Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 3 June 2024
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY |
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
Monday, 3 June 2024
‘Building a strong and united COSATU in mobilizing for the ANC electoral victory”
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
Organize or Starve!
Contents
o Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- COSATU supports Government and SATAWU's court action to save NTI SOC and workers' jobs
o South Africa
- COSATU offers its heartfelt sympathies to the families of the 10 SADTU members who tragically passed away in Limpopo
- COSATU congratulates Eskom and the municipalities and their employees for the impressive improvement in Eskom’s Energy Availability Factor
o International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- SACP welcomes ICJ's order for the apartheid Israeli settler regime to halt its murderous military rampage, reiterates call for international isolation of the regime
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
COSATU supports Government and SATAWU's court action to save NTI SOC and workers' jobs
Kopano Konopi, COSATU North West Provincial Secretary, 30 May 2024
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) supports the pending court action by the North West and Gauteng Provincial Governments, with our affiliate, the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (SATAWU) to have the business rescue practioners (BRPs) removed from the North West Transport Investments (NTI) SOC Ltd and an acting Chief Executive Officer appointed.
NTI has been experiencing serious difficulties over a long period. This has affected more than 1500 workers who have been made to go unpaid repeatedly for months at a time, including 3rd party deductions not being transferred to their respective medical aids and pension funds. Currently workers have not received their salaries for the past 4 months and have been plunged into debt and absolute poverty.
We are shocked that despite the Gauteng Provincial Government taking the progressive decision to inject R49 million into NTI, the BRPs have still failed to pay workers their salaries.
It is clear the BRPs are incapable of turning NTI around. COSATU thus supports the decision by the two Provincial Governments with SATAWU to take this urgent matter to court to seek an order to remove the BRPs and allow government to appoint a competent acting CEO.
We cannot allow these workers to continue to suffer at the hands of the BRPs. NTI must be turned around. Workers’ jobs must be saved.
Issued by COSATU
South Africa
COSATU offers its heartfelt sympathies to the families of the 10 SADTU members who tragically passed away in Limpopo
Matthew Parks, COSATU Acting National Spokesperson & Parliamentary Coordinator, 30 May 2024
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) offers its heartfelt sympathies to the families of the 10 members of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU), the drivers of their taxi and the truck involved in the collision who tragically passed away on the 28th of May near Polokwane, Limpopo.
This is a devastating blow to their families and loved ones, learners and colleagues, SADTU and COSATU. We wish them all the strength and our prayers during this painful time.
We urge law enforcement to investigate the possible causes of the accident, including mist on the road and to take the necessary precautions to seek to prevent and reduce future such tragedies.
We appeal to all road users to be vigilant at all times.
Our families cannot afford such devastating losses.
Rest in peace. Robala ka khotso.
Issued by COSATU.
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Matthew Parks, COSATU Acting National Spokesperson & Parliamentary Coordinator, May 27, 2024
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) congratulates Eskom and the municipalities and their employees for the impressive improvement in Eskom’s Energy Availability Factor which has for the first time in more than 3 years exceeded 70%. This has brought relief to the economy enabling workplaces to be productive, for workers to be paid, for jobs to be saved, for fiscal revenues to be improved.
This significant improvement which has seen the economy spared of loadshedding for more than 2 months is the result of Eskom’s ramping up maintenance of its existing generation fleet and bringing on board new generation capacity. It is the product of the tireless efforts of Eskom and municipal employees to ensure the generation fleet, transmission and distribution infrastructure are maintained. It is the fruits of Eskom’s R253 billion debt relief package first proposed by COSATU at Nedlac and Parliament.
It is important that when good work is being done that, we should commend the workers who have made it possible. The Federation and its Affilaites are proud of our workers.
It is equally critical that the dedicated efforts of Eskom and municipal staff be recognised by their employers. This is important to maintaining the high levels of performance and boosting the morale of the workers at Eskom and municipalities who have made these feats possible.
We note the as always disparaging remarks by some obscure politicians desperate for votes. These are best ignored as the rantings of those incapable of acknowledging anything positive about South Africa and who in their scavenging for tweets and headlines, have heart palpitations when government gets the job done.
COSATU is pleased with the remarkable turnaround at Eskom and the positive impact it is having on the economy and workers. It is yet another sign that we are turning the corner from the painful chapter of state capture, corruption and loadshedding and that under the leadership of the President, Cyril Ramaphosa, and the African National Congress, we will continue to see progress.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
SACP welcomes ICJ's order for the apartheid Israeli settler regime to halt its murderous military rampage, reiterates call for international isolation of the regime
Dr Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo, SACP Central Committee Member, National Spokesperson & Political Bureau Secretary for Policy and Research, 24 May 2024
The South African Communist Party (SACP) strongly condemns the apartheid Israeli settler regime’s genocide on Palestinian people and welcomes the ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In its ruling, delivered on Friday, 24 May 2024, the ICJ ordered the apartheid Israeli settler regime to immediately halt its murderous military rampage in the City of Rafah in Gaza and to abide by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The ICJ also ordered the apartheid Israeli settler regime to allow direly needed essential services and humanitarian assistance into Rafah, ensure unimpeded access of any commission of inquiry, fact-finding mission or other investigative body mandated by the United Nations and to, within a month, submit a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to its order.
The latest order marks the third time this year the ICJ issued judicial orders against Israel’s genocidal rampage upon the people of Palestine. In the order, the ICJ went on to reaffirm its previous orders delivered on 26 January and 28 March and further ordered that the Israeli regime must immediately and effectively implement these orders. The SACP supports all the three orders issued by the ICJ and calls for an immediate permanent ceasefire, reaffirming unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people in their just struggle for the freedom of historical Palestine, peace and justice.
The unambiguous orders issued by the ICJ since January should inspire more and more people and governments across the world to join South Africa in the judicial case against the apartheid Israeli settler regime – to halt the genocide on the people of Palestine. We commend the South African government for remaining steadfast in prosecuting the genocide. The SACP also reiterates its call for deeper unity among justice-loving people across the world, including co-operation of the people as well as governments and international bodies to isolate the apartheid Israeli regime economically, politically, culturally and otherwise.
Rafah is the last standing refugee camp from which the Palestinian people have nowhere to run amidst heavy indiscriminate bombardment by Israel. Since October 2023, the
apartheid Israel regime has murdered approximately 36,000 people in Palestine, of whom at least 75 per cent are children – over 15,000, women and elderly people. More than 10,000 Palestinians are still under the rubble of their destroyed homes. This number include over 5,000 children. About 80,000 Palestinians have been heavily injured by Israel’s murderous machine.
The SACP continues to stand with the Palestinian people against expropriation and the occupation of their lands. The people of Palestine have the right to resist the atrocities they face, including the expropriation and occupation of their land by the settler colonialists. The SACP further condemns Israel’s continuing disregard of the ICJ’s orders and basic human rights.
To that end, the SACP further supports the global calls for the criminal prosecution of those in the Israeli regime’s hierarchy. We strongly denounce the International Criminal Court’s equation of Palestinian resistance efforts with the atrocious and genocidal attacks they have faced from the Israeli settler colonialists who have expropriated Palestinians of their land and deprived them of human and other fundamental rights, such as the right to self-determination and freedom of movement in their own land.
Issued by the South African Communist Party,
Founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa.
Media & Communication Work Department: MCW Department
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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