Latest news with #Cosatu
IOL News
2 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Legacy foundations pull out of National Dialogue amid funding uncertainty
Seven leading foundations have withdrawn from the National Dialogue Convention, citing concerns over rushed planning, loss of citizen leadership, and lack of transparency in the process. Image: File Former President Thabo Mbeki has clarified the reasons for his foundation's withdrawal from the National Dialogue, a government initiative designed to unite South Africans in addressing the nation's most pressing issues. Mbeki stated that a key factor in the decision was the uncertainty regarding the R700 million allocated for the National Dialogue. Mbeki's foundation, along with other prominent legacy foundations, including the Steve Biko Foundation, Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation, and FW de Klerk Foundation, withdrew from the National Dialogue Convention scheduled to kick off on Friday. The foundations cited concerns over the rushed timeline, inadequate preparation, and shift towards government control as reasons for their withdrawal. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading "We feel the organisation of the matter was not entirely honest as to where the funds will be directed," Mbeki said. "This is due to our belief that core principles meant to underpin the whole National Dialogue have been violated in the rush to host a gathering on August 15." The foundations also cited the absence of a confirmed, approved budget allocation and last-minute commitment of initial funds have made sound preparation impossible and deep disagreements exist within the Preparatory Task Team over the nature of the dialogue, readiness, governance, and risk. The foundations have proposed rescheduling the convention to after October 15 to allow for adequate preparation, coherence, and participatory integrity. The National Dialogue is an inclusive, citizen-driven process focused on developing a vision and plan for South Africa for the next 30 years. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) expressed strong disapproval regarding the proposed R700 million budget for the National Dialogue. 'Like many other rational South Africans, Cosatu was astonished that such a figure could even be suggested. This arbitrary budget number should be considered a verbal slip and a reckless error, best forgotten." Despite the withdrawal of the legacy foundations, President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that the first national convention will proceed as scheduled. The Presidency further distanced itself from the estimated R700 million price tag for the dialogue. 'The Presidency wishes to confirm that all budgetary processes regarding the National Convention are consistent with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). 'The Inter-Ministerial Committee, which is chaired by Deputy President Paul Mashatile and comprises all relevant government departments to coordinate government's contribution towards the National Dialogue, has been working to mobilise resources for the convention and manage costs,' the presidency said in a statement yesterday.
IOL News
7 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Political intervention looms as ANC-led Msunduzi and Mpendle municipalities face mayoral shake-up
Msunduzi Municipality Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla's future hangs in the balance. Image: Supplied The two embattled ANC-led Msunduzi and Mpendle local municipalities in the Moses Mabhida region (Pietermaritzburg) in KwaZulu-Natal could have new mayors by the end of next week following their performance assessment by the newly elected regional task team. The team, led by Nathi Mdlala as convener and former Cosatu provincial secretary Zet Luzipo as coordinator, is expected to present its assessment report and recommendations to the provincial leadership this weekend. Sources that have seen the report said it has recommended a strong political intervention to the two municipalities, which many viewed as a recommendation for the removal of the political heads of these struggling municipalities. 'Everyone is seeing that Mzimkhulu Thebolla has struggled to run Msunduzi since taking over from Themba Njilo in 2019. With all interventions that have been tried not yielding positive results, the ANC has run out of options but to remove him; otherwise, the opposition will eat for lunch in the next year's elections,' said the source. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Mdladla confirmed that his team will present its assessment report to the provincial structure in a meeting that will take place in Durban this weekend. He refused to be drawn on speculation that the report contains recommendations for sweeping changes in the two municipalities. 'We have met all the leadership of our municipalities, and we are finalising everything today with Umgungundlovu District Municipality. We are going to present our report to the provincial team at the weekend,' said Mdladla. Msunduzi, which is the second biggest municipality in the province, has been struggling financially and administratively for a long time without solutions. Many interventions have been tried, including placing it under administration, but none of them appeared to have been successful. Just a month before last year's general elections, the ANC-led Cabinet removed the municipality from under administration. However, a new assessment by the IFP-led Cabinet intervened again by sending another team led by former Public Works MEC Ravi Pillay, which resumed its work in March this year. This was followed by another intervention by the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department, which instituted a Section 106 investigation following the surfacing of fraud allegations in the municipality. Thebolla, who was ANC regional chairperson, has already lost political power after he was left out of the task team's top five. Attempts to get a comment from Thebolla were unsuccessful. Mpendle Municipality is currently in disarray, with a month gone by without a mayor. The ANC Mayor Buyisani Mlaba was ousted with the help of the party councillors who decided to abstain during a motion of no confidence, which took place early last month, which was filed by IFP and backed by the EFF. The tiny municipality on the south-west side of Pietermaritzburg has only 10 seats. ANC has six while the IFP and the EFF have two each. Attempts to get comment from Mlaba were also unsuccessful. A source in Mpendle said the ANC provincial team recently visited the branches in an attempt to get their buy-in to fire all the councillors for helping the opposition to remove the mayor. However, the leadership backed down after branches threatened to vote for the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) in the next year's local elections. The source said branches supported the councillors' decision to oust the mayor and want the party to appoint a new mayor, and threatened to vote for the MKP if they are removed. The ANC provincial spokesperson, Fanle Sibisi, had not yet responded to the questions about the party's intervention in Mpendle.
IOL News
04-08-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Pending 30% tariff on South African exports to the US requires calm, says Cosatu
Cosatu says it is deeply concerned about the devastating impact the US tariffs on the South African economy. Image: Armand Hough /Independent Newspapers The pending 30% tariff on South African exports to the United States (US) require calm, frank and honest leadership by government and key stakeholders. They necessitate an understanding of the damage this will do to these exporters, their employees and their families. These require thoughtful interventions to address the causes and impacts of these tariffs. The solutions will not be found in slogans, temper tantrums, hate speech or the avalanche of fake news on social media. Cosatu like other sober organisations is deeply concerned about the devastating impact the tariffs will inflict upon an economy limping along at 1% annual growth since 2008, battling dangerously high unemployment of 43.1% and youth unemployment of 72%, entrenched levels of poverty and inequality as well as crime and corruption. We fear the damage these tariffs by the world's largest economy and our second biggest trading partner will cause to our agricultural, motor and other manufacturing sectors. With unemployment so high, we cannot afford to see thousands of job losses from the citrus farms of Limpopo to the wineries of the Western Cape shed, nor the gutting of thousands of motor manufacturing jobs from Gauteng to KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. A decline in economic activity means less tax revenue needed to fund the public services that the working class, society and businesses depend upon. This is a real problem and it needs to be fixed urgently. The government must lead and be given the space to do so and as business, labour and society we need to provide the necessary support. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading There are three broad categories of issues that need to be addressed to ensure South Africa is included in what is now the new norm of US tariff duties, e.g. 15%. First is diplomatic relations. This requires the urgent appointment of a senior South African Ambassador and the capacitation and resourcing of our missions to the US. In the longer term the reversal of the decision to close the Consulate in Chicago and the expansion of South Africa's diplomatic presence to key states is also needed. For now, we need an Ambassador on the ground who can begin the daily journey of fixing US South African relations. Second is what constitutes a new trade agreement between the US and South Africa. It needs to be mutually beneficial, support and create jobs and nurture fragile economic sectors in both countries. Key elements to this include expanding agricultural trade, in particular for pork and poultry; addressing digital tax matters, reducing the trade deficit through complementary purchasing of goods that South Africa does not produce, e.g. gas, agricultural machinery and auto-motive components. New opportunities need to be explored including joint ventures in mining and beneficiation in both countries and the continent, energy and logistics. Closer coordination with South African companies investing in the US, from mining to gas, hospitality and consumer goods is critical and to communicate these already significant investments. The second difficulty of the 30% tariffs on South African exports, is that our neighbouring states and economic competitors have been allocated a substantial advantage at 15% and lesser tariffs. To reduce South Africa's to the new normal of 15%, the tensions in US South African relations need to be resolved. They can and must be resolved in a mutually respectful manner based upon facts and in a way that respects each nation's sovereignty and democratic choices. White genocide in South Africa does not exist, but crime affecting all South Africans, in particular in our townships and rural areas, and investors and tourists is a real problem. Opportunities exist for support to be provided to South African law enforcement and judicial authorities in the forms of intelligence sharing on drug cartels and human trafficking, to forensic and investigative training, to resources for vehicles, drones, satellites and courts. With an economy battling high unemployment, we must do more to attract domestic and foreign investment, including reducing red tap and other administrative burdens. A far better job needs to be done to explain that Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment provides various paths, including Employee Shareholder Ownership Programmes and Equity Equivalents where investors and companies commit to supporting local businesses, jobs and communities. Progress needs to be made finalising the Expropriation Act and its Regulations affirming and clarifying the comprehensive checks and balances, recourse to courts and protections for all parties. The government needs to expedite engagements with their US counterparts on these matters. Workers cannot afford for the 30% tariffs to become the new norm. While these take place, it is critical that the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition flesh out its relief package for affected companies. This should include support from public and private banks. Efforts to expand and diversify trade relations from the Americas to Europe, Africa and Asia are long overdue irrespective of this crisis. Efforts to roll out the African Continental Free Trade Area must be expedited. Now is the time for the Department of Employment and Labour to finally resolve the long outstanding bureaucratic delays suffocating the Unemployment Insurance Fund's Temporary Employee Relief Scheme. Companies and workers simply don't have the space to wait for its average 14-month turnaround time. Our diplomatic missions across the world need to be repositioned to focus on promoting trade, investment, tourism, transport and education and less on diplomatic cocktails. Investments in Home Affairs' capacitation to deliver real time turnaround for visa applications must be accelerated. Whilst democracy is noisy and must be tolerant of even those who offend us, it is time that society holds accountable the race baiters and fringe populist elements who's spreading of fake news and hate speech and incitement to violence on social media, in the US and South Africa, have caused real damage to our social fabric, relations with the US and will now see workers, businesses and the economy pay the price. Cosatu will continue to work closely with President Cyril Ramaphosa, government and business to ensure that South Africa is able to navigate these challenges. Solly Phetoe is general secretary of Cosatu. Image: Doctor Ngcobo / Independent Newspapers. Cosatu General Secretary Solly Phetoe *** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IOL. BUSINESS REPORT
Mail & Guardian
03-08-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
AI must serve labour, not subjugate it, G20 labour group says
Graphic: John McCann/M&G Labour 20, the G20's employment track, has called for the reclassification of workers in the digital economy, where many are labelled as 'independent contractors', which it said enables exploitation and strips workers of core rights. 'Platform workers are being misclassified, denied basic protections and subjected to inhumane working conditions by companies that exploit regulatory gaps. We believe that this is not innovation but is exploitation wrapped in code,' it said in a communiqué. 'We call for international standards to ensure cross-border accountability, worker data sovereignty and fair taxation of platform giants. Technology must serve labour, not subjugate it.' G20 working groups have made similar recommendations ahead of the November summit of heads of state, with the South Africa, which holds the current Workers in the digital economy are effectively outside the law, Cosatu head of policy Lebogang Meelis told the Mail and Guardian. 'People working in the digital economy who are classified as independent contractors are not recognised as workers. As such, they are not covered by labour legislation and this leaves them vulnerable to severe exploitation,' she said. These workers can't join trade unions, have no protection from unfair dismissals and are excluded from unemployment insurance and collective bargaining. 'They are not afforded a process to try and protect them from retrenchment and minimise the negative impact,' Meelis said. Fedusa general secretary Riefdah Ajam described the 'independent contractor' label as 'a deliberate tactic used by capital and employers to strip them of basic rights'. Contractors, she said, 'are required to work full days and answer to supervisors — whether human or algorithmic', yet are denied basics like UIF, paid leave and the right to unionise. 'The platforms that use this model get away with avoiding responsibility and, ultimately, being non-compliant with the labour laws and other rights as provisioned for in the Constitution and other statutes,' Ajam added, warning that if unions don't push back, a rights-based labour system could soon be a thing of the past. Labour 20 called on governments to implement mandatory due diligence and public oversight of all digital labour platforms operating within their borders. The summit rejected 'digital colonialism', declaring that the infrastructure of the digital economy 'must be public, universal and democratic'. 'We further demand algorithmic transparency, where workers have access to the data that governs their performance and livelihoods. No worker should be at the mercy of a faceless system they cannot question,' it said in its communiqué. Fedusa wants tough regulations that force platforms to disclose how they treat workers, what algorithms they use and where their profits go. The union also backs penalties for non-compliance and calls for stronger local ownership of the digital economy. 'We can't outsource our future to companies who see us as a market but never as equal partners. This is about sovereignty, dignity and economic justice,' Ajam said. With more than 60% of workers globally 'trapped in informal and precarious employment', Labour 20 called for 'a comprehensive agenda for formalisation'. Recommendations included labour law reform, strengthened inspections, ratification of International Labour Organisation conventions and inclusive social protection. 'Trade unions must be at the centre of this shift. We affirm that informal workers are workers. Their rights are not negotiable,' said the communiqué. Governments and employers, it said, must end delays and move decisively toward institutionalising decent work. Meelis said Cosatu had secured a win through negotiations at the National Economic Development and Labour Council with the government agreeing to allow atypical workers — including actors and digital platform workers — to join unions and engage in collective bargaining. However, Meelis said the deployment of AI risks deepening inequality. 'In the short term, more women risk losing their jobs than men — particularly because the initial impact of AI will be the replacement of administrative jobs, which are predominantly held by women workers.' 'If we are to address inequality and not exacerbate it, digital transformation must not outpace social integration,' Meelis added. 'If someone works regularly for a platform, follows set conditions and depends on that income, they should be presumed an employee until proven otherwise. That's how fairness can be restored.' South Africa's labour laws haven't caught up with the gig economy, Ajam said. 'We need them amended so that platform workers are clearly included.' She also criticised new terms like 'dependent contractors' as potential loopholes for further abuse. 'Any new category must carry full protections.' Ajam wants the International Labour Organisation to adopt a binding convention on platform work. 'It should cover fair pay, set working hours, access to benefits, transparency around algorithms and the right to organise.' The communiqué also noted that 'workers are facing spiralling inequality, stubborn unemployment, rising authoritarianism, deepening climate devastation and collapsing public services'. 'In the Global South, these crises are compounded by debt, weak state capacity and the brutal legacies of colonial exploitation. Our call is simple and unwavering: the working class will not pay for the failure of a system rigged against them.' Labour 20 said workers' futures should not be 'sacrificed at the altar of profit and geopolitical power', urging a 'reclaiming and rebuilding' of multilateralism and a reversal of the declining labour share of income. 'Workers are not commodities nor statistics. We are the architects of society, and any global recovery that excludes them is a blueprint for deeper inequality,' the communiqué said.
eNCA
02-08-2025
- Business
- eNCA
Cosatu: Tariffs will lead to a jobs bloodbath
CITRUSDAL, Western Cape - Citrus farmers in the Western Cape are worried. They say the 30-percent tariffs the US imposed on South African exports will devastate the sector and job losses are inevitable. Cosatu says it is extremely concerned by the impact of the 30% tariff announced by the United States on all South African exports bar minerals, to the world's largest economy. The trade union federation says it fears the devastation this will wreak upon farm workers in the citrus industry from the Western Cape to Limpopo, to motor manufacturing workers from the Eastern Cape to Gauteng.
