By Staff Reporter
The country’s largest trade union federation has said it will launch a campaign in defence of the Expropriation Act to ensure land reform that benefits “the dispossessed black majority”.
COSATU, which represents more than 1.5 million workers, concluded its eighth Central Committee in Benoni this week, with a call to push back against what it described as “neoliberal regression” and to prioritise measures to unlock economic opportunities through land reform.
The Expropriation Act allows the government to expropriate land without compensation if it is in the public interest. It is being challenged in court by the Democratic Alliance, civil rights group AfriForum, and others, who argue it is unconstitutional and undermines property rights.
The federation used the gathering to attack the economic direction of the Government of National Unity, saying its “neoliberal austerity policies” had deepened unemployment, poverty and inequality.
Official unemployment is at 42.9% overall, and 73.1% for youth between 15 and 24, COSATU said, while the economy has struggled to grow beyond 1%.
“South Africa is plagued by endemic crime and corruption and struggling public and municipal services. The Federation views this as a betrayal of the working class and a regression in the revolutionary struggle,” COSATU said.
It resolved to intensify campaigns against budget cuts, demanding “a bold and progressive budget” to stimulate growth, create jobs, and improve frontline services.
Pension reforms and NHI
The Central Committee celebrated the introduction of the Two-Pot Pension system, a reform COSATU championed since inception.
The change has already released more than R60 billion to 3.5 million indebted workers. COSATU said it was pushing for further changes to reduce the tax burden and allow workers who lost their jobs full access to their savings.
Delegates also reaffirmed support for the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, which is also being challenged in court. The federation pledged to work with the government to defend the law and press for universal healthcare.
Retrenchments at firms including Glencore, ArcelorMittal, Goodyear and Coca-Cola were cited as a major concern. COSATU said it would intervene with the labour minister to unblock relief funds under the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s Temporary Employee Relief Scheme.
The impact of soaring electricity tariffs was also debated. COSATU said above-inflation hikes had fuelled job losses and crippled industry, and said it would engage Eskom and government to develop strategies to curb corruption, wastage, vandalism and cable theft. It also called for urgent stabilisation of state-owned companies including Transnet, Metro Rail, SABC, Denel and the Post Office.
The union federation warned of “imperialist wars, ecological destruction and exploitation of the Global South” by industrialised nations. It criticised trade wars under U.S. President Donald Trump and European Union “green protectionism” as threats to South Africa’s sovereignty and economic stability.
“COSATU calls on the South African government to challenge these unilateral actions through multilateral platforms like the World Trade Organisation and to prioritise intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA).”
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