Taking COSATU Today Forward, 10 July 2026
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY COSATU Call Center Contacts: 010 002 2590 #COSATU acknowledges all workers who participated in #SAMWU National Day of Action yesterday in Pretoria… #NationaActionAgainstCostOfLiving Campaign continues… #ClassWar #Cosatu40 #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
10 July 2026
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- NEHAWU supports SAMWU National Day of Action in defence of workers, collective bargaining and public services
- The Unity of the Alliance in defense of the National Democratic Revolution towards the Local Government Elections, Anti-Corruption and Cost of Living Campaigns
- North West Legislature Committee on transport management directs urgent action to restore NTI operations while governance report nears completion
- South Africa
- COSATU demands urgent interventions to resolve the alarming crises facing financially distressed municipalities
- COSATU Gauteng Statement on the Arrest of More Than 150 Suspected Illegal Miners at Kloof Mine
- Media Statement: Health Ombud report confirms that the public healthcare system is in a critical condition
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- South Africa: First Battery workers strike over retrenchments
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics #ClassWar
NEHAWU
supports SAMWU National Day of Action in defence of workers, collective bargaining and public services
Zola Saphetha, NEHAWU General Secretary, July 09, 2026
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] supports the National Day of Action by our sister union, the South African Municipal Workers Union [SAMWU] in defence of worker’s right, collective bargaining and public services, today, Thursday
09th of July 2026.
The National Day of Action will be directed to National Treasury, COGTA, SALGA and the Department of Water and Sanitation.
The national day of action by SAMWU is organised against the background of a total onslaught directed at municipal workers by government through the implementation of neoliberal policy prescripts focusing on retrenchments, outsourcing, privatisation and the
continued undermining of collective bargaining.
The day of action by SAMWU forms part of its rolling programme to defend public services, rebuild local government and the water sector in the interest of communities. As NEHAWU, we fully support this well calculated National Day of Action by our sister union
in recognising and appreciating what is at stake for municipal workers and the broader working-class.
Indeed, this day of action is protecting and advancing the interest of municipal workers by fighting for improved conditions of service, better wages, better working environment and defending collective bargaining and rights of workers.
Municipal workers are the backbone of service delivery and they are the ones who keep water flowing, waste collected, roads maintained, electricity services running and communities served, often without proper tools of trade, safe working conditions or the
respect they deserve.
As NEHAWU, we fully support the demands by SAMWU, which include amongst others; end to outsourcing, tenderisation and the excessive use of consultants, honour collective agreements, an end to victimisation of workers, complete disregard of workers’ rights and
deliberate efforts to undermine organised labour.
Lastly, we stand in solidarity support to the National Day of Action organised by SAMWU as a defence of workers’ rights, against the erosion of hard-won gains of collective bargaining and the public services.
END
Issued by NEHAWU Secretariat.
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The
Unity of the Alliance in defense of the National Democratic Revolution towards the Local Government Elections, Anti-Corruption and Cost of Living Campaigns
Louisah Modikwe, COSATU Gauteng Provincial Secretary 8 July 2026
Background
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in Gauteng convened a Special Provincial Executive Committee (SPEC) on 7 July 2026 to deliberate on issues including the unity of the Alliance, anti-corruption and the cost-of-living campaigns. The SPEC was
convened against the backdrop of nationwide anti-migrant protests and during a dark period in the Alliance where differences on the direction of the country, and the National Democratic Revolution have a potential to bury the Alliance and abandon the revolution.
Unity of the Alliance
The SPEC grounded its discussion guided by its 15th Provincial Congress Political Resolutions, which include the following:
• Build a strong and vibrant Tripartite Alliance to strengthen the Mass Democratic Movement that organises and leads the people towards the full attainment of the NDR.
• Strengthen the hold of the liberation movement on state power and continue to transform the state machinery to serve the cause of social change.
• The ANC must take into confidence COSATU, SACP, and SANCO to ensure optimal alignment to meet the aspirations of the millions of South Africans who have placed their faith in the ANC.
The SACP and COSATU must have frequent engagements with the ANC to defend the aspirations of South Africans.
Defend the unity of COSATU and the unity working class.
The SPEC’s discussion was further guided by the quote of Oliver Tambo who was a staunch believer in the Alliance, he said, “Ours is not merely a paper alliance created at the conference table and formalize through signing of documents and representing only
an agreement of leaders. Our alliance is a living organism that has grown out of struggle. We have built it out of struggle. We have built it out of our separate and common experiences”.
While the SPEC noted this difficult epoch of our revolution, it also came out strong on the tactical and strategic blunders the ANC has committed over the years.
These
blunders include amongst others:
• Corrupt leaders within of the Alliance
• Neo-liberal policy agenda that benefits capital at the expense of the working class
• Coalition in the form of the GNU with our class enemies (DA, FF+, IFP)
• The arrogance of the leader of the Alliance
• Allowing government to reverse PSCBC Resolution 1 of 2018
• The bad and emotional handling of the resolve by the SACP to contest elections by both the ANC and SACP.
• Division of workers based on the preferred party in the Alliance to contest elections
• Vulindlela in the Presidency
The SPEC has also noted the unity of the Alliance in Gauteng but lamented the lack of a coordinated Alliance programme of action. It also appreciated that national Alliance relations must not temper with what is prevailing in the province. This conclusion was
arrived at because of the formulation of the government of provincial unity without the Democratic Alliance, through consultation on the formulation of the provincial government, working relationship that COSATU and her affiliates have forged with the Gauteng
Provincial Government.
The SPEC lamented divisions in the Alliance on the one side and the consolidation of the right wing through AFRIFORUM, Solidarity and the DA. The arrogance of both the leadership of the ANC and SACP at national level is feigning ignorance to the crisis the
Alliance is facing. This, according to the SPEC, is dangerous and a recipe for disaster and will hand state power to the DA and other opposition parties on a silver platter.
The SPEC concluded that despite the challenges in the Alliance, the unity of the Alliance is sacrosanct and the NDR is threatened thus the urgent need to defend this revolution.
The SPEC has noted the outcome of the bi-elections in Everton, Ward 28 at Emfuleni as an epitome of Alliance partners contesting each other. It is a reflection of a very difficult election campaign which unfortunately bears a risk to all Alliance partners contesting
the same wards.
The SPEC concluded as follows:
• Engage Alliance partners on the question of the unity of the Alliance in defense of the NDR towards the Local Government Elections.
• Mobilise Alliance partners towards a programme to submit a memorandum to all National Office Bearers of Alliance partners to register our discomfort at the turn of events in the Alliance.
The SPEC adopted the 3 August 2026 as Day of Action to submit a memorandum to National Office Bearers of SANCO, COSATU, SACP and the ANC.
The Day of Action indicated above will be preceded by thorough engagement with our Alliance partners, organisations sympathetic to the Alliance, Veterans of the revolution and those who believe in the NDR. The SPEC noted that the task is difficult but believes
that only organised workers are capable of rescuing the Alliance and the NDR.
Campaign against Corruption
The SPEC noted widespread corruption in government departments and state-owned entities. This has obliterated the capacity of the state to deliver quality services to the working class. The revelations of corruption in school by the MEC of Education, Lebogang
Maile was very bitter to swallow. It reflected that corruption is everywhere in the state. The SPEC concluded that amongst the challenges the revolution is facing, is corruption by politicians across political parties, public servants and business is most
damaging.
Corruption at Tembisa Hospital and other hospitals in Gauteng is alarming and has obliterated the capacity of the public health institutions to provide quality health in public health institutions. The SPEC acknowledged the efforts by the MEC of Health, Faith
Mazibuko, to conduct an audit on health infrastructure, a project that started years ago but is still not concluded. The SPEC was of the view that the real cause of these delays is likely corruption.
That being the case, the SPEC decided to launch a campaign to fight corruption in the state.
The
campaign will include the following:
•
Conducting anti-corruption workshops
• Train shop-stewards to identify corruption and report such to law enforcement agencies.
• Training in ethical conduct for all shop-stewards.
• Promote ethical conduct and accountability across all leaders or shop-stewards of COSATU affiliates.
Cost of Living Campaign
COSATU launched this campaign on 19 June 2026. At the core of the demands was the continuous increase in the interest rate, electricity, fuel, food, transport and basic needs.
The SPEC reflected on the program and concluded as follows:
• The launch of the campaign must not be an end in itself but a means to sustain our demands for affordable cost of living.
• The campaign should target NERSA, municipalities, the Competition Committee, the Department Minerals, the Department of Electricity etc.
The campaign should take the form of monthly lunch-time demonstration across all sectors organised by COSATU affiliates.
Working with the Gauteng Provincial Government
The SPEC endorsed the resolution by the PEC held in March to work closely with government. This decision was preceded by a meeting held between COSATU and the Premier and some MECs. At the core of the meeting was the following:
• Progress on the 2025 SOPA promises and a report card from COSATU
• Monitoring of the implementation of projects as announced by the Premier during the 2026 SOPA.
• Working together to ensure implementation of Annual Performance Plans (APP) targets by departments, and municipalities
• Improvement of labour relations in the province.
• Building a patriotic cadre of the public service
• Building an ethical cadre of the public service
The SPEC appreciated that POBs met with MEC Maile to discuss the state of education in the province. The SPEC noted the courage and energy displayed by MEC Maile to improve the quality of education, governance, scholar transport, school infrastructure and safety
at schools.
The SPEC encouraged POBs to engage all MECs in the province to ensure that all hands are on deck and all will account for the implementation of the APPs.
Issued by COSATU Gauteng Province
___________________
North
West Legislature Committee on transport management directs urgent action to restore NTI operations while governance report nears completion
08
July 2026
The North West Provincial Legislature Portfolio Committee on Community Safety and Transport Management, chaired by Hon Freddy Sonakile, yesterday concluded a special engagement on the immediate operational crisis at North West Transport Investment (NTI), making
it clear that the purpose of the meeting was to establish practical interventions to restore bus operations, ensure employees receive their outstanding salaries and stabilise the entity.
The Committee received presentations from the Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ntlhopeng Dikobe, Business Rescue Practitioner Mr Thomas Sammons, as well as the Director-General, Mr Paul Mogotlhe, on behalf of the Provincial Government, which covered
presentations from the Departments of Community Safety and Transport Management, Provincial Treasury and the Office of the Premier.
Hon. Freddy Sonakile clarified that this engagement was separate from the Committee’s governance hearings into NTI.
“This meeting was not about determining accountability for what went wrong at NTI. It was about finding immediate solutions to get buses back on the road, pay workers and restore services. The Committee’s governance report, following almost two years of hearings,
remains on course and will be tabled once our legal team concludes its work month end.”
Following the engagement, the Committee directed that the Premier urgently engage his Gauteng counterpart to expedite the release of approximately R106 million in outstanding commuter subsidies, together with the additional R18 million due to NTI. The Committee
resolved that every effort should be made for these funds to be released before the end of July to enable operations to resume, while the verification of the disputed penalties proceeds in parallel, to prevent further delays in restoring operations.
The Committee noted the Business Rescue Practitioner’s report that approximately R6 million has already been collected through ticket sales from NTI outlets and further resolved that Provincial Treasury and the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management
should utilise intergovernmental processes to recover all monies owed to NTI, including amounts due from the North West Housing Corporation, government departments, former liquidators and outstanding depot rental income.
Together with the Gauteng subsidy, these funds should provide the immediate cash flow required to stabilise the entity and resume operations. Provincial Treasury was also requested to provide financial management support to assist NTI while no Business Rescue
team is in place.
The Committee resolved that, once the subsidy is received, NTI should immediately resume operations, conclude engagements with subcontractors to ensure uninterrupted services, and pay employees at least two months of outstanding salaries before the end of July
2026, while implementing a funded plan to settle all remaining salary arrears within agreed timelines.
The Committee noted concerns raised regarding ongoing litigation involving NTI and questioned the cooperation agreement concluded with the Business Rescue Practitioner. The Premier advised that the arrangement is intended solely to facilitate the restoration
of operations and does not affect the pending legal proceedings. The Committee noted this explanation while maintaining that all legal processes must be allowed to run their course.
Hon. Sonakile said the Committee remains optimistic that, if these interventions are implemented urgently, NTI can begin restoring services while broader governance reforms are pursued.
“The Committee remains committed to two parallel objectives: restoring services for commuters and workers without delay, and ensuring that those responsible for governance failures are held accountable through our hearings report.
ENDS.
Issued on behalf of the Portfolio Committee on Community Safety and Transport Management – Hon Freddy Sonakile
To arrange interviews with the Chairperson, please contact Ms Namhla Luhabe on 079 527 6289.
South Africa #ClassSolidarity
COSATU
demands urgent interventions to resolve the alarming crises facing financially distressed municipalities
Matthew
Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 08 July 2026
The
Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) demands urgent interventions to resolve the alarming crises facing financially distressed municipalities. The Federation shares its affiliate, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU)’s deep concerns
about the latest developments facing local government, in particular Treasury’s announced withholding of equitable share grants to 69 delinquent municipalities.
COSATU appreciates the need to install financial discipline in these errant municipalities, in particular to ensure that they honour their payment obligations to workers’ salaries and pension funds, Eskom, Water Boards and other third parties.
We are, however, extremely worried about the unintended potential consequences of this withholding, namely that some of these municipalities are so financially cash-strapped that this action may cause some basic services to grind to a halt and leave many municipal
workers unpaid once again.
It is critical that urgent engagements take place between Treasury, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) as well as the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) to put in place interventions to resolve these ever-worsening
crises. Withholding equitable share grants is only a punitive tool and does not resolve the systemic faultlines that have brought many municipalities into severe financial difficulties. A comprehensive package of interventions is needed to ensure competent
management is appointed, corruption and wasteful expenditure is dealt with the assistance of the Hawks and SIU, a new municipal funding is put in place, and external support is brought in from Eskom, the Water Boards and SANRAL to maintain critical infrastructure
and restore billing collection capacity.
Municipalities remain government’s Achilles’ heel with little signs of a turnaround. It is key that these interventions do not lead to a further collapse of municipal services or see more workers sent home unpaid. COSATU with SAMWU will continue to engage government
on a package of short-, medium- and long-term interventions to set local government firmly on a path to recovery.
This is a ticking time bomb that cannot perpetually be kicked down the road.
Issued by COSATU
________________________
COSATU Gauteng Statement on the Arrest of More Than 150 Suspected Illegal Miners at Kloof Mine
Louisah Modikwe, COSATU Gauteng Provincial Secretary, 08 July 2026
COSATU
Gauteng notes the successful operation by SAPS, SANDF and Sibanye Protection Services that resulted in the arrest of more than 150 suspected illegal miners at Kloof Mine in Westonaria.
Illegal mining is a serious threat to workers, communities and the economy. It destroys infrastructure, threatens the safety of mineworkers, damages the environment and fuels organised crime. These criminal activities also result in significant financial losses
that affect investment, employment and the country's ability to provide quality public services.
COSATU supports decisive action against criminal syndicates that organise and profit from illegal mining. Law enforcement agencies must continue to target the kingpins who finance and coordinate these operations, rather than focusing only on those found underground.
At the same time, government must address the root causes that push many people into illegal mining, including unemployment, poverty and weak border management. Sustainable job creation, skills development and economic opportunities remain the best long-term
solution to prevent people from being drawn into criminal activities.
COSATU calls on mining companies to strengthen security measures, work closely with law enforcement agencies and ensure that abandoned mine shafts are properly sealed to prevent illegal access.
We urge the criminal justice system to ensure that those responsible for organising illegal mining syndicates are prosecuted successfully. Gauteng communities deserve safe neighbourhoods, secure workplaces and an economy that creates decent jobs instead of
criminal opportunities.
Issued by COSATU Gauteng Province
________________________
Media
Statement: Health Ombud report confirms that the public healthcare system is in a critical condition
Dr Cedric Sihlangu, SAMATU General Secretary, 08 July 2026
The
South African Medical Association Trade Union (SAMATU) notes the official report released by the Health Ombudsman regarding the tragic series of deaths of medical practitioners in the KwaZulu-Natal province. While the investigation found no direct causal link
between these heartbreaking losses and the workplace environment, the findings have validated the devastating systemic failures of the public healthcare system that have been consistently raised by labour yet ignored by those in power.
The Health Ombud's report does not reveal new information, it merely archives a catastrophic reality that public healthcare servants have to endure daily. The severe systemic challenges that have been highlighted in the report; crippling staff shortages, frozen
vacant posts, excessive workloads, extreme resource constraints, shortages of medical supplies, compromised safety and security measures, are the direct results of the ongoing government's neglect towards public healthcare services. While ordinary South Africans
and frontline workers suffer the fallout of a collapsing system, the political elite are comfortably cushioned by luxury access to the best private medical care.
Each year more than 1000 fully qualified doctors who have completed their community service and are ready to treat patients independently, are left in unemployment for months, sometimes even years. Meanwhile, the doctor-to-patient ratio continues to skyrocket,
critical posts are left frozen for years, and the skeleton staff in employment is subjected to dangerously excessive working hours.
SAMATU strongly agrees with the Ombud's findings that significant, inexcusable gaps exist within the employee wellness programmes in public healthcare institutions. For too long, employee wellness in public hospitals has been treated as a performative box-ticking
exercise. Offering a helpline or a brochure to a medical intern who is collapsing from a 30-hour shift in an understaffed, unsafe ward is a mockery of their plight. The wellbeing of healthcare workers must be treated as a primary structural pillar of our healthcare
resource, not a secondary afterthought. The state cannot care for patients if it persistently fails to look after the very people delivering that care.
SAMATU demands that the government must stop treating the Ombud's findings as a routine report to be tabled and forgotten. We demand immediate, transparent, and binding action to unfreeze all vacant clinical posts across the country, inject the necessary capital
into resolving resource and equipment shortages in public healthcare facilities, implement properly structured employee wellness programmes that are capable of offering genuine and proactive mental health support to healthcare professionals, and enhance security
measures at public healthcare institutions to ensure that healthcare professionals are safe while on duty.
END.
Issued by: SAMATU
Dr Cedric Sihlangu
General Secretary
Enquiries:
Bokang Motlhaga
Corporate Affairs Manager
069 586 8430
Internationalism-#ClassSolidarity
South Africa: First Battery workers strike over retrenchments
9 July, 2026
Workers at First Battery downed tools on 6 July, after the company moved ahead with retrenchments of 165 workers despite union objections. First Battery
is a South African automotive lead-acid battery manufacturer owned by the JSE-listed Metair Group.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), an IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, called for the strike after First Battery retrenched workers at plants in Benoni, East London, Cape Town and Durban, despite months of consultations aimed at
avoiding job losses.
According to NUMSA, First Battery lost major contracts with vehicle assemblers in South Africa and no longer supplies BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford or Toyota. Instead of winning back that business through local investment, the union says the company is importing
batteries from Germany for BMW rather than upgrading local production to meet automakers’ needs.
NUMSA argues that importing batteries undermines South Africa’s Automotive Masterplan 2035, which targets 60 per cent local content in the automotive industry by 2035. The current local content is about 38 per cent.
The union accused First Battery of wasteful expenditure and of withholding information needed for meaningful consultation under South African labour laws. NUMSA says the company refused to disclose key cost data, including executive pay, electricity costs,
and original equipment manufacturer contract terms.
First Battery has offered retrenched workers a severance package of R10,000 (US$616), while NUMSA is demanding R200,000 (US$12,319). The union says the gap shows the company can afford better terms than what it is offering. NUMSA has also criticized Metair
for refusing to meet the union before the retrenchments took effect. The union is seeking assistance from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to agree on strike-picketing rules after management warnings on possible victimisation
of striking workers through disciplinary action.
NUMSA cited Goodyear’s closure of its local tyre-manufacturing plant last year, while retaining its distribution network, as part of a broader pattern it wants regulators to address. The union called on the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition to consider
tariffs and import duties to protect South African manufacturers and jobs.
Further, NUMSA wants First Battery to withdraw the retrenchment notices, disclose more financial and strategic information and return to negotiations. The union says talks must include a joint approach to the CCMA and the Unemployment Insurance Fund for a temporary
lay-off scheme that would keep workers employed while alternatives are explored.
Irvin Jim, NUMSA general secretary, said:
“There is absolutely no reason why workers should be thrown into the streets to join the sea of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. The least First Battery could have done is to agree with the Union and make an offer of a decent package targeting workers
closer to retirement in some companies.”
“In a country where unemployment is high, retrenchments should be a last resort. IndustriALL supports job preservation and encourages employers to negotiate in good faith,”
said Paule-France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to Statistics South Africa the expanded unemployment rate which includes discouraged job seekers is 43.7 per cent or 13 million people.
______________________________
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