Taking COSATU Today Forward, 4 February 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
4 February 2026
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- COSATU calls for payment of Ditsobotla Municipality workers’ pension fund contributions
- DITSELA Institute invites Educators, Skills Development Officers in all federations at the 2026 Worker Education Program Launch
- African Unions invited to Trade Unions for Energy Democracy Africa Regional Quarterly Virtual Meeting
- South Africa
- COSATU welcomes increase in the National Minimum Wage
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- MUZ wins wage deal from Lumwana, demands more for Zambian communities
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
COSATU calls for payment of Ditsobotla Municipality workers’ pension fund contributions
Zanele Sabela, COSATU Spokesperson, 03 February 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) commends its Affiliate, the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU), for raising the alarm on the non-payment of workers’ pension fund contributions at the Ditsobotla Local Municipality in the North West.
The municipality notorious for making headlines for all the wrong reasons, has reportedly not paid workers’ pension fund contributions for 14 months. This is playing with fire as it robs workers of the compounding effect that would ultimately ensure they do not retire in poverty. In addition, workers’ family members would not be able to claim the death benefit should the unthinkable happen, if some contributions are outstanding. It also interferes with workers’ ability to access their savings under the Two-Pot Pension regime that was primarily intended to alleviate their financial pressures.
Workers have borne the brunt of maladministration in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality for far too long. In August last year, workers were owed salaries for three whole months, after Treasury withheld the municipality’s equitable share grant to force financial compliance, including paying creditors such as Eskom, waterboards, etc.
At the end of the 2024/25 financial year, Ditsobotla was effectively bankrupt as its liabilities exceeded its assets by a whooping R295 million. It was placed under national administration last September, after being placed under provincial administration eight separate times did not curb maladministration.
It is distressing to discover that even under national administration, Ditsobotla continues to default on pension fund contributions and other statutory payments. Municipalities are counted among the worst three defaulting sectors when it comes to pension fund contribution payments, alongside the security and automotive sectors.
COSATU calls on the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs as well as Treasury to ensure the Ditsobotla Municipality brings workers’ pension fund payments to date immediately. Why else is the municipality under administration if the rotten status quo maintains.
Furthermore, the Department must put systems in place to ensure the municipality delivers services to the citizens of Ditsobotla.
A long-term solution is needed for this poster boy of financial delinquency as it has already set a national record for being placed under administration four times in the past decade with little improvement for its employees or its residents.
Issued by COSATU
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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
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African Unions invited to Trade Unions for Energy Democracy Africa Regional Quarterly Virtual Meeting
Dear Comrades
SAVE THE DATE: 10th February 2026
Africa Regional Quarterly Virtual Meeting
Please join us for a virtual meeting of African unions and their allies on:
February 10th, 2026. Time: Johannesburg. South Africa/16:00, Tunisia/15:00.
Find your local time here:
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html
Anyone that wants to attend must please register. All registrants will receive a zoom link. RSVP:
Please register HERE. https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/g1hf5pbiS5WPSMXDB92Ziw#/registration
Interpretation: to be confirmed! Dependent on the need and resources required.
Why This Meeting?
Join the meeting to listen to updates from Tunisia, South Africa, and Ghana regarding renewable energy costs, the unbundling and privatization of energy institutions, and the role of private sector participation, amongst other things.
See article attached on the Tunisia case study of the cost of renewable energy.
Kind Regards
Suraya Jawoodeen
on behalf of the TUED team
COSATU welcomes increase in the National Minimum Wage
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 03 February 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes the 2026 increase of inflation plus 1.5% (5% in total or R1.44) for the National Minimum Wage (NMW). This progressive above inflation increase raises the NMW from R28,79 per hour to R30.23 from 1 March 2026.
Whilst COSATU had tabled a slightly higher proposal, we are pleased that our demand for a positive above inflation increase secured the support of the Commission and the Minister for Employment and Labour, Ms. N. Meth.
The NMW Act mandates the Commission to ensure the NMW is not eroded by inflation as this would plunge many workers deeper into debt, poverty and despair. This positive increase will help protect the value of the NMW and workers’ ability to take care of their families. It will inject badly needed stimulus into the economy, spurring growth, sustaining and creating jobs. It will provide relief to nearly 6 million workers earning within the NMW range in particular farm, domestic, construction, retail, transport, hospitality, security, and cleaning workers.
COSATU is pleased with the progress we have made with the NMW since it came into effect in 2019 at R20 per hour, with domestic workers then pegged at R15 and farmworkers R18. They have both since been equalised with the NMW. The NMW is a far cry from the poverty wages farm and domestic workers were paid a few years ago, at times as little as R6 an hour.
It is one of the government led by President Cyril Ramaphosa and the African National Congress’ most important and transformational achievements.
Engagements need to be accelerated with the Presidency, Treasury and the Departments of Cooperative Governance, Public Works and Infrastructure on a road map to ensure Community and Expanded Public Works Programmes’ workers are raised from the incoming amount of R16,62 to the full NMW.
It is unacceptable that these workers remain pegged at just under 55% of the NMW.
This must now end.
Whilst we have made progress, it is critical the Department of Employment and Labour intensify its crack down on defaulting employers. Unions must continue to expose such workplaces.
Organised Business must play its part too. This is a criminal offence and should be treated as such. Such employers cannot be allowed to defy the law and treat their employees little better than slaves. Minister Meth’s bold commitment to employ an additional 20 000 inspectors will be a welcome boost to ensuring the abhorrent defiance of the law by some employers is dealt with.
Miserly critics of the NMW said it would lead to a job’s bloodbath. Independent research by leading academics has proven this not to be the case. It has had a positive impact on reducing poverty and inequality whilst boosting economic growth. Other countries who have introduced an NMW, e.g. the United States, Germany and Brazil have had similar positive experiences.
Beyond the NMW, government needs to expedite measures to tackle the network and other obstacles to growing the economy as well as reinforce the various elements of the social wage, e.g. subsidised public transport, education, housing, municipal services and social security.
These are critical to fixing the state, unlocking the economy, reducing poverty, creating decent jobs as well as ensuring workers earn a living wage.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
MUZ wins wage deal from Lumwana, demands more for Zambian communities
3 February, 2026
The Mine Workers’ Union of Zambia (MUZ), an IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, has secured a victory in its latest round of collective bargaining with Lumwana Copper Mines, a key subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation. The parties finalized an agreement in Lusaka granting unionized workers a 13 per cent wage increase, effective for the year.
The Mine Workers’ Union of Zambia (MUZ), an IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, has secured a victory in its latest round of
collective bargaining with Lumwana Copper Mines, a key subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation. The parties finalized an agreement in Lusaka granting unionized workers a 13 per cent wage increase, effective for the year.
Speaking at the signing ceremony on 31 January, George Mumba, MUZ general secretary, pressed the company to go beyond wage adjustments. He advocated for the implementation of living wages to levels sufficient to support a decent standard of living for workers
and their families alongside firmer commitments to environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives that deliver tangible benefits to mining affected communities.
“This agreement reflects the strength of collective bargaining and the unity of our members. We need robust provisions for occupational health and safety, comprehensive social protection, greater job security and wages that reflect the true cost of living,”
Mumba emphasized. MUZ has over 1,100 members at Lumwana. Further, he argued that sustainable mining practices, which prioritise
community welfare and environmental stewardship, are essential if the industry is to contribute meaningfully to national development in Zambia rather than only extracting resources for export.
The agreement arrives at a pivotal moment for Lumwana. Barrick Gold has committed to a substantial capital outlay of US$2 billion to fund the Super Pit Expansion Project, a major initiative designed to transform the operation into a Tier One copper mine. This
ambitious programme, already under way, aims to double annual copper output to approximately 240,000 tonnes through the construction of a significantly enlarged processing plant with a capacity of 50 million tonnes per annum. Such investments are being boosted
by favourable global copper demand which is driven by the energy transition and electrification trends.
However, the wage deal also highlights broader challenges facing workers on the Zambian copper belt. While the 13 per cent rise represents a meaningful gain for workers translating, in some cases, to increases of between K1,100 ($56) for lower-paid workers
and K2,500 ($127) for higher earners it occurs against a backdrop of inflationary pressures and rising living costs that have eroded purchasing power across the economy.
Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director for mining, said:
“In a mining industry where commodity price volatility and geopolitical uncertainties loom large, Zambia’s copper sector must pay living wages. Sustainable mining depends not only on production volumes and capital inflows, but also on fostering industrial relations that support job security and community development.”
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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