Taking COSATU Today Forward, 14 August 2025 #CosatuCC2025
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #Cosatu scheduled to convene its ordinary 8th Central Committee next month, September in Johannesburg #CosatuCC2025 #WorkerControl #SACTU70 #ClassStruggle “Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism” #Back2Basics #JoinCOSATUNow #ClassConsciousness |
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
14 August 2025
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- NEHAWU KZN notes media accusations involving the Principal of Elangeni TVET College
- NUM and ACEF Partner to Combat Gender-Based Violence in the Mining Sector
- South Africa
- COSATU applauds the tabling of the Insourcing Bill at Parliament
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Education Voices | How persistent solidarity secured a historic win on pensions for higher education workers in the UK
- Brazil: CTB – Central dos Trabalhadores e Trabalhadoras do Brasil Congress
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
NEHAWU KZN notes media accusations involving the Principal of Elangeni TVET College
Ayanda Zulu, NEHAWU KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Secretary, August 13, 2025
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] in KwaZulu-Natal is neither shocked nor caught off guard by the explosive allegations currently making headlines about the Principal of Elangeni TVET College, Ms Zodwa Kula. She stands accused of abusing her position to hire friends, bully staff, and interfere in tender processes.
While the national union cannot confirm the veracity of these latest allegations, they are consistent with our long-held position that Elangeni TVET College has become a nerve centre of corruption and irregularity, particularly in Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Human Resource Management (HRM) processes.
In 2020, the union uncovered damning evidence of malpractice and irregularities within the college, which led to NEHAWU lodging a formal complaint with the Public Service Commission (PSC). The complaint detailed the unscrupulous handling of HRM matters and the blatant flouting of SCM procedures by college management, especially the Principal.
On 4 May 2023, the PSC vindicated NEHAWU by issuing findings against the college, including:
• Irregular awarding of a contract and payment to Imoto Media
• Improper conduct by the Principal during shortlisting, interviews, and appointment processes
Following these findings, on the 25th of August 2023, the union submitted a memorandum of demands to the Department of Higher Education and Training, which included:
• Immediate suspension of the Principal and all individuals implicated in the PSC report.
• Public release of the PSC report by the Minister of Higher Education and Training.
• Dissolution of the College Council for failing to exercise its oversight responsibilities and instead shielding the Principal.
• A broad forensic investigation into the financial affairs of the college, as the PSC findings may be just the tip of the iceberg.
It is deeply disappointing and frankly unacceptable that despite these findings, and nearly two years later, the Principal remains in office and now faces similar allegations. We therefore demand that the Department move with urgency to place the Principal on precautionary suspension while a transparent investigation into the latest allegations is conducted. We further demand that the long-delayed disciplinary proceedings be fast-tracked, without the endless bureaucratic delays that have become the Department’s excuse for inaction.
NEHAWU will not stand by while the culture of impunity deepens at Elangeni. We will intensify our campaign at the college and across the province until the Principal is removed and those who enabled her misconduct are held to account. NEHAWU will intensify its campaign at Elangeni TVET College until the Principal is removed and accountability is restored.
END
Issued by NEHAWU KwaZulu-Natal Secretariat Office
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NUM and ACEF Partner to Combat Gender-Based Violence in the Mining Sector
Nthabiseng Mashiteng, NUM National Women’s Structure Secretary, 13 August 2025
JOHANNESBURG – The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Africa Civic Education Foundation (ACEF) are proud to announce the launch of a new Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) Mitigation Programme. The launch will be held on August 15, 2025, at the Elijah Barayi Memorial Training Centre.
The mining sector and its surrounding communities are not immune to the pandemic of GBVF, which has resulted in tragic social disorder and violence against women. This new programme is designed to actively address this crisis by offering resources and education to create a safer environment for female persons in the industry and beyond.
"This partnership is a crucial step towards creating a mining sector where all individuals, especially women, are safe and respected," said Nthabiseng Mashiteng, NUM National Women’s Structure Secretary. "We believe that through collective action and education, we can turn the tide on gender-based violence and foster social stability."
The event will host approximately 200 attendees, including key stakeholders, community leaders, and union members.
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SADTU holds an Online Political School this week!
The SADTU Online Political School will host the Union’s Vice President for Gender, Cde Thando Ndaba-Makitla on Thursday, 14 August 2025 at 16:00.
Topic: SADTU and the Struggle for Gender Equality. The session will be streamed live on the SADTU National Facebook page.
Tune in!
COSATU applauds the tabling of the Insourcing Bill at Parliament
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 13 August 2025
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) applauds the tabling of the Insourcing Bill at Parliament. This Bill requires state organs to insource security, cleaning, maintenance, IT, auditing amongst other functions and, where this is not possible, to seek authorisation for such an exemption.
This progressive Bill speaks to COSATU’s demand to insource key functions performed by various state organs. It responds to long-standing resolutions of the African National Congress and the Tripartite Alliance.
The call to insource has been a cry for thousands of workers who have seen their labour rights undermined and conditions of service deteriorate as they have been outsourced across the state over many years.
Outsourcing has become a key ingredient of state capture and corruption across the state with incestuous collaboration by corrupt elements in both the public and private sectors. It has not only weakened state capacity to deliver the public and municipal services that working class communities and the economy depend upon, it has bled the state of scarce resources needed to fund hospitals, schools, policing amongst other frontline services.
If we are to win the war against the cancer of corruption, then such functions must be insourced. We cannot continue to be shocked, condemn or hide from Sunday headlines of this or that politician or their family receiving a grotesquely inflated tender whilst failing to deliver the goods, and yet we fail to act on this hollowing out of the state. This Bill provides a fair and common-sense path to end this fragmentation of the state.
COSATU supports this progressive and long overdue Bill and will mobilise its full support to ensure its expedited passage by Parliament and assenting into law by the President, Cyril Ramaphosa.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
Education Voices | How persistent solidarity secured a historic win on pensions for higher education workers in the UK
13 August 2025
Interview with Jo Grady, General Secretary of the University and College Union, United Kingdom
Standards and working conditions Higher education and research written by: Jo Gradyn up for the Worlds of Education newsletter.
This testimony was collected as part of the research project entitled “In the eye of the storm: Higher education in an age of crises” conducted by Howard Stevenson, Maria Antonietta Vega Castillo, Melanie Bhend, and Vasiliki-Eleni Selechopoulou for Education International. The research report and executive summary are available here.
Worlds of Education: From 2018 to 2024, your union led a sustained battle for the pensions of higher education workers in the UK. How did the dispute start?
In 2018, workers in the UK’s older universities (those that pre-dated the creation of a range of new universities in 1992) were shocked when the employers sought to impose massive cuts to the sector’s pension scheme, transforming it from a system based on guaranteed benefits into a system where benefits would depend on the value (and volatility) of market investments.
Worlds of Education: How did your union mobilise to protect pensions?
UCU members voted for industrial action and immediately started a sustained strike, taking 14 days of national action over four weeks. The action was well supported by members as well as students, and employers were unprepared for the reaction. Employers were forced to backtrack on their plans and the union reached a deal that avoided any serious system changes until a full review of the scheme was undertaken by independent experts.
The 2018 industrial action was undoubtedly a victory, but it only secured a reprieve and did not remove the threat of any future changes.
In 2022, the employers continued to press for changes to the pension scheme that would worsen terms for our members. These changes were not as dramatic as those presented in 2018, but the 2022 changes still threatened a 35% cut in benefits.
Worlds of Education: How did your union respond to this second attempt to cut pensions and benefits?
We continued our campaign of industrial action, now running the campaign alongside a second dispute focused on pay, workload, pay inequalities and precarious working. We called this the ‘four fights’ dispute.
The campaign was sustained despite the tremendous obstacles imposed by new laws requiring regular re-ballots of members and the need to meet high ballot thresholds. Time and time again, our members supported the campaign and the union.
We campaigned relentlessly, with 69 days of strike action between 2018 and 2023. We also used marking and assessment boycotts to increase the pressure on employers.
We were determined not to back down and as always, our solidarity was our strength.
Worlds of Education: What was the result of this persistent mobilisation?
The result was a historic union win. In December 2023, it was confirmed that the cuts to pensions would be reversed and restored in full from April 2024. Funds were committed to avoid any losses incurred between 2022 and 2024.
This was a momentous day, not just for our members, but for workers everywhere. After taking 69 days of strike action in a five-year battle to defend our pensions, we won and within months university staff saw the UK's largest private pension scheme fully restore our pensions.
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect any official policies or positions of Education International.
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Brazil: CTB – Central dos Trabalhadores e Trabalhadoras do Brasil Congress
by central wftu, 12 August 2025
After three days of intense debates, unity and mobilization, the 6th CTB National Congress came to an end this Saturday (9) with the election of the unitary sheet and the re-election of Adilson Araújo to the Central presidency.
The meeting also marked the creation of new secretaries, expanding CTB’s performance across various fronts, such as trade, public service, security, transportation, sanitation, diversity and more.
“This
is a transitional mandate, the result of the democratic and plural character of our Central. Let’s continue in the fight for a more humane and less unequal Brazil,” said Adilson Araújo.
CTB reaffirms its commitment to defending the rights of the working class, strengthening democracy and building a fair and equal country.
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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