Taking COSATU Today Forward, 21 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
21 August 2025
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- NEHAWU Mpumalanga to host Women’s Day Celebration at Mkhuhlu Circuit Hall
- CEPPWAWU has a vacancy of an Organizer in Phuthaditjaba
- CEPPWAWU has a vacancy of an Organizer in the Eastern Cape
- Media Alert: National Minimum Wage (NMW) Commission invites written representations for consideration to 2026 wage adjustment.
- South Africa
- SADTU welcomes ELRC investigation into ghost workers
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Thai senate advances workers’ rights through key dialogue with ILO
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
NEHAWU Mpumalanga to host Women’s Day Celebration at Mkhuhlu Circuit Hall
Welcome Mnisi, NEHAWU Mpumalanga Provincial Secretary, August 20, 2025
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] in Mpumalanga will host a Women’s Day Celebration at Mkhuhlu Circuit Hall on Friday, 22nd August 2025, under the theme “Celebrating Women in the Trade Union Movement and Building Resilient Economies for All”.
This august event forms part of our broader commitment to honour resilience, contribution, and leadership of women within the trade union movement and the broader struggle for social and economic justice in our societies.
NEHAWU acknowledges the crucial roles which women have played and continue playing in building and defending a militant, worker-led trade union movement as well as their contributions towards strengthening and building resilient economies for all. From the frontlines of industrial actions to the negotiations tables, from the shop floor to national platforms, our women have been consistently at the heart of the union’s victories and campaigns.
The union recognises that Women’s Day/Month is not a mere symbolic gesture, but a moment to reflect, engage and recommit ourselves to dismantling patriarchal structures and economic oppression that continue to hinder the full realisation of women’s rights and their freedoms in our society.
The commemoration aims to:
• Honour the legacy and impact of women in the trade union movement.
• Reflect on the challenges which women are confronted with in the workplaces, trade union movement and in the broader society at large.
• Recommit our organization to the advancing of gender transformation and equity within the trade union movement.
• To encourage and foster unity amongst women in building resilient economies for all.
The event will be attended and addressed by women who are currently NEHAWU leaders and members, as well as those former leaders and members of the union who are currently occupying different positions in government and in the broader Mass Democratic Movement. The Alliance formations will also be forming part of this important gathering.
The program is scheduled to take place as follows:
Date: 22 August 2025
Time: 10H00-15H00
Venue: Mkhuhlu Circuit Hall
NEHAWU remains committed in championing the interests and the aspirations of workers, and to deepen the struggle for gender equality across all sectors in our society.
END
Issued by NEHAWU Mpumalanga Secretariat
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CEPPWAWU has a vacancy of an Organizer in Phuthaditjaba
15 August 2025
CHEMICAL ENERGY PAPER PRINTING WOOD AND ALLIED WORKERS
UNION HAS A SIX (6) MONTHS CONTRACT VACANCY FOR ONE (1) LOCAL
ORGANISER IN FREE STATE REGION.
INTERNAL/EXTERNAL VACANCY – REQUIREMENTS
• Matric plus relevant tertiary qualification (if any) and/or equivalent experience.
• Must be computer literate.
• Must be able to communicate in written and spoken English.
• Sound understanding of Trade Union Movement.
• Sound knowledge and Interpretation of Labour Legislations.
• Effective negotiations technique skills.
• Good communication and report writing skills.
• Ability and willingness to work under stressful conditions.
• Own a vehicle and valid driver’s license (essential).
RESPONSIBILITIES-Includes but not Limited to the following:
• Recruiting, Organizing and Servicing of members.
• The ability to have regular factory meetings with workers.
• The ability to attend to workers’ problems and liaise with Management.
• The ability to refer disputes to CCMA & Bargaining Councils.
• Handle Health and Safety matters.
• Capacity building of Shop stewards.
• Effective liaison with stakeholders.
• Organizational building
• Administration
Kindly e-mail your CV and a covering letter to:
Human Resources department-h...@ceppwawu.org.za
10 Floor P.O. Box 3219
Renaissance Centre Johannesburg 16-20 New Street South 2000
Johannesburg Tel. No. 010 010 8720 2001
• Closing date for applications: 27th August 2025
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CEPPWAWU has a vacancy of an Organizer in the Eastern Cape
15 August 2025
CHEMICAL ENERGY PAPER PRINTING WOOD AND ALLIED WORKERS UNION HAS A FIXED-TERM VACANCY FOR ONE (1) LOCAL ORGANISERS IN THE
EASTERN CAPE REGION.
INTERNAL/EXTERNAL VACANCY – REQUIREMENTS
• Matric plus relevant tertiary qualification (if any) and/or equivalent experience.
• Must be computer literate.
• Must be able to communicate in written and spoken English.
• Sound understanding of Trade Union Movement.
• Sound knowledge and Interpretation of Labour Legislations.
• Effective negotiations technique skills.
• Good communication and report writing skills.
• Ability and willingness to work under stressful conditions.
• Own a vehicle and valid driver’s license. (Essential)
RESPONSIBILITIES-Includes but not Limited to the following:
• Recruiting, Organizing and Servicing of members.
• The ability to have regular factory meetings with workers.
• The ability to attend to workers’ problems and liaise with Management.
• The ability to refer disputes to CCMA & Bargaining Councils.
• Handle Health and Safety matters.
• Capacity building of Shop stewards.
• Effective liaison with stakeholders.
• Organizational building
Kindly e-mail your CV and a covering letter to: Human Resources department-h...@ceppwawu.org.za
10 Floor P.O. Box 3219
Renaissance Centre Johannesburg 16-20 New Street South 2000
Johannesburg Tel. No. 010 010 8720 2001
Closing date for applications: 27th August 2025
___________________
Media Alert: National Minimum Wage (NMW) Commission invites written representations for consideration to 2026 wage adjustment.
The National Minimum Wage (NMW) Commission is inviting all interested parties or stakeholders to make written submission for possible adjustments to the NMW for 2026.
The NMW Commission said it will publish its annual report and recommendations concerning possible adjustment to the National Minimum Wage to the Minister of Employment and Labour later in 2025, in accordance with Section 6(2) of the NMW Act, No. 9 of 2018.
NMW Chairperson Imraan Valodia encourages interested parties to have their say in the possible adjustment.
The National Minimum Wage is the lowest remuneration rate that employers are obligated and legally permitted to pay their employees for each ordinary hour worked. It is illegal for employers to pay their employees less than the minimum threshold. The NMW was first introduced for implementation in South Africa in 2019.
The minimum wage is currently fixed at R28,79 for each ordinary hour worked. The current rate was announced in February 2025 by Minister of the Department of Employment and Labour, Ms. Nomakhosazana Meth.
The Commission is responsible for annually reviewing and recommending adjustments to the national minimum wage. It also investigates and reports annually to the Minister on the impact of the national minimum wage on the economy, collective bargaining, and income differentials, making this information available to the public.
Representations should reach the directorate: Employment Standards, Department of Employment and Labour, Private Bag X117, Pretoria, 0001 or be sent to nmwr...@labour.gov.za by 18 September 2025.
In addition to making representations on NMW the Commission is appealing to interested parties to complete a survey questionnaire on the link: https://forms.office.com/r/jXFtcZag90?origin=1prLink and the link can also be accessed on the Department of Employment and Labour’s website and social media pages.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
082 697 0694/ teboho....@labour.gov.za
SADTU welcomes ELRC investigation into ghost workers
Dr Mugwena Maluleke, SADTU General Secretary, 21 August 2025
The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) applauds the Education Labour Relations Council’s (ELRC) recent appointment to lead a systematic, nationwide inquiry into allegations of ghost workers in our public schooling system.
This crucial step, mandated by the five teacher unions, the Department of Basic Education in the bargaining council, and all nine provincial education departments, signals a collective commitment to rooting out corruption and restoring trust in our public education payroll.
Ghost Workers as a Symptom of Deeper Corruption
Ghost workers are not an administrative hiccup; they represent orchestrated criminal syndicates that siphon scarce public resources into private pockets. Every phantom name on the payroll diverts funds away from real educators and learners, starving classrooms of materials, crippling learner support programmes, and undermining hard won gains in educational equity. The syndicates steal the future of our nation.
Interconnected Malpractice- Selling of Posts and Undermining Quality
Alongside ghost appointments, the illicit trade of teaching posts further corrodes merit and professionalism. When positions are sold to the highest bidder, capable educators are shut out, morale plummets, and our collective mission to deliver quality public education is compromised.
These linked practices, ghost workers and selling posts form a network of corruption that inflicts harm on our most vulnerable children and erodes the foundations of democracy in our schools.
Why SADTU Supports the ELRC Probe
SADTU stands firm behind the ELRC’s dual approach of physical verification and forensic audit.
• Physical verification ensures every individual on the payroll is present, teaching, working and accountable.
• Forensic investigation will trace the financial flows that benefit these criminal networks.
“As champions of transformative education, we cannot tolerate counterrevolutionaries who steal from learners’ futures. We support the ELRC’s mandate because integrity in our profession is nonnegotiable,” says General Secretary Dr Mugwena Maluleke.
Call to Action- Unite, Cooperate, Expose
We call upon every SADTU member to become active partners in this campaign for accountability.
You can help by:
• Participating fully in on-site verification processes; ensure your presence is recorded and documented.
• Once investigation is on, coming forward with any information on irregular appointments, postselling transactions, or suspicious payroll entries.
• Using investigator’s dedicated whistle blowing channels to report corruption confidentially.
Together, we will shine a light on these counterrevolutionaries and reclaim every rand owed to South Africa’s children.
SADTU reaffirms its commitment to quality, equity, and professionalism in public education. By supporting the ELRC investigation and mobilising our membership to expose corrupt syndicates, we strengthen the foundations of our democratic schooling system and safeguard the promise of a fair, high quality education for every learner.
ISSUED BY: SADTU Secretariat
International-Solidarity
Thai senate advances workers’ rights through key dialogue with ILO
20 August 2025
The Thai Senate Labour Committee visited the ILO in Bangkok to discuss ratifying ILO’s fundamental conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining, reaffirming Thailand’s commitment to international labour standards.
The Thai Senate Standing Committee on Labour, together with its Sub-committee on Labour Protection and Welfare, visited the ILO in Bangkok
BANGKOK (ILO News) – The Thai Senate Standing Committee on Labour, together with its Sub-committee on Labour Protection and Welfare, visited the International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Office for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (CO-Bangkok) on 20 August 2025, at the United Nations Building in Bangkok.
The dialogue marked an important step in Thailand’s efforts to strengthen labour standards and promote decent work for all. At the centre of the discussions were two core ILO Conventions: Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98). These Conventions are fundamental to ensuring that workers and employers can form and join organizations of their own choosing and bargain collectively to thrive for decent work.
Participants explored how ratifying the Conventions could bring tangible benefits to Thai workers, employers and society at large. Lessons from other countries show that when these standards are applied, productivity rises as workers enjoy stronger protection and work with dignity, workplaces become fairer and more harmonious, and labour relations are more stable and settlements are peaceful. For Thailand, such progress would not only advance workers’ rights but also enhance national competitiveness and strengthen the country’s international reputation as a champion of global labour standards.
“When workers have a voice, workplaces are fairer, economies are stronger, and societies thrive,” said Xiaoyan Qian, Director of ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific and Country Office for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
Committee members and ILO specialists also discussed the importance of aligning national legislation with international standards and ensuring that effective mechanisms are in place to put rights into practice. By engaging directly with the ILO, the Thai Senate reaffirmed its commitment to shaping a labour environment where workers’ voices are heard and respected.
This dialogue reflects a shared vision for a future in which labour standards do more than support economic growth as they improve lives, ensure fairness, and contribute to sustainable development across Thailand.
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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