Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 23 April 2026 #CosatuMayDay2026
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY COSATU Call Center Contacts: 010 002 2590 #COSATU National May Day will be celebrated at Polokwane, Limpopo on May 1 #ClassWar #Cosatu40 #SACTU70 #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
23 April 2026
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
Organize at every workplace and demand respect for labour rights Now!
Defend Jobs Now!
Join COSATU NOW!
Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- Media Alert: DENOSA to co-host International Nurses Day national event with Eastern Cape Department of Health in KuGompo on 12 May 2026
- SAMWU welcomes Constitutional Court Judgment affirming workers’ rights in King Cetshwayo matter
- Media accreditation for COSATU May Day celebrations officially open
- South Africa
- Statement of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Outcomes of the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) Meeting
- South African Communist Party Circular to all members, cadres, and structures
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- ILO faces unprecedented financial crisis — workers’ rights hang in the balance
- WFTU Declaration for May Day 2026
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics #ClassWar
Media Alert: DENOSA to co-host International Nurses Day national event with Eastern Cape Department of Health in KuGompo on 12 May 2026
Sibongiseni Delihlazo, DENOSA Communications Manager, 23 April 2026
PRETORIA – As a nursing association in South Africa, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) will be collaborating with the Eastern Cape Department of Health in hosting this year’s International Nurses Day national event, which will be held at the Christian Church in KuGompo City (formerly East London) on Tuesday, 12 May 2026, to outline action plans that are needed to resolve the many life-saving nursing challenges in both the province and nationally.
Members of the media are cordially invited to attend the main event on 12 May 2026 to report. Members of the media are advised to RSVP on or before Friday 8 May 2026 at 10:00 (See contact details below).
Government leaders nationally and provincially are expected to form part of the main event which commemorates Florence Nightingale, the pioneer of modern nursing. The International Nurses Day is commemorated annually, and is one of the significant days in the Health Calendar as it celebrates the majority healthcare professionals in the healthcare setting throughout the world.
DENOSA President, Simon Hlungwani, will be delivering the keynote address at the event on behalf of ICN, wherein he will be tabling the action plan, based on the International Nurses Day’s evidence-based Report, that needs to be implemented by the country’s healthcare system in order to resolve the many challenges that have increasingly become a great hindrance to the delivery of positive health outcomes for the country.
Minister of Health, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, Premier of the Eastern Cape, Oscar Mabuyane, MEC of Health in the Eastern Cape, Ntandokazi Capa, are some of the government leaders who are expected to attend this significant event for the nursing profession.
DENOSA, as the National Nursing Association in South Africa, represents the country at the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the international nursing body that represents the nursing voice at global decision-making bodies.
Each year, the event is held under a specific theme. The theme for this year is: OUR NURSES. OUR FUTURE. EMPOWERED NURSES SAVE LIVES. The theme focuses on the importance of empowering the full life-saving nursing workforce, and the essence of providing a safe working environment, fair compensation, as well as education and leadership opportunities.
SOME OF THE CHALLENGES NURSES FACE DAILY:
1. GREAT STRAIN AND SHORTAGE OF STAFF
Whilst nurses continue to sustain care, protect communities and hold health systems together, they do so often under immense strain to themselves. Yet their work is often not fully recognized and supported. This is the case in both the Eastern Cape and nationally, where there is severe shortage of staff and non-absorption of unemployed nurses.
2. WORKLOAD NOT TALLYING WITH COMPENSATION
The tremendous work that the nurses continue to pull off is often not tallying with the poor pay, as many nurses do the work of three of four other nurses who remain unemployed. This often leads to burn out and brain-drain as nurses are forced to look for greener pastures where working conditions are far better.
3. LACK OF EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
While making up the majority healthcare professionals, who are on the bedside with the patients 24 hours a day, nurses often get overlooked when it comes to education and leadership opportunities. Nurses understand the healthcare system far better and deserve leadership role. Many studies have recommended that, focusing on and addressing global nursing challenges will half the world’s healthcare challenges altogether.
4. LACK OF RECOGNITION AND SUPPORT
Nurses often do not get recognized for the sterling work of keeping the healthcare system together. Appreciation can take many forms, but these are glaringly non-existent in the healthcare settings, pointing to the need to appreciate their input.
The details of the event are as follows:
DATE: Tuesday, 12 May 2026.
TIME: 10h00
VENUE: Christian Church, KuGompo, Eastern Cape.
CONTACT FOR MEDIA RSVP: Sibongiseni Delihlazo
EMAIL: sibong...@denosa.org.za
MOBILE: 072 584 4175.
End.
Issued by the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA).
For more information or interview request, contact:
Sibongiseni Delihlazo, Communications Manager, on 072 584 4175.
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SAMWU welcomes Constitutional Court Judgment affirming workers’ rights in King Cetshwayo matter
Nokubonga Dinga, Provincial Secretary, 22 April 2026
The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) welcomes the judgment of the Constitutional Court delivered on 22 April 2026 in the matter of King Cetshwayo District Municipality v Water and Sanitation Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd and Others.
This judgment brings to a close a long and protracted legal battle that has caused immense uncertainty and hardship for hundreds of workers. As SAMWU, we are encouraged that the highest court in the land has effectively upheld the position that the termination of the service level agreements and the subsequent insourcing of water services constituted a transfer of a business as a going concern in terms of section 197 of the Labour Relations Act.
By refusing the Municipality leave to appeal, the Constitutional Court has affirmed the findings of both the Labour Court and the Labour Appeal Court — that the workers who had been providing these essential services cannot simply be discarded when services are reconfigured. Their contracts of employment are protected by law and must transfer accordingly.
This is a significant victory not only for the affected workers in King Cetshwayo, but for municipal and water sector workers across the country. It reaffirms a fundamental principle that workers are not commodities to be discarded at the whim of administrative or contractual changes. Their rights, dignity, and livelihoods must be protected.
We further note the Court’s remarks on the delays in the resolution of this matter, which had a devastating impact on more than 600 workers and their families. This underscores the urgent need for expeditious dispute resolution in labour matters, particularly where workers’ livelihoods are at stake.
SAMWU commends the resilience, unity, and steadfastness of the affected workers who endured years of uncertainty while continuing to assert their rights. Their struggle is a reminder that justice, though delayed, must ultimately prevail.
We call on all municipalities and organs of state to take heed of this judgment and ensure full compliance with section 197 of the Labour Relations Act in all instances of outsourcing, insourcing, or restructuring of services. Any attempt to circumvent these protections will be met with the full might of organised labour.
As SAMWU, we reiterate our commitment: we shall organise, we shall mobilise, and we shall fight in defence of workers’ rights and dignity.
Issued by SAMWU KZN
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Media accreditation for COSATU May Day celebrations officially open
Zanele Sabela, COSATU Spokesperson, 08 April 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has officially opened media accreditation applications for Workers’ Day celebrations on 1 May 2026. The Federation will continue with its tradition of hosting celebrations across the country, with the national rally to be held at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.
The President of COSATU, Zingiswa Losi will deliver the keynote address, with messages of support from leaders of Alliance Partners: the African National Congress (ANC), South African Communist Party (SACP) and South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO).
COSATU National Office bearers will lead provincial commemorations, alongside leaders of affiliated trade unions and members of the Federation’s Central Executive Committee (CEC).
Applications to cover the national rally may be submitted to mam...@cosatu.org.za or non...@cosatu.org.za.
Alternatively, an application form can be completed via this link:
Media accreditation for COSATU May Day celebrations officially open – Fill out form
Applications to cover provincial rallies can be sent to the following contacts:
1. Western Cape- Mbekweni Sport Stadium (Paarl) at 10:00
Malvern de Bruyn 060 977 9027 or Cleopatra Kakaza 072 312 6822
2. Gauteng - Tsakane Stadium (Brakpan) at 10:00
Louisa Modikwe 082 297 2659 or Itumeleng Moloantoa 071 873 5238
3. Free State- Bultfontein Stadium (Bultfontein) at 10:00
Tiisetso Mahlatsi on 077 607 3012 or Mongezi Mbelwane on 072 308 7658
4. KwaZulu Natal Curries Fountain Stadium (Durban) at 10:00
Edwin Mkhize 082 339 7756 or Khaliphile Cotoza 082 339 5760
5. Mpumalanga- Kamagugu Stadium (Mbombela) at 10:00
Thabo Mokoena 082 799 5699 or James Mahlabane 064 753 9055
6. Northern Cape- Open Air Arena (Galeshewe) at 10:00
Thandi Makapela 079 481 9077
7. North West- Olympia Stadium (Rustenburg) at 10:00
Kabelo Kgoro 067 410 4696
8. Eastern Cape - Nangoa Jebe Hall – Gqeberha, Orient Theatre (kuGompo) – Buffalo City, Tobi Kula Indoor Sports Centre (Komani) and Lusikisiki College Great Hall at 10:00
Mkhawuleli Maleki 082 339 5482
Issued by COSATU
Zanele Sabela (COSATU Spokesperson)
Mobile: 079 287 5788 / 077 600 6639
Email: zan...@cosatu.org.za
South Africa #ClassSolidarity
Statement of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Outcomes of the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) Meeting
Edwin Mkhize, COSATU KwaZulu Natal Provincial Secretary, 23 April 2026
The Provincial Executive Committee of COSATU in KwaZulu-Natal convened on the 20th of April 2026 at a critical historical conjuncture marked by deepening global and domestic crisis.
The PEC reflected on the intensification of capitalist contradictions, the growing offensive of imperialism, and the urgent tasks facing the working class and progressive forces.
Global Political and Economic Developments
The PEC noted with grave concern the current global situation, characterised by heightened imperialist aggression manifesting through wars, economic coercion, regime change agendas, and the continued undermining of national sovereignty.
The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, alongside attacks on progressive governments globally and the continued oppression of the Palestinian people, represent a serious threat not only to affected regions but to humanity as a whole.
The PEC further noted the recent ceasefire in the USA/Israel–Iran conflict. While this development may appear positive, the Federation views it as a temporary pause in inter-imperialist tensions rather than a genuine resolution.
These conflicts remain fundamentally driven by competition over resources, trade routes, and geopolitical dominance.
For the working class, even temporary ceasefires bring little relief. Instead, these tensions have already triggered volatility in global oil markets, leading to fuel price increases in South Africa and worsening the cost-of-living crisis, particularly in provinces such as ours, KwaZulu-Natal.
Domestic Political Situation and Threats to Sovereignty
The PEC expressed concern that global challenges are compounded by internal weaknesses within the Mass Democratic Movement (MDM) and South African society at large. South Africa continues to face deliberate attempts by counter-revolutionary forces to exploit internal divisions. These include organisations such as AfriForum and Solidarity, as well as sections of the opposition, who seek to distort reality, undermine transformation, and defend apartheid-era privilege.
The PEC reaffirmed that these actions form part of a broader agenda aimed at delegitimising the democratic state and reversing the gains of liberation and the National Democratic Revolution (NDR). As, COSATU we emphasise the urgent need for unity in defence of national sovereignty, democracy, and the historic gains of the liberation struggle.
Economic Crisis and Cost of Living
The PEC reaffirmed that the South African economy remains trapped in a structural crisis characterised by, mass unemployment exceeding 40%, deepening inequality, deindustrialisation and informalisation, and rising cost of living
The recent fuel price increases, driven by global instability, are worsening transport costs, food prices, and household debt. COSATU KwaZulu-Natal welcomed the Federation’s national campaign against the escalating cost of living and committed to full mobilisation of workers and communities to ensure maximum participation and impact.
Economic Transformation and Sovereignty
The PEC reiterated that political freedom without economic transformation is incomplete. It resolved to intensify pressure on the democratic state to transform ownership and control of natural resources to benefit the people as a whole. The current economic trajectory continues to benefit unpatriotic sections of business and the bourgeoisie, who often undermine transformation while accumulating wealth and profit.
The PEC emphasised that economic sovereignty is essential for meaningful freedom and development. COSATU will use the planned Provincial Job Summit which the Federation in the Province has been calling for, many years, to deal with many problems facing workers and youth unemployment.
State of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal
The PEC noted recent developments within the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, including the reconfiguration of the Provincial Task Team (PTT). The rebuilding of the ANC requires, a decisive break from factionalism, to ensure ethical and capable leadership, a renewal process rooted in the masses, particularly the working class and workers.
COSATU reiterates that renewal cannot be cosmetic or elite-driven but must be programmatic, ethical, and mass-based. COSATU wishes comrades who are appointed all the best in executing this important task which is about the battle of the soul of the people’s movement.
Alliance Dynamics and SACP Position
The PEC reflected on the decision by the South African Communist Party (SACP) to contest elections independently. The PEC emphasised that such developments must be guided by the working class revolutionary theory, strategy and tactics grounded in material conditions, not emotions. As a revolutionary, democratic and mandatory organization, COSATU KZN will engage these matters thoroughly, guided by the CC and CEC programme as it prepares for the Federation’s National Congress.
Corruption and Moral Decay
The PEC strongly condemned the persistence of corruption and factionalism, which continue to erode the moral fabric of the country. Opportunistic elements have turned leadership positions into instruments of personal accumulation, using ill-gotten wealth to divide and weaken the rank and file.
The PEC resolved that such elements must be isolated, and called on the masses to defend and protect the integrity of their country.
May Day Mobilisation
The PEC called on all workers to treat May Day as a militant platform for advancing working-class struggles. Workers are reminded that May Day was earned through sacrifice, must be defended and used to advance anti-capitalist mobilisation.
All workers are urged to attend the May Day rally at Curries Fountain Stadium, Durban in their maximum numbers, as part and parcel of defending, deepening and advancing the struggle for better conditions of service.
SARS and Tax Justice
The PEC raised serious concerns regarding the current tax regime administered by SARS.
Workers have expressed frustration over what they perceive as excessive and unfair taxation, including, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), taxation on Two-Pot withdrawals, taxation on pension/provident fund withdrawals, and unexpected tax debts upon annual assessment.
This occurs despite SARS surpassing revenue targets exceeding R2 trillion. The PEC emphasised that revenue collection must not come at the expense of workers.
The Federation will mobilise for a picket at SARS Durban next week to formally submit these concerns and demand transparency, fairness, and systemic correction.
The PEC further called for, a crackdown on corporate tax evasion, action against illicit financial flows, enforcement against non-compliant employers and protection of vulnerable workers. Tax justice must ensure that those with greater wealth contribute more.
Challenges Facing Law Enforcement
The deepening crisis within law enforcement institutions further reflects the contradictions of our society. The infiltration of criminal networks into state institutions raises a serious concerns.
We have always resolved on the need to mobilise our masses against crime that affects our working class communities daily. The PEC therefore, felt that the Commissions that are investigating criminal activities should also respond to this critical dimension.
Programme of Action
COSATU KwaZulu-Natal will implement the following programmes: enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, Unannounced workplace inspections in collaboration with the Department of Employment and Labour, Home Affairs, and law enforcement agencies.
To further campaign for job creation and industrialisation, rebuilding working-class organisation, strengthening political and ideological work, engagement on Alliance reconfiguration, advocacy on crime, including the working-class communities in shaping responses.
The PEC reaffirmed COSATU’s commitment to defending the interests of the workers, advancing the National Democratic Revolution, and resisting both imperialist aggression and domestic counter-revolutionary forces.
The Federation calls on all workers and progressive formations to unite in defence of democracy, deepening and advancement of the struggle for economic justice, and national sovereignty.
Issued by COSATU KwaZulu Natal
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South African Communist Party Circular to all members, cadres, and structures
Solly Mapaila, SACP General Secretary, 23 April 2026
DEFEND THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE PARTY,
UPHOLD REVOLUTIONARY DISCIPLINE,
ADVANCE THE STRUGGLE FOR WORKING-CLASS REPRESENTATION
The South African Communist Party (SACP) has never had a problem with the ANC contesting elections in its own right. The SACP has never regarded the ANC as an enemy for contesting elections in its own right. The SACP has never disciplined or threatened any of its members for participation in building, voting for and campaigning for the ANC. In fact, as the history of the past 30 years of our hard-won universal adult suffrage since 1994 shows, the SACP has not only embraced the ANC contesting elections in its own right but has also supported the ANC’s electoral contests – to the extent of the SACP even reserving its own right to contest elections directly in favour of voting for and campaigning for more votes beyond ours for the ANC within the framework of the Alliance.
In the golden rules of justice and solidarity, the principles of consistency are as crucial as in mathematics. The moment you expect one side to do what you demonstrably are not prepared to do yourself, or to sustain forever what you have never done in a single moment of history, you must recognise that you are being unfair, with far-reaching implications.
Today, the SACP addresses all its members, leaders and structures at a moment of major political consequence for the future of the Party, the Alliance, the revolutionary working-class struggle for socialism and, more broadly, our nation at large.
The ANC NEC leadership has now moved beyond tactical disagreement on the SACP's decision to contest the 2026 local government elections independently. Through its internal speaking notes and related directives, the ANC has sought to turn a tactical difference into an administrative and disciplinary ultimatum directed at communists inside the ANC. The ANC demands declarations from members of the SACP and threatens action against those it believes are acting for the Party’s campaign, while insisting there should be no witch-hunts.
This is not a minor procedural adjustment. It is regrettably a serious anti-communist political move with far-reaching implications, which also changes the character of the ANC as we know it. It amounts to an attempt to reinterpret the Alliance and dual membership in narrow electoral and one-sided compliance terms. It seeks to reduce a historic strategic relationship, forged in a bitter struggle for national liberation with shared blood, sacrifice and shared battles, into a one-sided demand for subordination and permanent support from an ally while never considering reciprocating the same support for a single moment or, literally, a single second of time measurement. This is, in substance, the essence of the “ultimatum” to communists in the ANC.
The Party rejects this approach with the contempt it deserves.
We reject it not because we reject discipline. On the contrary, ours is a Party of iron discipline. We reject it because no genuine alliance can be sustained on the basis of coercion by one partner exercising its independence but coercing another against exercising its own independence. We reject it because the strategic Alliance has never meant the liquidation of the Communist Party into the ANC. We reject it because dual membership was never meant to abolish the SACP's right to think, organise, campaign and lead struggles and develop tactics on any question as an independent party of the working class. And we reject it because the problems now confronting the national democratic forces did not arise because the SACP chose to contest elections. They arose from political deviations on the liberation agenda and radical economic changes required to make liberation tangible and meaningful to the masses; prevarication on the common ownership of the land and the wealth beneath it; a deeper crisis in the movement, characterised by mass disillusionment and declining voter turnout; neoliberal drift by the government; control of the economy and economics of our country by monopoly capital and foreign forces, including the Harvard group; corruption and patronage; factionalism; and the marginalisation of working-class solutions in major policy questions. These are agreed upon in the common Alliance manifesto.
No amount of administrative enforcement can resolve a political crisis whose roots lie in the lived reality of the people.
The Party's Position Remains Clear
The SACP, therefore, reaffirms clearly and without ambiguity that our decision to contest the 2026 local government elections directly under our own banner shall continue. We will implement it without fear.
The SACP is a Party of experience that survived a ban under the Suppression of Communism Act imposed by the apartheid regime in 1950. No aspect of such a ban, or anything similar, however it is branded under our hard-won democratic dispensation, can succeed in instilling fear in the SACP. Our decision to contest the forthcoming elections directly was not taken lightly, emotionally or adventurously. It arose from a sober assessment of the crisis facing local government, including, among others, the weakening hold of the liberation movement over working-class communities and the need to rebuild a direct, independent and accountable political presence of the working class in the terrain of governance and public representation.
Our independent contestation is not a retreat from the struggle for Alliance reconfiguration. It is part of that struggle. It is not a retreat from the National Democratic Revolution. It is a struggle over its class direction, its organisational content and its future.
The ANC leadership has been saying it respects the SACP's right to take its own decisions, but, in what is a negation of that respect, they have also been saying they disagree with our decision to stand for elections in our own right. In the same breath, the ANC goes on an intimidation tirade against its members, reflecting its intention to censure the communists regarding their right to take part in SACP activities: a communist party that has resolved to go into elections in its own name. Respect cannot coexist with an ultimatum with a contradictory demand. Commitment to the Alliance cannot coexist with the administrative targeting of Communists. A declaration that there will be "no witch-hunts" rings hollow when accompanied by instructions designed to isolate and mischievously monitor and discipline SACP members.
The SACP also reminds all cadres and all honest democrats that the Communist contribution to electoral outcomes in the democratic period is a matter of political record. Across successive elections, it was the organised working class, mobilised through SACP structures, trade unions, community formations and the broader mass democratic movement, which helped sustain the Alliance vote and deliver governing mandates.
Even the 2024 outcome, with all its difficulties and setbacks, did not fall from the sky and was not produced by any Alliance partner campaigning and voting alone in isolation. It rested in significant measure on the loyalty, sacrifices and mobilisation of workers, the poor and communities shaped and organised over decades by Communist and allied activism. To seek to privatise the outcome of the elections and now marginalise the SACP and target its cadres through administrative enforcement is not only a breach of Alliance principles. It is a direct affront to the very forces that helped build, defend and repeatedly renew the electoral base of the movement.
Our votes counted, and our campaign for more votes beyond our own votes mattered. Everybody in deployment, including the President, is there because our votes and campaigning for more votes beyond ours, combined with the votes and campaigning by members and structures of other Alliance partners and, therefore, the entire Alliance within its framework. You cannot enjoy the outcomes of these joint efforts while seeking to isolate others who contributed directly through their votes and campaigning. If you do so, the betrayal will be laying the seed of new contradictions, more especially while you are working hand-in-glove with parties that campaigned not just against you but to bring you down. The course of history will reveal more about this, and, as we have never been, we will not be spectators.
The Line of March
The SACP calls on all members to understand the gravity of the moment but also to reject panic, confusion and demoralisation. This is not the time for retreat. It is not the time for individual improvisation. It is not the time for public emotionalism. It is the time for disciplined collective conduct.
The line of march is clear.
Every SACP member must remain calm, organised and politically focused. No disciplined comrade must act individually under pressure or improvisation. No comrade must submit to intimidation and ultimatums, make unilateral declarations, tender resignations, or take strategic decisions affecting SACP membership and responsibilities without consultation with the Party. The SACP will not accede to ultimatums from another organisation. Matters arising from this ANC manoeuvre must be handled collectively, politically and through SACP structures. We equally understand if some members decide to remain with the ANC, and we will respect that.
All SACP members who are also ANC members must continue to conduct themselves with dignity, discipline and revolutionary ethics. We will not answer provocation with provocation. We will not descend into abuse, mudslinging or anti-ANC rhetoric. Our struggle is not against ordinary ANC members, many of whom remain our comrades in the broader liberation movement and among the motive forces. Our struggle is against things such as neoliberal policies and a political line that seeks to weaken the independent role of the Party and diminish working-class influence in the movement.
No SACP member must accept isolation. SACP branches, districts and provinces must urgently identify comrades who are directly affected, especially those serving in ANC structures, those deployed in government, those employed in ANC or public offices, and those exposed to direct pressure because of their Party responsibilities. These comrades must be placed under organised political care. They must receive guidance, protection and collective support. The SACP will not abandon its cadres to fend for themselves.
The SACP must intensify, not retreat from, its independent political and electoral work and continue the fight against neo-liberalism, corruption and government decay. The answer to intimidation is not paralysis. It is organisation. Every branch must strengthen local campaigning, mass contact, voter engagement, political education, community struggles, workplace mobilisation and public communication around the SACP local government programme. Every district and province must ensure that the SACP is independently visible in communities not only as an electoral force but also as the organised voice of working-class grievances, working-class demands, working-class solutions and working-class hope.
All structures of the SACP will defend the historic principle of dual membership which, for over 30 years, since 1994, we have used to campaign for the ANC within the Alliance framework. Now is the time to assert our independence in elections and both vote for and campaign for the SACP. Dual membership is not a favour granted by one organisation to another. It is a political practice rooted in the history of our liberation struggle, in the strategic alliance between national liberation and socialism, and in the need for all of us to work inside broad mass formations while retaining our independence. To reinterpret the Alliance or dual membership as an arrangement valid only when the SACP is electorally subordinate is to empty it of all its historical mission or political meaning, respectively.
The SACP will continue to engage Alliance partners firmly and fraternally on an equal basis. We do not seek an unnecessary rupture at branch, district, provincial or national level. We remain committed to principled engagement and to the long-term necessity of Alliance reconfiguration on the basis of mutual respect, strategic clarity and the independence of each constituent formation. But we will not purchase superficial peace at the price of surrendering the SACP's political role and independence.
The Proper Context
This development must also be placed in its proper context. The ANC speakers’ notes attempt to present the SACP's independent electoral contestation as the main danger facing the movement, drawing on by-election results and provincial experience compiled from a one-sided view to justify a hard line. But the deeper danger lies elsewhere. The greatest threat is not that Communists are contesting. The threat to our Alliance and the NDR is the capture by monopoly capital of the state and some leading members. Therefore, capital remains the strategic enemy of our revolution, not the SACP and its decision to contest elections. Also, the continuing erosion of confidence among the working class and poor, the withdrawal of millions from electoral politics, and the inability of local government in many areas to respond to people's basic needs must be attended to. If this reality is not confronted honestly, then using discipline as an instrument is suppression aimed at Communists and will solve nothing.
The SACP therefore says to its members: do not be distracted by the noise. Focus on the political substance. The working class needs an SACP that can act with courage, clarity and organisation. The people need an SACP that will not disappear into the administrative subordination of another formation, including an ally. The moment demands firmness, not hesitation.
Immediate Tasks for All Structures
Accordingly, the SACP directs the following immediate tasks.
· All provincial, district and branch structures must convene urgent meetings to discuss this development and report through SACP channels on the situation in their areas. To this end, the Secretariat will deploy Central Committee members to districts.
· Every structure must compile, within the shortest possible time, a clear assessment of comrades who may be affected by the ANC directive and the type of support they require.
· Provincial and district leaderships must establish reporting lines so that any incident of pressure, exclusion, intimidation or threatened disciplinary action is immediately communicated upward and collectively handled.
· Political education on dual membership, Party independence, Alliance reconfiguration and the local government electoral position must be intensified without delay.
· Our public representatives, organisers and local leaders must deepen their work among communities and workplaces and explain, with patience and confidence, why the SACP is contesting and what it stands for in local government.
There must be no factional behaviour, no opportunism and no attempts to exploit this conjuncture for personal or local score-settling. Any comrade who uses this moment to pursue petty agendas acts against SACP discipline. This is a moment for unity, maturity and revolutionary seriousness.
A Direct Word to Our Cadres
To all Communists in the ANC, the SACP says this:
“Stand firm. You are not alone. You are not being asked to choose between discipline and principle. You are being called upon to uphold both, under the leadership of the SACP, in a difficult and changing conjuncture. Consult the SACP, and the Party will give you guidance. The SACP has a line from which it will do so. Report to the SACP. Act with the SACP. Do not allow yourself to be isolated, panicked or manoeuvred into individual responses to a collective political question.”
To all SACP members, whether or not they are ANC members, the message is equally clear:
“Strengthen the SACP both to pursue the immediate objectives and long-term goals of our struggle. The SACP has no interests of its own apart from those of the working class as a revolutionary movement. Build the branches. Deepen the campaign. Organise the workers and the poor. Advance the socialist perspective. Defend the dignity and independence of the Communist Party. This is the road we have chosen. It is not subordination. It is the correct road to end all forms of human exploitation, not collaboration with it.”
The SACP will not be intimidated out of its historic mission.
The SACP will not abandon its cadres.
The SACP will not surrender its independence.
Forward to people’s power!
Forward to the reconfiguration of the Alliance on principled terms!
Forward to Communist leadership in the struggle for transformation and socialism!
International-Solidarity
ILO faces unprecedented financial crisis — workers’ rights hang in the balance
22 April, 2026
The International Labour Organization is confronting the worst financial crisis in its recent history. The US has not paid its dues since 2023 and several other countries are late with their payments. The consequences for workers worldwide could be severe. IndustriALL Global Union is calling on affiliated unions to act now: press governments to pay their ILO dues.
A crisis not of the ILO’s making
ILO director-general Gilbert Houngbo has described the situation as “serious” and “unprecedented in recent decades,” warning that it is “already affecting our ability to meet the expectations of our constituents.”
The cause is straightforward: member states are not paying what they owe. Arrears from several member states now total more than 260 million Swiss francs (US$295 million), approximately a third of the organisation’s biennial budget, pushing it into a serious liquidity crunch. According to reports, the United States, the ILO’s largest contributor providing 22 per cent of its regular funding, owes more than 173 million francs. China, Germany and others are also behind on payments.
Reform — but not retreat
The ILO has responded with a structural reform built around three pillars: reorganizing headquarters and reprioritizing its 2026–27 programme of work; reinforcing field capacity by reviewing regional structures and decentralising development cooperation; and consolidating support services and establishing a new global service centre.
But reform requires resources. According to internal documents reported by Reuters, without sufficient funding the ILO could be forced to cut up to 295 positions, around eight per cent of its global workforce. Gilbert Houngbo has confirmed that the organization has had to shut down some 50 projects in the United States and lay off around 200 staff as a direct result of the funding shortfall.
The ILO has also published a risk register and a live tracker showing which member states have paid their contributions and what remains outstanding — a public accountability tool that makes the problem impossible to ignore.
Why this matters for IndustriALL affiliates
The ILO is the only tripartite global body where unions sit alongside governments and employers to set binding international labour standards. Those standards — on freedom of association, collective bargaining, forced labour, child labour, occupational safety and health — underpin the legal frameworks that IndustriALL affiliates rely on every day.
IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie is unequivocal:
“The ILO is the cornerstone of the international system that protects workers’ rights. A funding crisis of this scale is not just a bureaucratic problem — it puts at risk the standards, the oversight and the technical support that workers in every sector and every country depend on. We call on all governments to honour their commitments and pay their dues without delay.”
A diminished ILO means weaker standard-setting, less support for ratification and implementation of conventions, and reduced capacity to hold governments and employers to account. At a time when human rights due diligence frameworks are under political attack and multilateralism is being eroded, a financially crippled ILO is the last thing workers can afford.
What unions must do
The fix is simple, even if the politics are not: governments must pay what they owe.
IndustriALL calls on all affiliated unions to raise this issue urgently with their governments. Demand that your government pays its assessed contributions to the ILO in full and on time. The ILO’s ability to function — to protect workers, to set standards, to provide technical assistance — depends on it.
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WFTU Declaration for May Day 2026
22 April 2026
The international class-oriented trade union movement, workers, and militant trade unions around the world honor, through struggle, the 140th anniversary of the workers’ struggle in Chicago in 1886. They honor the heroic May Day of the working class, symbol of the relentless struggle against capitalist barbarity, with new class struggles, determination, and internationalist solidarity.
On the occasion of International Workers’ Day, the World Federation of Trade Unions, the most historic international trade union organization, representing more than 105 million workers in every corner of the world, extends a warm and militant message to all workers and farmers, to the ordinary people of labor and toil.
The messages and demands of the pioneers of Chicago in 1886 remain relevant and necessary today. The crisis of capitalism is deepening and generalizing. Social inequalities are dramatically widening. Democratic freedoms and trade union rights are under attack across the world, while imperialist wars and interventions are on the agenda.
International developments confirm that global geopolitical and economic antagonisms continue to directly threat to world peace and security, including the danger of nuclear catastrophe. Imperialist wars, interventions, sanctions, and blockades continue and intensify.
The genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza and the unimaginable brutality by the Israeli state, the unprovoked and murderous attack by the United States and Israel against Iran, the invasion of Venezuela and the abduction of the country’s legitimate president, the terrorist threats against socialist Cuba and the attempt to strangle its economy and its people through the criminal energy embargo, have once again exposed, in all its magnitude, the hypocrisy, cynicism, and inhuman nature of imperialism.
Military expenditures are rising explosively, while organizations such as NATO and the European Union intensify militarization and promote the war economy as a “developmental outlet.” At the same time, peoples are called upon to pay the cost through new austerity measures, privatizations, and the dismantling of social gains.
At the same time, the energy crisis, inflation, and high prices continue to erode workers’ incomes. Wages remain stagnant, while the profits of multinational corporations and energy giants soar.
The consequences of this situation hit the most vulnerable sections of the working class even harder. Women workers, youth, and migrants face intensified exploitation, lower wages, greater job insecurity, and limited access to Health, Education and Culture. They are the first victims of anti-worker policies and labor deregulation, making them particularly exposed to the attacks of capital.
At the same time, health and safety in the workplace are being systematically degraded. Protective measures are treated as a “cost” by employers, leading to the increase of accidents in workplace and fatalities. Every day, workers are injured or lose their lives on the altar of profit, revealing in the most tragic way the priorities of the system.
The new era of digitalization and artificial intelligence, instead of being utilized for the benefit of the workers and society as a whole, is used to intensify labor, monitor workers, and expand flexible forms of employment. Insecurity, precarious work, and the deregulation of labor relations are becoming generalized.
At the same time, state and employer repression against struggles is intensifying. Trade unionists are persecuted, strikes are criminalized, and democratic freedoms are restricted. Migrants and refugees are targeted, used as cheap labor, and become victims of racism and exploitation.
Faced with this reality, the response of the working class cannot be submission.
We demand:
• Wage increases and collective labor agreements with full rights
• Effective measures to protect against high prices and inflation
• Public and free healthcare, education, and social security for all
• Reduction of work-time, permanent employment with stable working hours, abolition of flexible forms of labor and protection for workers on digital platforms
• Health and safety measures in all workplaces
• Respect for trade union rights and democratic freedoms
• Protection of migrants and equal rights for all workers
Workers have no interest in the wars and antagonisms of those who have the power. On the contrary, they have everything to gain from unity, solidarity, and common struggle.
The WFTU calls on trade unions to reject compromise and submission. To strengthen their struggles and organize resistance in every workplace, every sector, and every country, against the barbarity of the system of profit and war.
Strength lies in organization. Hope lies in struggle.
On the occasion of May Day 2026, we call for militant mobilizations across the world under the slogan:
Our lives and our needs or their profits!
• No sacrifices for the wars and profits of the capital
• Work with rights, regulated by collective agreements
• Fulfillment of the contemporary needs of the workers
Solidarity and internationalism are the weapons of the working class!
Let this year’s May Day be a milestone of struggle and counteroffensive, for a world without imperialist wars and interventions, without discrimination and exploitation of man by man.
LONG LIVE MAY DAY!
LONG LIVE INTERNATIONALIST SOLIDARITY!
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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