Taking COSATU Today Forward, 8 May 2026
Norman Mampane
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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
8 May 2026
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- COSATU Free State to protest at Spar Supermarket in Bothaville against racial discrimination
- POPCRU demands immediate consequence management over SAPS’ reckless and unlawful disclosure of confidential medical information of members in the Western Cape
- SAMWU cautiously welcomes Administration of Sol Plaatje Local Municipality
- POPCRU Eastern Cape saddened by the tragic deaths of three SAPS members in Kariega
- South Africa
- COSATU and FEDUSA GEMS Campaign-Hybrid Media Briefing
- COSATU eagerly awaits the arrest of those guilty of the George Building collapse
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- African trade unions seek a seat at the climate table
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
COSATU Free State to protest at Spar Supermarket in Bothaville against racial discrimination
Tiisetso Mahlatsi, COSATU Free State Provincial Secretary, 8 May 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Free State strongly condemns the racial incident at the Bothaville Spar wherein a white security manager severely assaulted a black co-worker who he accused of being drunk. Instead of condemning the attack, dismissing the security manager and reporting a case of assault to the police, Spar management instituted a disciplinary process against the victim and dismissed him from work.
As things stand, the security manager is at work carrying on as if nothing happened.
The silence from the management of Spar is deeply worrying and raises several questions. Why did they not discipline the security manager? Why are they not disturbed by the racial overtones of this incident?
COSATU Affiliate, South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU) has reported ill-treatment by management towards employees who have joined the trade union. What Spar appears to have forgotten is that joining a trade union is not an employer’s choice but an employee’s constitutional right.
As COSATU We believe that every individual deserves to work in an environment where they are treated with dignity, respect, and fairness — regardless of race, ethnicity, or cultural background.
Racial discrimination of any form is unacceptable, unethical, and unlawful.
COSATU Free State and its Affiliate, SACTWU, have organised a protest march to Spar in Bothaville to demand the immediate reinstatement of our member and consequence management against the security manager. We will be marching to protect and restore the dignity of a black person.
Details of the march are as follows:
Date: Sunday 10 May 2026
Time: 9am
Assembly point: Kgotsong Township Circle (at the entrance next to Community Hall)
We call on all members of COSATU, Alliance partners, community-based structures and the community of Bothaville to join the march in support of the dismissed worker.
We reiterate our firm stance against all forms of racial discrimination in the workplace, as it is a direct violation of workers’ rights and human dignity. Through this march, COSATU wants to emphasize that:
Workplace equality is non-negotiable — every worker, regardless of race, gender, or background, must have equal access to opportunities, fair treatment, and safe working conditions.
The legacy of apartheid still lingers — many workplaces remain shaped by historic inequalities, and proactive measures are needed to dismantle these systemic barriers.
Support for the Employment Equity Act — COSATU views the Act as a vital instrument to correct past injustices, promote diversity, and ensure that workplaces reflect the demographics of South Africa.
Call to action — we are unapologetically calling on employers to implement robust anti-discrimination policies, provide diversity training, and create transparent systems for reporting and addressing unfair treatment.
COSATU reaffirms that racial discrimination is not only morally unacceptable but also illegal, and we will continue to mobilise workers to defend equality and justice in every workplace.
Issued on behalf of COSATU Free State
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POPCRU demands immediate consequence management over SAPS’ reckless and unlawful disclosure of confidential medical information of members in the Western Cape
Richard Mamabolo, POPCRU National Spokesperson, 08 May 2026
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) expresses its outrage, disgust and strongest condemnation following the reckless circulation of highly confidential medical information belonging to thousands of SAPS employees in the Western Cape province.
It has come to our attention that an internal Human Resource communication relating to absenteeism management and leave administration was circulated broadly within the SAPS Western Cape environment, accompanied by an attachment titled “leave subcategory”, which allegedly contained confidential medical information of approximately 2 978 members, including their illness diagnoses and sensitive personal medical details.
This shocking and irresponsible conduct represents one of the gravest violations of privacy, dignity and confidentiality imaginable within the workplace. It is unacceptable that employees entrusted with the administration and safekeeping of sensitive information could so carelessly expose the deeply personal medical records of workers to unauthorised individuals.
The conduct in question is not merely unethical and reckless — it potentially constitutes a direct violation of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), Act 4 of 2013. Medical information is classified under POPIA as “special personal information”, deserving the highest level of protection and confidentiality.
Section 26 of POPIA expressly prohibits the processing of special personal information concerning a person’s health except under strictly regulated circumstances. Furthermore, Section 19 of POPIA places a legal obligation on responsible parties to secure the integrity and confidentiality of personal information in their possession by taking appropriate, reasonable technical and organisational measures to prevent loss, damage, unauthorised destruction, unlawful access, or unlawful disclosure of personal information.
What has transpired in the Western Cape is the exact opposite of what the law requires.
The circulation of workers’ diagnoses and medical details to a broad email distribution list is not an administrative error that can simply be brushed aside. It is a gross invasion of privacy and a betrayal of the trust that employees place in the institution. These are workers who daily risk their lives under dangerous conditions in service of society, yet their own employer has failed to protect their constitutional right to dignity and privacy.
POPCRU further wishes to emphasise that doctor-patient confidentiality is a sacrosanct principle recognised both ethically and legally. The careless disclosure of medical diagnoses creates conditions for stigma, humiliation, discrimination, workplace victimisation and emotional trauma for affected employees.
It is deeply disturbing that such information could be disseminated without consent, without safeguards, and without regard for the devastating consequences on the affected members and their families.
The union therefore demands the following with immediate effect:
Firstly, an urgent and independent investigation must be instituted to determine precisely who authorised, processed, distributed and failed to safeguard the confidential information.
Secondly, every individual responsible for the leakage and circulation of the information must immediately face disciplinary action. POPCRU will not accept scapegoating of junior personnel while those in positions of authority escape accountability.
Thirdly, SAPS management in the Western Cape must publicly account for how such a catastrophic breach of confidentiality was permitted to occur under their watch.
Fourthly, all affected employees must be formally notified about the breach, informed about the nature and extent of the disclosure, and advised on what corrective measures are being implemented to protect them from further harm.
Fifthly, POPCRU demands a full review of all information management protocols relating to employee medical records, absenteeism management systems and leave administration processes within the province.
The union further reserves its rights to pursue all available legal, labour and regulatory avenues should SAPS fail to act decisively against those responsible. POPCRU will not stand idle while workers’ constitutional rights are trampled upon through administrative recklessness and institutional negligence.
We also call upon the Information Regulator of South Africa to closely monitor this matter, as it raises serious concerns regarding compliance with POPIA within SAPS structures.
At a time when workers are constantly reminded about confidentiality obligations, operational discipline and compliance with legislation, it is unacceptable that the very institution tasked with enforcing the law appears incapable of protecting the confidential information of its own members.
This matter cannot be minimised. It cannot be sanitised. And it cannot be buried through internal bureaucracy.
Heads must roll.
The dignity, privacy and constitutional rights of workers are non-negotiable.
Issued by POPCRU
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SAMWU cautiously welcomes Administration of Sol Plaatje Local Municipality
Pieter Demas, SAMWU Northern Cape Provincial Secretary, 7 May 2026
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Northern Cape notes and cautiously welcomes the decision by the Northern Cape Provincial Executive Council to invoke Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution at Sol Plaatje Local Municipality.
While we cautiously welcome the intervention, experience has taught us that placing a municipality under administration does not automatically translate into improved governance, restored service delivery, or better working conditions for municipal workers. Across the country, many municipalities have been placed under Section 139 interventions with little lasting success because the root causes of collapse were never decisively addressed.
For SAMWU, the crisis facing municipalities is not just an administrative matter, it is also political, structural and financial in nature. Municipalities continue to suffer from chronic underfunding, political instability, rampant corruption, outsourcing, weakening institutional capacity, and persistent interference in administration. Workers and communities are often left to carry the burden of these failures.
We therefore urge that this intervention must not become another temporary exercise aimed at political optics ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections. The intervention must instead focus on rebuilding institutional capacity, stabilising governance, addressing financial mismanagement, filling critical vacancies, protecting workers’ rights, and ensuring the delivery of quality services to communities.
SAMWU further maintains that lasting solutions are required for the challenges confronting local government nationally. Government must move beyond recurring interventions and confront the broader crisis in the local government sphere, including the funding model of municipalities, the erosion of internal capacity through privatisation and outsourcing, and continued political interference in administration.
Workers cannot continue to be treated as scapegoats for failures created by poor political leadership and administrative instability. Organised labour must be meaningfully consulted throughout this process because workers remain central to rebuilding municipalities and restoring service delivery.
As SAMWU, we will closely monitor the intervention to ensure that it serves the interests of workers and communities, rather than narrow political interests.
Issued by SAMWU Northern Cape
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POPCRU Eastern Cape saddened by the tragic deaths of three SAPS members in Kariega
Richard Mamabolo, POPCRU National Spokesperson, 7 May 2026
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) in the Eastern Cape has received with profound shock and sadness the devastating news regarding the tragic deaths of three SAPS members in Kariega in the early hours of today.
As POPCRU, we extend our deepest condolences to the families, friends, colleagues and loved ones of the deceased members during this painful and traumatic period. The loss of any member of the law enforcement community is always devastating, but the death of three young officers in one incident makes this tragedy even more painful and emotionally overwhelming for the broader policing fraternity.
At this stage, we note the preliminary information released by SAPS and the fact that investigations by both SAPS and IPID are underway. We believe it is important that the investigative processes be allowed to unfold without speculation or the circulation of unverified information which may further traumatise the affected families and colleagues.
However, this tragic incident once again highlights the growing psychological, emotional and social pressures confronting many members within the policing environment. Police officers operate daily under highly stressful, dangerous and emotionally draining conditions, often exposed to trauma, violence, relationship strain, long working hours and enormous psychological burdens. In many instances, these pressures remain untreated, unspoken about, or insufficiently addressed.
As POPCRU, we have consistently raised concerns about the urgent need to strengthen mental health support systems, trauma management programmes, wellness interventions and accessible counselling services within the SAPS environment. Far too often, members suffer in silence while carrying the enormous weight of their professional and personal struggles.
We therefore call for a comprehensive approach towards member wellness, which must go beyond reactive interventions after tragedies have already occurred. The institution must invest meaningfully in preventative mental health programmes, confidential counselling support, early intervention systems and creating an organisational culture where members are encouraged to seek help without fear of stigma or victimisation.
At this stage, our priority remains with the grieving families, colleagues and all affected members. Should it emerge that any of the deceased were members of POPCRU, the union will provide the necessary organisational support to the affected families and ensure that they are not left alone during this painful period.
We further urge members of the public and social media users to refrain from sharing graphic content, speculation or insensitive commentary surrounding this incident, out of respect for the dignity of the deceased and the emotional wellbeing of their families.
The loss of life under such tragic circumstances is painful beyond words.
May the souls of the departed members rest in peace.
Issued by POPCRU Eastern Cape
South Africa #ClassSolidarity
COSATU and FEDUSA GEMS Campaign-Hybrid Media Briefing
7 May 2026, 10:00
Comrades, members of the media, workers and the public.
COSATU and FEDUSA address the country today following weeks of political, legal, institutional and bargaining work undertaken by organised labour to defend public servants against an unaffordable GEMS contribution increase that was imposed on workers at a time when wages are under pressure and household costs continue to rise.
This work included formal mass protests, the handing over of memoranda of demands, direct engagements with the GEMS Board of Trustees, engagement involving the Minister for Public Service and Administration as the employer, preparation for escalation through the NEDLAC Section 77 processes, and continued consultation with members who made it clear that the 9.5% increase could not stand.
GEMS has now formally responded to COSATU and FEDUSA. In its letter, GEMS confirms our call for the withdrawal of the 9.5% weighted contribution increase and its replacement with a lower rate, together with additional matters raised in labour’s demands. GEMS further confirms that the Board of Trustees considered the submissions of the federations, including the memoranda from the protest marches, and has approved a revision of the proposed weighted contribution increase to 7.5% - a 2% reduction, effective 1 July 2026, subject to approval by the Council for Medical Schemes.
The victory we want to share with public service workers and our members today is that GEMS has been forced to retreat from the 9.5% increase. The immediate triumph secured by workers is a two-percentage point reduction from the increase that had been imposed on public servants. That movement did not come as a favour. It did not come as a public relations gesture on the part of GEMS, but it came because UNITED organised labour applied pressure through the proper political, legal, bargaining and mobilisation channels. All this, because workers refused to accept that they must simply absorb contribution increases decided above their heads.
We must be clear. GEMS has not agreed to every demand placed before it, and the revised increase remains subject to regulatory approval by the Council for Medical Schemes. But the Scheme has moved from the position it had previously defended. It has now acknowledged, in writing, that the affordability pressures raised by members were real enough to require a revision. The original demand of organised labour was clear. The 9.5% increase had to be withdrawn and replaced with a revised, affordable and socially defensible contribution structure developed in consultation with labour. We took this position because public servants had already absorbed a painful 13.4% increase in 2025, followed by the 2026 shock increase, at a time when food, transport, electricity, debt repayments, rent and school-related costs continue to punish the working class and their families.
This fight was never only about a percentage. It was about what that percentage does in the life of a worker. It was about the nurse, the teacher, the police officer, the correctional services officer, the clerk, the technician and every public servant who opens a payslip and sees medical aid costs cutting deeper into money that must still carry the household.
GEMS has sought to explain its position through claims utilisation, cost pressures, reserve ratio considerations, actuarial advice, financial stress testing, affordability analysis and long-term sustainability. COSATU and FEDUSA do not dismiss the need for sustainability. What we reject is the idea that sustainability can be built by pushing the burden of institutional failures onto workers. The engagements exposed a deeper failure within GEMS. They showed that the Board and executive management allowed fraud, corruption risks, procurement weaknesses, outsourcing costs, administrative excess, claims leakages, poor benefit design decisions and weak financial controls to define the Scheme without a credible, timeous and member-centred strategy to stop the bleeding. This is not a worker failure. It is a governance failure. Public servants cannot be expected to pay more because those entrusted with the Scheme failed to act with the urgency, discipline and accountability required of them.
We welcome the two percentage point reduction as a concrete gain for members. But we must be honest with workers and with the public. A retreat from 9.5% does not erase the failures that gave birth to this crisis. It does not answer all the questions around administrative costs, outsourcing, fraud and leakage, benefit design, reserve management, executive accountability and the unilateral changes that angered members. It does not automatically repair the trust that has been damaged between GEMS and public servants. That is why COSATU and FEDUSA will not allow this victory to be turned into a public relations exercise. The reduction was won through pressure, and the same pressure must now be used to force lasting reform.
We therefore place on record that the remaining demands of organised labour remain alive. We still require full financial transparency from GEMS, including disclosure of administrative expenditure, managed care contracts, a review of outsourcing arrangements, procurement costs, executive and Board remuneration, and the real drivers of contribution increases. We still require an independent forensic audit into governance practices, procurement processes, outsourcing expenditure, fraud, leakages and executive accountability. We still require a review of the funding and reserve model so that regulatory compliance is not used mechanically to punish members. We still require meaningful engagement on Tanzanite One and the unilateral changes that placed additional burdens on members who were already choosing lower-cost options because the Scheme had become unaffordable.
GEMS has also asked whether it remains necessary for organised labour to proceed with the Section 77 hearing at NEDLAC. COSATU and FEDUSA will approach that question soberly, collectively and strategically. The Section 77 process was not pursued in vain. It was pursued because healthcare affordability for workers in South Africa is a socio-economic matter, and because workers needed a protected route to escalate if GEMS and other schemes refused to move.
COSATU and FEDUSA believe if this reduction is to become the beginning of a serious reset, then GEMS must come to the table with transparency, binding timelines, proper disclosure, and a credible programme to address cost drivers before they reach members’ pockets.
We will now engage GEMS on the practical implementation of the revised increase, including the effective date of 1 July 2026, the implications for members who have already paid the 9.5% increase, communication to members, the CMS approval process, and how any future savings arising from claims management, operational efficiencies or cost containment will be passed back to members. We also expect GEMS to enter a formal and structured engagement framework with organised labour. Never again must workers be told after decisions affecting their salaries and benefits have already been made.
Engagement must not be a courtesy call after the damage is done. It must be meaningful, documented, time-bound and capable of changing outcomes.
GEMS was created as a social solidarity scheme for public servants. It was not created to operate like a commercial medical scheme that treats workers as a revenue base and affordability as an inconvenience.
The Scheme must return to its founding mandate of social solidarity: affordable, equitable and quality healthcare for public servants and their families.
Today, COSATU and FEDUSA salute the workers, shop stewards, organisers, affiliates and leaders who refused to allow this matter to be buried under boardroom language. Public servants have shown that when workers are organised, disciplined and united, they can force institutions to move.
This is not the end of this chapter for labour but the first victory in a wider fight for affordability, transparency and accountability.
Affordable healthcare is not a privilege. It is a worker right!!
Issued jointly by COSATU and FEDUSA
For inquiries contact:
Zanele Sabela (COSATU Spokesperson)
Mobile: 079 287 5788 / 077 600 6639
Email: zan...@cosatu.org.za
OR
Betty
Moleya
FEDUSA Communications Officer
Mobile: 063 736 5533
Email: communi...@fedusa.org.za
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COSATU eagerly awaits the arrest of those guilty of the George Building collapse
Nonzuzo Dlamini, COSATU Communication Officer, 08 May 2026
The Congress of the South African Trade Unions (COSATU) eagerly awaits the arrest of those implicated in the tragic collapse of the building in George, Western Cape, two years ago.
The Federation notes that the South African Police Service has concluded their investigations into the matter as per the announcement by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.
COSATU joins the Department in calling on the National Prosecuting Authority to promptly institute prosecutions and attain justice for the 34 workers who lost their lives and those who were injured. The building caved in while 60 workers were on site, causing untold loss of life, limb and jobs for these workers and inflicting terrible trauma upon their families.
The subsequent investigations into this devastating catastrophe have proven that negligence and blatant disregard for the law are to blame. The engineer responsible for signing off on the construction plans has since been found guilty of five contraventions of the law and suspended. Neo Victoria, the company at the centre of it all, was found by a report by the Department of Human Settlements to have undermined key regulatory processes including non-compliance of standards established by the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC).
The culprits were able to commence with construction before the property was registered or approvals finalised. Their reckless practices went as far as misrepresenting inspection reports. Now that these unfortunate findings are complete, there shouldn’t be any delays in bringing forward criminal charges, ensuring full accountability.
Regulations are set to enforce safe systems within the industry to protect both workers and residents. Blatantly flouting them is a deliberate act that is deserving of time behind bars. In addition to the non-compliance, the company ignored conditions of employment such as the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act.
We expect and demand swift action by the National Prosecuting Authority. The families are entitled to their closure. The arm of the law is also pressing to avoid the reoccurrence of such incidents. An urgent message is needed to the role players in the industry to put an end to persistent violations as we have witnessed other building collapses in Redcliffe, North of Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal and in Ormonde, Johannesburg recently.
Time wasted would be a travesty.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
African trade unions seek a seat at the climate table
7 May, 2026
At a meeting in Accra on 4 and 5 May, the African group of negotiators (AGN), the bloc that coordinates climate negotiating positions on behalf of 54 African countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), agreed on a workplan to establish a labour liaison mechanism ahead of the 31st conference of the parties (COP 31).
The initiative was developed with IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) regional office and the Sub-Saharan Africa energy network. It also involved IndustriALL affiliates in Ghana, ITUC-Africa, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Ghana Trade Union Congress. The aim is to embed workers’ safeguards more firmly into Africa’s climate policies.
The workplan for the subsidiary body (SB64) sessions and COP 31 includes several steps. These include establishing an AGN-trade union Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) liaison group with formal terms of reference. Moreover, they involve compiling sector-specific evidence briefs on employment, reskilling, critical minerals and informal workers. They also involve delivering joint pre-sessional briefings. Further, submitting joint evidence to the secretariat’s mapping process on sovereignty-designed pathways is scheduled. Developing a unified African labour position paper on the JTWP, border adjustment mechanisms and equitable value chains is also planned. Additional activities include convening a COP 31 side event on African workers and the just transition. Another step is reviewing and institutionalizing the AGN labour liaison mechanism.
The meeting heard that finance lies at the heart of the grievances. SSA receives less than 3 per cent of global climate finance annually. Much of it comes in the form of loans rather than grants. Trade unions rejected the use of loans as climate contributions. They argued that they risk deepening the continent’s debt crisis. Interest rates in the region are roughly seven times higher than those in Organization for economic co-operation and development (OECD) countries. To close this gap requires serious reform of multilateral development banks. This was argued by unions.
Drawing on the African mining vision, participants demanded that critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt be processed locally. This would generate decent, job-rich growth instead of raw exports.
Trade as a tool of exclusion
Unions raised concerns over the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, arguing that it risks shifting the costs of the energy transition onto African producers and workers. They also rejected product bans and green subsidies that function as trade barriers. Instead, they insisted on national rights to build regional value chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Protecting workers and gender justice
Influenced by South Africa’s Just Energy Transition experience, unions called for negotiated transitions featuring five-year notice periods for fossil-fuel phase-outs and wage parity for affected workers. A recurring theme was the need to protect the continent’s large informal workforce. They pushed for International Labour Organization(ILO) standards to be explicitly linked to climate finance. In particular, unions want attention to opportunities and rights for women and youth in the green economy. Unions also called for the full funding of the Gender Action Plan to address the disproportionate impact of climate disasters on women.
The meeting, convened with support from IndustriALL, Danish trade union 3F and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Senegal, brought together 20 participants from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Civil-society delegates from Gambia and Senegal also attended.
“AGN commits to the systematic integration of labour, deepening of open conversations, engaging key stakeholders and providing a platform and guidance during negotiations,”
said Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, AGN chairperson.
Paule-France Ndessomin, SSA IndustriALL regional secretary emphasized:
“The conversation on climate change is shifting to the protection of workers and community interests. For African trade unions, the just energy transition is a fight against new green extractivism.”
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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