COSATU General Secretary, Solly Phetoe, Message of Support to NEHAWU’s Bargaining Conference (26-29 August 2025)

"Comrades, esteemed guests

I bring you warm greetings from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). We are delighted to be part of this significant bargaining conference, and we commend NEHAWU for organising this crucial event.

As workers, we understand the importance of collective bargaining in advancing our interests and improving our working conditions. We believe that this conference will provide a platform for meaningful discussions, strategic planning, and collective action to address the challenges facing workers in your sector.

Comrades, the World of Work is changing at an accelerated pace, and this requires our collective effort including being agile, we must be ready to respond accordingly in defense of workers' rights and gains and improve their working conditions including eliminating the Decent work deficit…

Here are some of the glaring changes in World of Work both in Public and Private Sectors

1. Precarious work has increased as permanent employment has decreased. Yet there is a low level of union organisation amongst precarious workers.
2. The overwhelming majority of precarious workers are black women and youth
3. Traditionally labour law protections and benefits do not apply to precarious workers.
4. The system of male domination has a social and economic basis, characterised by racism and capitalist exploitation
5. Women only earn on average 70% of what men earn in South Africa
6. One in three women experience physical or sexual violence, most often from their partner or someone they know. Gender-based violence also occurs in the workplace and domestic violence affects work.

What must we do

1. We must increase our membership amongst precarious workers, -organising and fighting for the rights of precarious workers is key for trade unions.
2. We should use worker solidarity and collective worker strength to help deal with the precariousness of work and identify legal gaps that allow precarious work and casualisation.
3. Gender and women's issues are union issues and taking up issues that affect women may encourage more women to join unions
4. Collective bargaining is never gender-neutral. Bargaining can make a significant difference for women workers, by reducing the gender pay gap, combatting low pay, valuing women's work, and addressing gender discrimination and safety in the workplace
5. The state and bargaining councils have been slow to implement equal wages for work of equal value including reducing income differentials and unfair discrimination. The principle of equal wages for work of equal value also applies to workers in precarious work.

f.) We should defend the rights of LGBTI+ workers & ensure they have equal access to benefits, uniforms, bathrooms, etc. and that recruiting and hiring policies and practices do not discriminate against LGBTI+ workers

g) ILO Convention 190 on the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work covers all workers, including informal economy workers, and as is now ratified, we must monitor its implementation and enforcement.

COSATU stands in solidarity with NEHAWU and its members, and we pledge our support for your efforts to negotiate better wages, improved working conditions, and enhanced benefits. We are confident that your collective efforts will yield positive outcomes and contribute to the growth and development of your sector.

We wish you fruitful deliberations and successful conference and set an agenda for the up-coming Bargaining Period.

Labour law amendments

Since 2022, government and business have launched the biggest attack on our hard-won labour rights since 1994. They want to make it easier to fire and retrench workers, exclude small businesses from labour laws, and weaken our power to embark on protest action. This is nothing less than an assault on the working class by capital and its allies in the state.

COSATU has fought back! Through our strength and struggle, we have made strides in defending and advancing workers' rights. Through our many meetings in Nedlac:

• We stopped the neo-liberal assault to make it easier to retrench workers. We defeated government's and business's proposals to have a two-year moratorium on section 189, to exempt small business from section 189 or having to pay retrenchment packages, and attempts to reduce consultation and the consultation period for section 189A. While we blocked the assault on our labour law, we also advanced workers' interests - now, severance pay has increased to 2 weeks per year of service, and workers can challenge all aspects of retrenchments directly in the Labour Court.
• We blocked the exclusion of small businesses from labour laws. We blocked the neo-liberal assault which wanted separate special codes for small businesses and changes to labour law that would make it easier to fire workers in small businesses. We succeed - and ensured that all workers (whether in big or small businesses) must be protected!
• We protected the National Minimum Wage. Labour law is being amended to ensure that there are no more tricks to deduct bonuses and reduce the National Minimum Wage. Our struggle in Nedlac, and our victory, has protected the most vulnerable workers.
• We forced government to drop plans to seriously curtail our right to embark on protest action under Section 77. We have ensured that if socio-economic problems are not fully rectified, we can embark on protest action.
• Through our proposals that we took to Nedlac, we extended the definition of 'employee' to include dependent contractors. This means more workers can now join unions, engage in collective bargaining and strike. We also advanced the position of on-call workers.

But, comrades, the struggle is not over. Capital and government still want to:

• Make it easier to fire young workers with a 3-month qualifying period - Business had wanted a 12 month qualifying period and have not agreed to reduce this.
• Limit fair procedure in dismissals to being only giving an employee a fair opportunity to respond - which means that employees may not in fact respond or even be represented.
• Limit what counts as unfair labour practice.
• Provide for an inquiry by an arbitrator in a dismissal case - without written consent of the employee.
• Extend fixed-term contracts and labour broking.

There are serious assaults on our previously hard won gains and labour rights.

While we can celebrate our advances, we must continue to fight the ongoing assault. Our struggle is far from over and we say: No retreat! No surrender! The working class must be united and militant. We must continue to fight hard for:

• Full protection for all workers, including those in small businesses and the gig economy.
• Stronger enforcement against bosses who steal wages and benefits.
• No weakening of existing labour law and workers' rights.
• No limiting of what is currently defined as an unfair labour practice.

What next? The proposed laws are now with the State Law Advisor. They will then be released for public comment likely before the end of 2025. They will then return to Nedlac for further engagements, before being tabled at Cabinet and then Parliament. Parliament too will hold public hearings in both Houses where we will further engage.

Engagements are taking place at Nedlac on amendments to the UIF and Compensation of Occupational Injuries and Diseases Funds where it is critical that we ensure that the UIF and Compensation Fund are overhauled and cleansed of corruption as well as to ensure that all workers, including atypical workers, are covered by these two Funds.

We cannot hope that the outstanding issues will be resolved in our favour in Parliament where the ANC lacks an outright majority and hence we are engaging the Minister for Employment and Labour to ensure we reach a full and progressive agreement on the full package before it gets to Parliament.

We must mobilize, educate, and organize workers to defend every gain and push for more. We must demand that all outstanding disputes are resolved before any law is passed. The bosses and their allies are united. They are strong but when we are united and militant, we are stronger.

We must resist attempts by neo-liberal forces and other Federations to confuse and divide labour. We must build our unity, advance our knowledge and understanding, sharpen our political consciousness, mobilise workers and other progressive forces and show our strength and determination. We must fight for a future where no worker is left behind, for the power of the working class and for socialism.

We should not be distracted by the attacks of some on COSATU, including SAFTU. Let us be honest comrades, we had more than 30 meetings on the labour laws at Nedlac. SAFTU attended three and then disappeared leaving it to COSATU alone to stop the proposed weakening of our labour laws by the former Minister for Labour, to divide government from business and to secure key victories.

This is not new. SAFTU rarely attends Nedlac negotiations, preferring to convene press conferences, claim false victories on the media and travel overseas. Our task is to do the work and ignore armchair populists. But when COSATU is attacked, we will defend the Federation without fear or favour.

Update on COSATU's Readiness to Host the Central Committee

"As we gather here today, we are also preparing to host our Central Committee meeting in September. We can confirm that all logistical arrangements are Finalised, and we are confident that the meeting will be a success.

The Central Committee is a crucial platform for COSATU, where we asses implementation of previous national congress resolutions, discuss with a view of finding solutions to key issues affecting workers, make important decisions, and chart the way forward for our organisation. We are committed to ensuring that this meeting is productive, inclusive, and action oriented.

We invite all comrades who will be delegates and stakeholders to participate actively in the Central Committee meeting and contribute to the discussions that will shape the future of our organisation."

Update on COSATU's 40th Anniversary Celebrations

"As we look ahead, we are also preparing to celebrate a significant milestone in COSATU's history - our 40th anniversary. This momentous occasion will take place on December 6, 2025, at Dobsonville Stadium in SOWETO. and we are working hard to ensure that it is a fitting tribute to our organisation's legacy and contributions to the labour movement.

We hope that All members of NEHAWU will come in their numbers and be part of the celebration at the Stadium on the 6^th December.

The 40th anniversary celebrations will be a time for reflection, celebration, and rededication. We will reflect on our achievements, challenges, and lessons learned over the past four decades. We will celebrate our resilience, solidarity, and collective strength. And we will rededicate ourselves to the principles of worker unity, social justice, and economic transformation.

We invite all comrades, stakeholders, and allies to join us in this momentous celebration and to share in the joy and spirit of this significant occasion."