the working class of the world as a whole.
Our TUI will further salute the WFTU for its unwavering commitment to the principles of class struggle and international solidarity and reaffirming its loyalty to this great internationalist tradition as well as recommitting itself to building a militant, class-oriented trade union movement capable of confronting the global offensive of capitalism and imperialism.
A detail message of its 76th anniversary, out TUI will soon communicate immediate after its Directive Committee committing and declaring itself as the only vehicle of hope and a voice of reason of a class oriented federation of World Trade Unions, the WFTU in the public service and allied with its energy and vigor to better represent all of public servants in every corner of the world for better working conditions and better pay or wages.
South African context
NEHAWU as it celebrates the WFTU 80th Anniversary should continue to roll-out the ideological training and political education as part of deepening class consciousness to its cadres and structures to heighten the reality of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) that is no longer at the stage of stagnation rather regressing as a result of the convergence of the neoliberalism under the disguise of the Government of National Unity that is deepening the Neo-Liberal trajectory based on a three-prong programme, namely: austerity, so-called structural reforms pertaining to the public infrastructural network industries and labour reforms.
These three streams of Neoliberal reforms reflect the government’s concession to the long standing demands of the organised business as a condition for investment.
As a result of this persisting pursuit of neo-liberal policy – austerity bringing pains, miseries and suffocation to workers and the working class.
This regression of the NDR as a direct route to socialism dictate to the union, at the risk of being isolated from congress movement, at worst from the federation itself, to undertake the following tasks:
• As its posture, vehemently reject neoliberalism with its policies and will mobilise against it everywhere it raises its ugly head and oppose austerity and all policies that weakens labour rights.
•
• Aggressively and offensively fight against the dismantling, privitisation and out-sourcing of the public service and other sectors.
• Immediately campaign for filling of vacant funded posts through resuscitating the public service delivery campaign at all level of the union
• Fight consistently against corruption and maladministration
• Continuously campaign for full implementation of the National Health Insurance now
• Work tirelessly to unite trade unions of workers within and outside the fold of the federation towards workers voice in our country
• Forge the unity of the working through participating in the Socialist-Axis
• Seriously roll-out the deepening of class consciousness to leaders and members to recognize the need to venture into a real class struggle given the complex nature of South African revolution.
• Advance in a consistent and vigorous way the organizational imperative - close ranks defend the base.
• Continue to advance the international working class solidarity under the banner of TUI Public Service and Allied and directly through the WFTU.
The above summarized tasks of the moment which in our pursuit we must draw strength from this rich history of the 80 years of WFTU just celebrated four (4) days ago in Paris in order to resolve the challenges facing our members and workers in anticipation for the future.
Happy 80th birthday Anniversary WFTU Happy!
Long live the 80th years of the WFTU!
Long live the Internationalist Solidarity of Workers!
Long live WFTU long live!
______________________________
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