The SA Clothing & Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) welcomes the reconvening of COSATU’s 15th National Congress, taking place from 12 to 14 October at Emperors Palace in Ekurhuleni. 

We also welcome the ruling by the Johannesburg High Court yesterday that smooths the path for the Congress to be reconvened. It confirmed the supremacy of the COSATU constitution.

Our priority is to advance the mandate of workers more generally and our members specifically and complete the substantive business of Congress. This reconvened Congress must strengthen unity and deliver outcomes that respond to the challenges facing workers, the poor and the working class.

These challenges include unemployment, inequality, poverty, retrenchments, the rising cost of living, and gender-based violence, harassment and femicide. They can only be defeated by a strong, united federation that places workers’ interests at the centre of its programme and translates Congress resolutions into action. 

SACTWU looks forward to working with our sister unions, both private and public, in a spirit of unity, cohesion and solidarity. Our collective responsibility is to build a stronger COSATU, grow the federation, strengthen collective bargaining and build workers’ power across our sectors.

We understand that unity must be more than a word, more than a declaration. Unity is a skill that we must work on and that must find expression in joint campaigns, effective organisation and solidarity that secure real gains for workers and the working class, in South Africa and internationally. 

We approach the reconvened Congress committed to this shared task.

Forward with the workers’ struggle!

Issued by:

Bonita Loubser, SACTWU General Secretary