Taking COSATU Today Forward, 9 June 2026 #CosatuNationalActionAgainstCostofLiving
Norman Mampane
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COSATU TODAY COSATU Call Center Contacts: 010 002 2590 #COSATU set to launch the Cost of Living Campaign this month, on the 19th June… #NationaActionAgainstCostOfLiving #ILC2026 #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
9 June 2026
“Build Working Class Unity for Economic Liberation towards Socialism”
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Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- NEHAWU to convene its 13th National Congress
- South Africa
- COSATU in Gauteng Province welcomes Cabinet approval to SANRAL’s Plan to shut down Gauteng e-tolls
- COSATU Gauteng Welcomes Life Sentence in Case of Domestic Worker Murdered for Insurance Payout
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- Global Rights Index: Governments failing workers, deepening crackdown on unions and labour rights
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics #ClassWar
NEHAWU to convene its 13th National Congress
Lwazi Nkolonzi, NEHAWU National Spokesperson, June 08, 2026
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union [NEHAWU] will hold its 13th National Congress at the Birchwood Hotel & Conference Centre in Boksburg from the 26th to 29th of June 2026.
The congress is convened under the theme “Advance Workplace Organisation to Defend Collective Bargaining, Heighten Class Consciousness and Advance Internationalism".
The congress will serve as a critical platform to deliberate and develop concrete responses to key international, national political and socio-economic matters as well as organisational matters affecting our members and the working class in general.
The congress will receive addresses from the African National Congress [ANC], South African Communist Party [SACP], Congress of South African Trade Unions [COSATU], World Federation of Trade Unions [WFTU] and Trade Union International Public Service & Allied [TUI – PS&A].
The congress will be attended by more than 750 delegates drawn from all structures of the union and other fraternal organizations from South Africa and Internationally.
Members of the media are hereby invited to apply for accreditation to cover the 13th National Congress.
The following information should be included in the application: Full name, Media House, and contact details.
The deadline for accreditation applications is Friday 19th June 2026.
The application for accreditation should be sent to the following email: lwa...@nehawu.org.za
Issued by NEHAWU Secretariat
For further information, please contact: Lwazi Nkolonzi (National Spokesperson) at 081 558 2335 or email: lwa...@nehawu.org.za
Visit NEHAWU website: www.nehawu.org.za
South Africa #ClassSolidarity
COSATU Gauteng Welcomes Life Sentence in Case of Domestic Worker Murdered for Insurance Payout
Louisah Moepeng Modikwe, COSATU Gauteng Provincial Secretary, 08 June 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in Gauteng welcomes the life sentence imposed in the case of 21-year-old domestic worker, Busiswa Nxumalo, who was brutally murdered for a R6 million insurance payout.
Nxumalo’s life was cut short at the hands of her employer, Sithembile Xulu, and her gardener, Simon Mogale, who slit her throat and disposed of her body at a dumping site in Lenasia in January 2022. Prior to murdering Nxumalo, Xulu took out three policies with three separate companies totalling R6 million on her domestic worker’s life. Xulu is said to have convinced Mogale to assist in the murder for a share of the payout.
Delivering the ruling at the Johannesburg High Court, Judge Ismail, handed down a life sentence for each of the accused. Xulu was also sentenced to seven years on four counts of fraud.
The judgment signifies justice for Nxumalo, whose life was tragically taken at its prime. The severity of the sentence reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed and sends a strong message that acts of violence and exploitation, particularly against vulnerable workers will not be tolerated.
COSATU Gauteng supported Nxumalo’s family throughout the nearly two-year case.
We commend the judiciary for upholding the principles of justice and ensuring that those responsible are held fully accountable. The inclusion of fraud-related convictions further emphasises the extent of wrongdoing and reinforces the need for integrity and accountability in all sectors of society.
While no sentence can restore the life of Nxumalo, we hope that this outcome brings a measure of closure to her family, loved ones, and the broader community. We continue to stand in solidarity with them during this difficult time.
This case highlights the urgent need to strengthen protections for domestic workers and to ensure safe working environments, where their dignity and rights are respected at all times.
COSATU reiterates its commitment to advocating for justice, fair treatment, and the protection of all workers, especially those who remain vulnerable to abuse behind closed doors.
Issued by COSATU Gauteng
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COSATU in Gauteng Province welcomes Cabinet approval to SANRAL’s Plan to shut down Gauteng e-tolls
Louisah Moepeng Modikwe, COSATU Gauteng Provincial Secretary, 08 June 2026
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in Gauteng welcomes the Cabinet’s decision to approve SANRAL plan to totally shutdown the e-toll system on Gauteng’s’ free-ways, a long-awaited and hard-fought victory for workers across Gauteng and the country at large.
For years, workers have borne the heavy financial burden imposed by e-tolls, with many motorists forced to spend a significant portion of their already strained incomes on transport costs.
This system placed undue pressure on working-class households, worsening the cost-of-living crisis and deepening inequality.
The scrapping of e-tolls represents a critical step towards restoring fairness and easing the economic strain on workers who rely on road transport to access their workplaces daily. Many workers travel long distances under difficult conditions, and this decision will bring much-needed relief.
We commend the Cabinet for listening to the voices of workers, communities, and labour organisations who have consistently raised concerns about the unjust nature of the e-toll system. This decision demonstrates a willingness to engage constructively and respond to the lived realities of ordinary South Africans.
COSATU further notes the recommendations by SANRAL to write off debt owed by road users who did not pay, and for the National Treasury to service this debt, and that the road users who paid toll fees would not be refunded because this was the law at the time, and the Federation reiterates the importance of remaining in unison when fighting for a good cause, as this had been the call for the Federation for all the citizen of the province to approach this battle as a collective.
However, as we celebrate this important development, we call on government to ensure that sustainable and equitable alternatives are implemented to fund road infrastructure, without placing additional burdens on workers and the poor.
We also urge continued engagement with organised labour to ensure that future transport and infrastructure policies are people-centred, transparent, and inclusive.
COSATU remains committed to advocating for the rights and wellbeing of workers and will continue to monitor developments closely to ensure that this decision translates into real relief for all.
Issued by COSATU Gauteng
International-Solidarity
Global Rights Index: Governments failing workers, deepening crackdown on unions and labour rights
Trade union rights are human rights Trade union rights, 4 June 2026
“Governments are failing to protect working people, and in many cases are actively undermining them,” states the 2026 Global Rights Index. This global report, published annually by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), surveys regions and countries’ workers’ rights violations, has seen a continuing trend of workers’ rights deteriorating for the fourth consecutive year.
A concerning trend
72% of countries deny workers access to justice. Similarly, half of all countries arrest or detain workers for exercising their union rights, along with the same number of countries also seeing reports of attacks to free speech and the assembly of workers. This trend of rights repression has also spilled over into increasing violence, with violence against workers increasing by 6%, totaling 32% of countries. Civil liberties violations have increased by 3%, seeing trade union leaders becoming greater targets of arrests, persecution, and killings, in some countries.
Belarus, Ecuador, Egypt, Eswatini, Myanmar, Nigeria, Tunisia, and Türkiye, along with Argentina and Panama being newly added to the list, have been identified as the top ten worst countries for worker’s rights and freedoms.
The United States, along with Guinea-Bissau, Israel, Liberia, The Philippines, the Republic of Moldova, and Zimbabwe have been placed on to the Index’s “Watchlist” for their increasing violations. The regions of Europe and the Americas’ ratings have also heavily declined, this year’s scores being the lowest that they have had since the creation of the index in 2014, showing weakening international stability and the systemic assault on democracy and labour rights.
Educators facing repression and violence
The report also highlights specific cases of rights violations faced by education unions and EI member organisations.
Reacting to the report, EI’s President Mugwena Maluleke said: “Across the world, teachers are being silenced, arrested, attacked and stripped of their rights simply for standing up for education and dignity. From Iran to Yemen, from Nepal to Eswatini, and from Côte d’Ivoire to Jordan, we are witnessing a deliberate assault on the teaching profession and on the very unions that defend it. When teachers’ rights are violated, the right to education is under attack.”
In Eswatini, the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) has faced a sustained government harassment campaign. SNAT’s President, Mbongwa Dlamini has been suspended from his teaching position since 2022, as intimidation against his union activities. The union's General Secretary Lot Vilakati was recently arrested and severely beaten by the police.
In Panama, the members of the teacher union MPU, an Education International–affiliated union, organised strikes and protests to defend teachers’ right to a decent pension. Rather than engaging in dialogue, the government responded with widespread repression – tactics including beatings, arbitrary arrests, wage withholding, and community-level persecution – targeting not only teachers but also banana workers and Indigenous communities who joined the protests.
For many years, the Iranian regime has targeted the leaders and members of the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers Trade Associations (CCITTA) for their legitimate and peaceful activities in defense of good working conditions, quality public education, and union rights. Teacher unionists and education workers continue to face systematic harassment, arbitrary arrest, and detention simply for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association.
Workers and unionists as hope for the future
“The 2026 Global Rights Index shows that the crisis for workers’ rights is no longer confined to the margins - it is now at the heart of democracies,” said ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle. Workers and unions’ rights are structurally coming under attack across the world. Triangle continued, “But workers and their unions are fighting back. The struggle for workers’ rights is the fight for democracy itself - for our rights, our safety, and our livelihoods. Without strong unions, there can be no real democracy.”
Stressing the importance of education as a cornerstone of human rights and democratic societies, Mugwena added: “You cannot build democracy while banning teachers from speaking, jailing union leaders, or dismantling their organisations. Education International stands in unwavering solidarity with every teacher and education worker facing repression. We will not be intimidated. We will continue to organise, to speak out, and to demand justice.”
“We call on governments to respect and uphold trade union rights and to recognise that strong, independent teacher unions are essential to quality education and more just societies,” he concluded.
Amid this bleak backdrop, a handful of countries have improved their record on labour rights, offering a glimmer of hope for workers around the world. This is particularly true of Uruguay, where the new President Yamandú Orsi – a history teacher and former member of the education union FENAPES – and his government committed to respecting labour rights, including the right to strike, and to prioritising social dialogue and negotiation. In August 2025, FENAPES achieved a significant victory that marked the end of a long struggle against trade union persecution from the previous administration.
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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