Johannesburg Marriott Hotel, Melrose Arch | 15 – 17 May 2026

Theme: “Advancing the interests of doctors under the banner of SAMATU”

1. Introduction

Comrade President Dr Langanani Mbodi, the Deputy Presidents Dr Nkateko Mnisi and Dr

Tshilidzi Sadiki, the General Secretary Dr Cedric Sihlangu, the National Treasurer Dr Bruce

Malumane, the entire National Office Bearer collective of SAMATU, delegates from every

corner of our country, invited guests, sister unions, the working class of South Africa —

revolutionary greetings to you all!

I bring you the warm, militant and fraternal greetings of the Congress of South African Trade

Unions, our 1.5 million members, our 16 affiliates, and the entire COSATU leadership. We

are honoured to stand with you today as you gather under the powerful theme: “Advancing

the interests of doctors under the banner of SAMATU.”

Comrades, under COSATU, the white coats of our doctors join

• the overalls of our miners and manufacturing workers,

• the uniforms of our nurses, police, retail workers and municipal workers,

• the boots of our farm workers,

• the protective wear of our chemical workers,

• the aprons of our domestic workers,

• the suits of our office workers

All under one banner, one Federation, and one common struggle. An injury to one is an

injury to all!

2. Thirty-two Years of Democracy, Thirty Years of the Constitution

This year we mark 32 years since the workers, the poor and the oppressed of this country

broke the chains of apartheid and voted for the first time in 1994. We also mark 30 years

since the adoption of our Constitution in 1996 — a Constitution written in the blood of our

martyrs.We have made real gains, comrades. Millions of homes built. Millions connected to water,

electricity and sanitation. Free basic education. Social grants that keep over 28 million of

our people from going to bed hungry. Workers’ rights enshrined in the Labour Relations Act,

the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the National Minimum Wage. These gains were

not gifts from the bosses — they were won by workers in the streets, in the factories, in the

mines, in the hospitals.

But comrades, let us be honest with ourselves. The Constitution promised dignity. The

Constitution promised equality. The Constitution promised that this land belongs to all who

live in it. Thirty years later, that promise is still gathering dust on the shelves of the elite.

Apartheid was defeated politically, but apartheid lives on in the economy. The colour of

poverty in this country is still black. The face of unemployment is still young, still black, still

female.

The struggle for political freedom is won. The struggle for economic freedom — the second,

deeper liberation — is the struggle of our generation.

3. The Socio-Economic Crisis Facing the Working Class

Comrades, the working class today is under siege.

Unemployment stands at over 32%, and youth unemployment is sitting at a shocking 57 to

58 percent. More than 3.5 million young South Africans are not in employment, education

or training. A whole generation is being thrown on the scrap heap.

And as SAMATU’s own Junior Doctors Memorandum to the President tells us — even our

young doctors, trained at great cost to the nation, are sitting at home unemployed while our

clinics and hospitals are collapsing for lack of staff. What kind of country trains doctors

and then locks them out of the hospitals?

Poverty has deepened. Inequality has widened. South Africa remains the most unequal

country in the world. The cost of bread, electricity, transport and school uniforms is

breaking the back of every working-class family.

Crime is terrorising our communities. Gender-based violence is a national shame.

Corruption has looted billions that should have built hospitals, schools, water systems and

houses. Our municipalities are collapsing — sewage runs in our streets, taps run dry,

potholes swallow our cars, and the lights go out.

Our state-owned enterprises were hollowed out by state capture. Our public services are

bleeding from austerity.Comrades, this is not a natural disaster. This is a political choice. And we are here to say:

enough is enough!

4. Geopolitical Turbulence and the Weaponisation of Trade

Comrades, the world is on fire. From Gaza to Sudan, from Ukraine to the Sahel, imperialism

is once again showing its true face. We stand firmly with the people of Palestine. We salute

our government for taking Israel to the International Court of Justice. The genocide in Gaza

must end. A free Palestine is non-negotiable. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be

free!

The war in the Middle East is not far from us. It drives up the price of oil, it drives up the

price of fuel, it drives up the price of food on the table of every worker in Khayelitsha, in

Soshanguve, in KwaMashu.

And now the bullies of the world are weaponising trade. Tariffs are being used as weapons.

AGOA is being held over our heads. Our exports — citrus, cars, wine, steel — are being

threatened because we dared to stand on principle, because we dared to defend

international law, because we dared to be a sovereign nation. But South Africa will not be

bullied. South Africa will not kneel. We will trade with the world on our own terms.

5. COSATU and the Constitutional Court Ruling on the Section 89 Report

Comrades, allow me to speak plainly on a matter that is dominating the headlines — the

Section 89 Panel Report concerning President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the recent ruling of

the Constitutional Court.

COSATU has noted the President’s intention to exercise his legal right to take the Section

89 Panel Report on review. We welcome the fact that the President has taken the nation

into his confidence on this pressing matter. We are comforted by his consistent and

principled affirmation of the independence of the judiciary and its constitutionally

enshrined role of holding the executive accountable at all times. That is how a

constitutional democracy must work.

Comrades, the Report and the allegations it raises are a matter of great concern to all of us.

But it is important that space be given to Parliament to fulfil its responsibilities in full, as

directed by the Constitutional Court. We expect every Member of Parliament, across party

lines, to uphold the spirit and the letter of the Constitution. Now is not the time to play to

the public gallery. Now is not the time to chase social media likes and newspaper

headlines, no matter how close the local government elections may be, and no matter how

desperate some politicians are for attention. These are sensitive and uncertain times —globally and at home — and our country deserves leaders who behave with discipline and

maturity, not loudmouths performing for the cameras.

It is equally sacrosanct, comrades, that President Ramaphosa be afforded his

constitutionally guaranteed right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty — in a court

of law, or, in the event of impeachment, by Parliament itself. Social media hysteria has no

legal standing. A trending hashtag is not a verdict. A viral video is not a judgment. The

Constitution is clear, and we must respect it.

None of us wishes for these messy headlines, especially at a time when our people are

grappling with high unemployment, weak economic growth, the rising cost of living,

entrenched poverty and inequality, endemic crime and corruption, and embattled public

and municipal services. The working class wants leaders who are focused on jobs, on

hospitals, on schools, on safety — not on scandals.

But comrades, let us also take pride in something important. Ours is a robust

constitutional democracy where everyone is subjected to oversight by Parliament, scrutiny

by the judiciary, and ultimately the verdict of the people.

No one is above the law — not a worker, not a boss, not a Minister, not a President. This

democracy was built and achieved in no small part by the liberation movement led by our

Tripartite Alliance together with the mass democratic movement, the youth, the women,

and the workers of this country. It was paid for in blood, in sweat, in exile, in prison cells, in

picket lines. We must defend these fundamental tenets of our nation at all times.

And so COSATU says: let the courts do their work. Let Parliament do its work. Let the

President exercise his rights. And let the working class keep its eye firmly on the real prize

— jobs, healthcare, housing, education, and the economic freedom that still eludes the

majority of our people.

6. Budget Cuts and the Crisis in Public Healthcare

Comrades of SAMATU, the crisis you face every day in our hospitals is the sharp edge of

austerity. Treasury has cut, cut and cut again. Posts are frozen. Equipment is broken.

Medicines are out of stock. Ambulances do not arrive. Patients sleep on benches. And our

doctors, our nurses, our paramedics carry the weight of a collapsing system on their

shoulders.

Your own memorandum to the President puts it bluntly: hundreds of qualified doctors are

unemployed while hospitals are understaffed. This is not a mistake. This is austerity. This is

Treasury choosing bondholders over babies in maternity wards.COSATU stands with SAMATU in demanding the immediate absorption of every

unemployed doctor, the unfreezing of every vacant post, and the end of austerity in

healthcare, education and all frontline services. The lives of our people are not a line

item on a spreadsheet!

7. Improving the Working Conditions of Doctors and Health Professionals

Comrades, a doctor who works a 30-hour shift cannot save lives — they can barely save

their own.

A junior doctor who sleeps in their car between calls is not a sign of dedication, it is a sign

of exploitation.

A nurse who buys gloves out of her own pocket is a national disgrace.

COSATU supports SAMATU in the fight for fair remuneration, safe working hours, proper

rest, mental health support, security in our hospitals, modern equipment, and clean, safe

facilities. The doctor who heals the nation must also be protected by the nation.

8. Defend the NHI Act – Accelerate its Roll-Out

Comrades, the National Health Insurance Act is one of the most important pieces of

transformation legislation since 1994. It is the working-class answer to apartheid

healthcare. It says that whether you are a mineworker in Rustenburg or a CEO in Sandton,

you must receive the same quality of care.

The medical aid bosses, the private hospital cartels and the opposition parties have run to

court to stop the NHI. They want to keep a two-tier system — gold-plated healthcare for the

rich, and broken clinics for the poor. We say: not in our name!

COSATU will defend the NHI Act in every court, in every street, in every workplace.

We call on SAMATU to march with us, to litigate with us, to mobilise with us. Accelerate the

roll-out. Fix the public system. Build one quality healthcare system for one united nation.

9. Build Unity Amongst COSATU’s Healthcare Unions

Comrades, the bosses love a divided working class. Divided we beg. United we win.

COSATU has several unions organising in the health sector — NEHAWU, DENOSA and

SAMATU. We must end turf wars. We must end poaching. We must build a COSATU Health

Sector Coordinating Forum where doctors, nurses, allied workers, cleaners and

administrators speak with one voice. One sector. One struggle. One federation.

10. Build and Strengthen SAMATU – Recruit in the Private Sector TooComrades, SAMATU is young, but SAMATU is mighty. You have shaken Government with

your Junior Doctors Memorandum. You have put unemployed doctors on the national

agenda. Now you must grow.

Recruit every doctor in every public hospital. But do not stop there — go into the private

hospitals. The doctor in Netcare, in Mediclinic, in Life Healthcare is also a worker. They too

are exploited by long hours, by corporate targets, by billing pressures. Organise them. Bring

them into the family of SAMATU and COSATU. A union grows by recruiting, by servicing, and

by winning.

11. Stop the Brain Drain

Every year we lose hundreds of doctors and nurses to the United Kingdom, to Canada, to

Australia, to the Gulf. We train them with public money, and we export them like a raw

mineral. This must stop.

We must pay our health professionals what they are worth. We must give them decent

conditions, proper equipment and respect. A doctor who is valued at home will not pack

her bags for London. COSATU will fight side by side with SAMATU to make South Africa a

place where our healers want to stay.

12. Expand Medical Universities – Bring Healthcare to the Rural Areas and Townships

Comrades, we cannot keep producing doctors only from Wits, UCT, Stellenbosch, UKZN,

Pretoria, Free State, Walter Sisulu and Sefako Makgatho. We need more medical schools.

We need a medical school in every province. We need to open the doors of learning to the

child of the farm worker, the child of the domestic worker, the child of the unemployed.

And we need to send our doctors where they are needed most — to Lusikisiki, to Giyani, to

Taung, to Kuruman, to the deep rural areas and the forgotten townships. Healthcare must

follow the people, not the postcodes of the rich.

13. Workers’ Day 2026 – A Report Back

Comrades, on the 1st of May this year, COSATU led the working class onto the streets and

into stadiums across all nine provinces. From the Royal Bafokeng Stadium to Mthatha,

from Kimberley to Polokwane, workers came out in their numbers. The message was clear:

end austerity, create jobs, defend collective bargaining, fight corruption, implement

the NHI, protect the National Minimum Wage, and tax the rich.

It was a powerful day. But Workers’ Day is not just one day. The spirit of May Day must live

every day — in every workplace, in every hospital ward, in every picket line.

14. The Road to the COSATU National Congress in SeptemberComrades, in September this year, COSATU will hold its National Congress. It will be a

historic Congress. We need SAMATU there, fully mobilised, fully armed with ideas.

We call on SAMATU to play an active role in three key areas:

First, unite the Federation. Bring your voice, your discipline and your professionalism to

help heal divisions and strengthen COSATU as the leading voice of the working class.

Second, draft militant resolutions. On the NHI. On austerity. On unemployed doctors. On

gender-based violence in our hospitals. On the right to strike. On the public service wage

negotiations. On the fight against privatisation.

Third, take up the daily grievances of workers. Bring the voice of the junior doctor

sleeping in her car. Bring the voice of the medical officer working 36 hours straight. Bring

the voice of the unemployed graduate. Make their pain the pain of the whole Federation.

15. Conclusion

Comrades, let me close where I began. The white coat is a uniform of struggle. The

stethoscope is a tool of liberation. The doctor who fights for the patient is also fighting for

the worker, for the poor, for the future of this country.

SAMATU, you are not alone. You stand on the shoulders of every worker who has ever

fought in this country — from the 1922 strike on the Rand, to the 1973 Durban strikes, to

the formation of COSATU in 1985, to the workers who voted in 1994, to the doctors who

marched on the Union Buildings in 2026.

Elect a leadership of integrity. Elect a leadership of struggle. Elect a leadership that will

recruit, that will service, that will fight, that will lead.

Go back to your hospitals, your clinics, your wards, your communities — and organise,

organise, organise!

• An injury to one is an injury to all!

• Long live SAMATU, long live!

• Long live COSATU, long live!

• Long live the working class, long live!

• Amandla! Awethu!

I thank you.