Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi has decried retrenchments taking place across various sectors in the economy, saying they are tantamount to stripping workers of their dignity and will lead to the weakening of the state.
She likened the loss of thousands of jobs at ArcelorMittal SA (Amsa), Goodyear, Mercedes-Benz and Glencore, among others, as workers “being stripped of their dignity”.
Delivering the keynote address at Cosatu’s central committee meeting in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, on Monday, Losi said the four-day congress was held during a defining moment for workers in the country, the continent and the world. “The question before us is: what is to be done?” Losi asked.
The meeting is set to review the implementation of resolutions adopted at the labour federation’s national congress held in September 2022, provide political direction and focus on organisational issues before the national congress in 2026.
Job losses across major companies
It comes after embattled steel major Amsa told its employees recently that attempts to save its long steel business had failed, with 3,500 workers now set to lose their jobs. In a memo to employees seen by Business Day, Amsa CEO Kobus Verster said the group would wind down its long steel business at end-September.
More than 900 jobs were affected when Goodyear SA recently shut its doors in Kariega, in the Eastern Cape. The tyre manufacturer announced in June it would shut down its manufacturing operations in SA, retaining only its sales, distribution and Hi-Q retail presence.
Unity is workers’ strongest weapon
“Divided workers will fall, but when we are united, we will rise. Our strength has always been in our unity. Our unity is the most powerful weapon that we have … to confront retrenchments, to confront exploitation and to confront poverty,” Losi said.
She said Cosatu, which was established in 1985, existed because the working class needed a shield and a spear. “A shield to protect against exploitation and a spear to advance the cause of justice.”
Recruiting non-unionised workers
Cosatu, which has consistently supported the ANC in elections since the dawn of democracy, needed to recruit non-unionised members to push back against the exploitation of workers.
“At times we seem to be afraid to venture outside our comfort zones. Ten thousand jobs have been created in call centres. Where is the plan to recruit those workers?” Losi asked, adding that Uber and taxi drivers also needed to be recruited into the Cosatu fold.
“Are we engaging splinter unions that are weakening the strength of unions to join affiliates that are in this federation so that we can realise [the] vision of … one industry one union one federation one country?”
Retrenchments harm livelihoods and the economy
Livelihoods were being torn apart by retrenchments: “Each retrenchment is not just a statistic. This is a family left without bread or electricity; confronted with a loss of home, car; plunged into debt; a community sliding deeper into despair,” the Cosatu president said.
Our critics are blind to the reality that workers’ wages often do not keep up with inflation.
Retrenchments in the private sector were causing the collapse of value chains. “When one sector bleeds, the economy haemorrhages. Ghost towns are created, what remains is that sex workers emerge, taverns emerge.
“When the economy weakens, the state follows … Our critics are blind to the reality that workers’ wages often do not keep up with inflation. They are blind that each worker supports an average of seven relatives; that workers are drowning in debt, they can’t afford electricity [or] transport, [and] the cost of living is skyrocketing. These are lived realities of the working class in 2025.”
Alliance under pressure ahead of elections
In the build-up to the national general election in 2024, Cosatu decided to throw its weight behind the ANC — whose electoral support plunged to 40% — despite some rumblings within some of its affiliates.
The National Union of Mineworkers recently decided to support the SA Communist Party (SACP) in the local government elections in 2026. The party announced in December 2024 that it would contest the 2026 local government elections under its own banner.
The SACP, which has campaigned for the ANC since SA’s first democratic elections in 1994, has become increasingly critical of the ANC’s track record in government and has spoken out against state capture, malfeasance, maladministration, looting and poor service delivery.
Call for a united and reconfigured alliance
“We are meeting at a time when the [tripartite] alliance is facing its existential threat. Unity must be a lived reality. We love the ANC of Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela, and the SACP … We need alliance partners to resolve their challenges and engage the federation on these,” Losi said.
“We need the alliance to be united and radically reconfigured to ensure it is an anchor of government, centre of political direction for the nation. We need both the ANC and SACP to appreciate the unity of the federation. We are making this appeal to the ANC and SACP: do not divide the alliance.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.