Taking COSATU Today Forward, 4 September 2025 #CosatuCC2025
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #CosatuCC2025 Count down has begun…. #Cosatu scheduled to convene its ordinary 8th Central Committee this month, September 2025 #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
4 September 2025
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- Hundreds of COSATU delegates to gather at the Federation’s 8th Central Committee this September
- South Africa
- COSATU enraged by farm murder in Kroonstad
- SADTU submits its comments on Bela Act draft regulations
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- IndustriALL renews call for brands to leave Myanmar
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
Hundreds of COSATU delegates to gather at the Federation’s 8th Central Committee this September
Zanele Sabela, (COSATU National Spokesperson, 02 September 2025
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) will convene its 8th Central Committee meeting on the 15th -18th of September.
Held under the theme: “Building working-class unity for economic liberation towards socialism”, the four-day event will bring together around 400 members from the Federation’s affiliates, labour service organisations and international guests to amongst others, review the implementation of resolutions adopted at the previous Congress, provide political direction and focus on organisational issues ahead of the National Congress next year.
COSATU President Zingiswa Losi will deliver the keynote address with messages of support from the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP).
Details of the event are as follows:
Date: 15-18 September 2025
Venue: Anew OR Tambo Hotel (formerly The Lakes Hotel, Benoni, Ekurhuleni)
All members of the media are invited to attend, and are encouraged to apply for accreditation to cover the event.
Applications for accreditation may be submitted to mam...@cosatu.org.za or non...@cosatu.org.za with the following details:
Name:
Surname:
ID number:
Media House/Address:
Contact number/email:
Alternatively, an application form can be completed via this link:
https://forms.office.com/r/Yhyb5S6h59
Issued by COSATU
Zanele
Sabela (COSATU National Spokesperson)
Mobile: 079 287 5788 or 077 600 6639
Email: zan...@cosatu.org.za
COSATU enraged by farm murder in Kroonstad
Zanele Sabela, COSATU National Spokesperson, 3 September 2025
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) commends the police for their swift action in arresting a man on whose farm they discovered a body of a young man buried in a shallow grave in Kroonstad.
Police made the gruesome discovery on 20 August following a tip-off from the community.
The 80-year-old farmer has been arrested and charged with murder and defeating the ends of justice and is expected to appear in court soon.
Further arrests in the case are likely.
It is alleged that the deceased worked on the farm; that he and the farm owner quarrelled over wages, and the latter shot and killed him and buried him in a shallow grave on the property to hide evidence. DNA samples were collected to confirm the identity of the deceased because the body was in an advance state of decomposition.
COSATU is enraged that 31 years after the democratic breakthrough we still have workers brutally murdered at work, and in this case, allegedly at the hands of his employer. Even more deplorable is the attempt to hide the evidence of this heinous act.
The allegation that a wage dispute is what led to the murder of the young man is deeply worrying. It stirs up past wounds of a society defined along racial lines, where the lives of one race were considered valuable, while those of an entire group were deemed cheap and could be snuffed out in an instant. It also illustrates the unbearable conditions under which farmworkers are expected to work daily.
COSATU will continue to support and accompany the Department of Employment and Labour to onsite inspections of farms to ensure that farm owners comply with relevant laws and that workers are not made to endure harsh working conditions.
The Federation calls on law enforcement agencies to carry out a thorough investigation and ensure the perpetrators of this heinous crime face the full might of the law.
Issued by COSATU
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SADTU submits its comments on Bela Act draft regulations
Mugwena Maluleke, SADTU General Secretary, 04 September 2025
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) has noted with great concern the published Bela Act draft regulations issued by the Minister of Basic Education for public comment.
SADTU reminds the public that the amendments to the Basic Education Laws were informed, among other reasons, by the need to ensure clarity on the roles and responsibilities, create consistency in the admission of learners to public schools, and ensure improved financial and public accountability for governing bodies and provincial departments.
It has taken over 10 years of exhaustive consultations and public participation before Parliament passed the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. The parliamentary process itself was thorough and culminated in an agreed text of the Bill.
Prior to issuing the draft regulations, the Minister issued guidelines which have no legal standing, in an attempt to effectively amend the Act through the backdoor.
When this approach failed, she initiated the process of drafting the regulations. As part of developing regulations, the Minister established Task Teams and SADTU participated in these Task Teams with other stakeholders to contribute to the process.
The regulations were to cover eight areas. However, the Minister published draft regulations on only two areas, thereby adopting a piecemeal approach clearly intended to cause confusion. It will be difficult to deal with regulations on a piecemeal basis as they must be aligned and read together.
After evaluating the draft regulations, SADTU has concluded that the Minister remains opposed to BELA and remains hellbent to amend the Act using regulations which, in law, are subordinate to the Act. Regulations cannot be used to change the text of the Act, impose requirements not provided for in the Act, or undermine the purpose and intent of its provisions.
It is clear that the Minister pays lip service to the principle of legality which is the cornerstone of our constitutional democracy. The principle of legality means that the Minister cannot exercise the powers she does not have in law. Several of the draft regulations are outside the powers of the Minister.
The Minister has encroached on the functional and legal areas of other Ministers. Among others, she seeks to regulate matters already regulated by the Ministers of Home Affairs and Public Administration. These Ministers have already made regulations in terms of the empowering legislation they administer.
The Minister has also made it clear through these draft regulations that she has no regard for the various court judgements dealing with various aspects of the right to basic education. In several instances, the draft regulations do not align with these judgements despite the fact that BELA was drafted to bring the law in line with them.
SADTU urges the Minister to respect the principle of legality, uphold Constitutional Court rulings, and ensure that the BELA Act is implemented faithfully, in the best interests of learners and in accordance with the Constitution.
ISSUED BY: SADTU Secretariat
International-Solidarity
IndustriALL renews call for brands to leave Myanmar
4 September, 2025
IndustriALL is repeating its call on several brands including Bestseller, Next and Hunkemöller, to cease operations in Myanmar and immediately begin negotiations with IndustriALL on a responsible exit from a country under military rule where labour and human rights have been eradicated.
The textile and garment industry is a major source of foreign exchange for the regime, helping to fund weapons, ammunition and fuel. The workers producing garments and footwear in Myanmar work in industrial zones under martial law. A 2023 ILO Commission of Inquiry found widespread violations of freedom of association and forced labour Conventions. In July, there were new reports of union leaders and labour activists arrested on unknown charges.
Despite these concerns brands like UK high street favourite Next and Dutch lingerie brand Hunkemöller have indicated an intention to remain in Myanmar, saying they are able to perform “enhanced due diligence” to mitigate the risk of human rights violations in the supply chain.
Next is also one of three brands, along with New Yorker and LPP, that IndustriALL filed complaints against at OECD's National Contact Points (NCPs) in November last year, on the basis that complying with OECD guidelines and human rights due diligence is impossible under a military dictatorship.
Trade unions and garment workers in Myanmar gained support from the International Labour Conference in June when the ILO took the extraordinary step of invoking Article 33 of its constitution against the military regime in Myanmar. Article 33 is the highest sanction in the ILO and has only been invoked three times in the organization’s history.
The resolution on Article 33 calls for governments, employers and workers to review investments in supply chains that may indirectly support the regime and disable all means that could be perpetuating egregious violations of workers’ rights
Says IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie:
“By continuing to source from Myanmar, brands are helping to finance repression. The resolution on Article 33 makes clear that no business system in the world can mitigate the risks of operating under a dictatorship that outlaws independent unions and imprisons workers. The only responsible course is to withdraw and work with IndustriALL on a responsible exit that protects workers.”
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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