Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 17 July 2023
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY #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
17 July 2023
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
Organize at every workplace and demand Personal Protective Equipment Now!
Defend Jobs Now!
Join COSATU NOW!
Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- POPCRU to participate in Mandela Day activities
- COSATU Western Cape Nelson Mandela Day Events
- South Africa
- COSATU will be celebrating Madiba Day across the provinces tomorrow
- COSATU statement on the Constitutional Court Judgement on former President Jacob Zuma
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- 9th Education International World Congress: A testimony to the education professionals’ persistence
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
POPCRU to participate in Mandela Day activities
Richard Mamabolo, POPCRU National Spokesperson, 17 July 2023
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) will be dispatching its members and leaders to different areas to spend their 67 minutes joining the whole country, which will be celebrating the birthday of our late struggle icon Madiba tomorrow.
The day has been declared by the United Nations (UN) as International Mandela Day since November 2009, and as part of dedicating time to make a difference in the lives of the needy within our communities, POPCRU’s 2nd Deputy President Chakale Mahlatsi will be leading a delegation to the following areas in Kwa Zulu-Natal Province;
Activity: Donation of school shoes
Venue: Senzokuhle Primary School (Umzinyathi)
Time:07h00
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Activity: Donation of wheelchairs
Venue: Inanda SAPS offices
Time: 11h00
We remain inspired by Madiba’s leadership and we remember him as a revolutionary and a man of integrity, who spent his entire life fighting against oppression, defended and championed for human rights and reconciliation.
We remain proud of his contribution not only in this country but in the continent and the world. He remains a people’s hero and a giant and we will forever remain indebted to him and to all those who were the architects of a democratic South Africa. Madiba remains a symbol of hope for the oppressed.
Issued by POPCRU
For more information contact Richard Mamabolo on 066 135 4349
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COSATU Western Cape Nelson Mandela Day Events
Malvern De Bruyn, COSATU Western Cape, Provincial Secretary, 17 July 2023
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in the Western Cape will be participating in two worthy causes on Tuesday 18 July 2023, in commemoration of Nelson Mandela Day.
Event 1:
COSATU Young Workers Structure, Gender Structure, Affiliates leadership and shopstewards will be working together with Meals on Wheels by cleaning, cooking and delivering meals for the needy.
Please find the details of the gathering point below:
DATE: 18 JULY 2023
TIME: 09H00
VENUE: GUGULETHU CENTRE, CNR OF J NONTULO &
DAVID STREET NEW CROSS ROAD
Event 2 :
COSATU will also be joining the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) on Tuesday where they will be handing over a refurbished house to the family of the late Seargent Lekheta who burnt to death with his family on the 09th October 2021.
We will be cleaning the house and handing over vouchers and appliances to the only surviving daughter and his sister.
Please find details below:
DATE: 18 JULY 2023
TIME: 11H00
ADDRESS: 12 RINGWOOD STREET, WESBANK, CAPE TOWN
All members of the media are invited to cover both events.
Issued by COSATU Western Cape
For questions, please call Malvern De Bruyn on 060 977 9027.
Motlatsi Tsubane on 074 482 6180
COSATU
will be celebrating Madiba Day across the provinces tomorrow
Matthew
Parks, COSATU Acting National Spokesperson & Parliamentary Coordinator,
17 July 2023
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) will be joining workers celebrating Madiba Day with activities across the provinces tomorrow and the month of July. Activities that COSATU will be organising with its Affiliates include providing soup kitchens for the needy, cleaning up public places and providing furniture for the daughter of a Police Officer who tragically died in a fire.
Nelson Mandela in addition to being South Africa’s founding President, remains the nation’s moral beacon. His life of public service for the nation symbolises a generation that endured countless sacrifices, achieved the constitutional democracy that seemed an impossible dream for so many years, and laid the foundations for the transformation of the country.
The likes of Madiba, Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada and Ruth First symbolised the best that South Africa has and the type of leadership that is needed today if we are to emerge from the myriad socio-economic challenges that the working class and society at large.
We encourage the African National Congress led government to continue its commendable efforts to deliver on Madiba’s call for a better life for all by ensuring that Parliament concludes the passage of the National Health Insurance and Expropriation and “Two Pot Pension Reform” Bills, government intensifies the fight against corruption and redoubles its efforts to rebuild Eskom and Transnet and PRASA, and the state utilises the Special Dispensation Relief Grant as the foundation for a Basic Income Grant.
The recent burning of trucks, the challenges of load shedding and cable theft, dysfunctional municipalities and gender-based violence are a reminder of the many challenges that we need to overcome as a society if we are to build that better life for all.
Issued by COSATU
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COSATU
statement on the Constitutional Court Judgement on former President Jacob Zuma
Matthew Parks, COSATU Acting National Spokesperson and Parliamentary Coordinator, 17 July 2023
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) notes the ruling by the Constitutional Court on former President Jacob Zuma's previous sentence and parole.
We are a constitutional democracy governed by the rule of law. The Constitutional Court is the apex court. Government has an obligation to uphold the rule of law at all times, without fear or favour. All citizens must be treated equally.
Government needs to ensure all security measures are put in place to prevent a repeat of the July 2021 violence.
We cannot afford, when we have an unemployment rate of 42% and workers are already battling a myriad of other socio-economic challenges, to allow any further own goals. This comes at a time when we have witnessed the burning of long distance trucks on key economic routes, threatening the lives of workers who are truck drivers, their families and the nation’s economic security.
Law enforcement organs must play their role and be deployed accordingly. They must be resourced to do so.
The criminality that occurred in 2021 cannot be allowed to happen again. Those who attempt to orchestrate such behavior must immediately be collected and taken into the custody of the Police and Correctional Services.
The lives, jobs, property and rights of workers and ordinary South Africans must be protected at all times.
As we head towards the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement to be tabled at Parliament in October, Treasury needs to ensure that the Police, the National Prosecuting Authority, the judiciary and the South African National Defence Force have the resources they need to fulfill their constitutional mandates, including the urgent filling of all vacancies.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
9th Education International World Congress: A testimony to the education professionals’ persistence
leading the profession, 14 July 2023
From July 11th–13th Education International (EI) member organisations around the world came together the 9th EI World Congress around the theme of ‘Growing our unions, elevating our professions, defending democracy.’
Top education unionists representing 32 million educators in 381 unions in 178 countries met online to determine the policies, principles of action, programme and budget of the organisation.
This was the first ever World Congress held online, as the result of a 2021 Executive Board decision that was made when pandemic travel and vaccine uncertainties prevented delegates from convening in person on the original dates.
Day 1 of the 9th EI World Congress was very busy as members from around the world connected and engaged across regions, languages, and time zones.
EI President Susan Hopgood welcomed delegates, congratulated them for their courage and persistence during the COVID pandemic and challenged them to continue to organise and mobilise for quality public education in every corner of the globe.
Noting that “the worst of COVID may be over, but the need for our persistence remains as a different and more chronic sort of emergency lingers”, she mentioned: “The crisis of the public sector; the ability of governments to maintain and advance the common good and the capacity of the people to hold their governments accountable.”
Progress Report
Delivering a shortened version of the Progress Report, EI General Secretary David Edwards gave evidence of work done and of the remarkable reach and impact of EI in the past four years.
"On nearly 200 occasions over these past four years, we gathered virtually online; from one-on-ones, to small groups and global conferences, keeping each other close in mission and purpose and raising all of our spirits, he said, adding that “no global organization outside of the primary health sector was more fully engaged in the global response to COVID than our federation.”
Constitutional change and enabling resolutions
The delegates also gave EI authority – by an overwhelming vote – to be prepared for the future as an organization, by making the Constitution and Bylaws more inclusive, more user-friendly and more readable.
The delegates adopted a new article in the EI Constitution which addresses times of crisis and they also debated, voted on and adopted an enabling resolution limiting the business of the 9th ordinary World Congress and extending the term of office of the Executive Board.
Programme and Budget
EI General Secretary David Edwards also presented a modified 2024 EI Programme and Budget, which will allow for EI to function properly and lead multiple activities until the EI World Congress meets again next year.
He stated that “EI will be on strong footing to achieve its core objectives and serve its members with fidelity and impact. Moreover, if we are successful at creating the enabling conditions, tools and resources for our members to grow stronger, defend those under attack and organize for a more democratic and equitable world, we will all benefit.”
EI Go Public! Fund Education campaign
On the third and final day, the delegates committed to continue their engagement with EI's Go Public! Fund Education campaign which calls on governments to invest more in public education and in teachers, the single most important factor in achieving quality education.
EI General Secretary David Edwards explained that “under the banner of EI, the Go Public! Fund Education campaign launched earlier this year is putting a spotlight on education financing, on corporate irresponsibility and on government accountability.”
He went on to highlight that this campaign represents “a fight for investment in the public sector, a new social contract focused on the value of collecting and deploying the people’s money for the public good. We are fighting international finance agency restraints on the public sector that block teacher recruitment and limit teacher salaries. Tens of millions of new teachers are needed globally. This is no time to divest from the public good, it is a time to invest.”
In her closing speech, EI President Susan Hopgood thanked the delegates “for your thoughtful interventions and your patience, and for your time and attention, after all, the most valuable asset each of us has. Your online presence is a statement of permanence.”
Emphasizing that much of the focus of the upcoming work will be on EI global campaign, Go Public! – Fund Education, Hopgood went on explaining that “we are mobilising to fully fund public education systems and resist budget cuts, austerity, and privatisation. We are working together across borders to guarantee every student’s right to have a well-supported qualified teacher and a quality learning environment.”
Buenos Aires, Argentina, ready to host the 10th EI World Congress
Preparations have started to welcome delegates in-person at the 10th EI World Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 2024. In the meantime, they will keep the momentum going, mobilise their communities, and advocate for free quality public inclusive education worldwide.
For more information on the 9th EI World Congress check the EI website and on our social media platforms ( #EICongress; Twitter: @eduint; Facebook: Education International; Instagram: eduint). Spread the word and join the conversation!
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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