SACCAWU is proud to announce a partnership with African Bank aimed at providing union members with access to convenient and secure joint account services. This collaboration is designed to promote financial inclusion, responsible banking, and member empowerment. Through this initiative, members can benefit from joint savings opportunities, improved access to financial products, and enhanced support for union-aligned financial wellbeing.
As part of our 50th Anniversary celebrations, SACCAWU hosted a Golf Day and Gala Dinner to honour five decades of dedicated service to workers across South Africa. The event brought together comrades, partners, and supporters to reflect on SACCAWU’s remarkable journey since its founding in 1975. Beyond the celebration, the Gala Dinner served as a fundraising initiative to support ongoing programmes that empower workers and sustain the union’s legacy of solidarity and transformation.
On 7 October, SACCAWU joined millions of workers across the globe in commemorating the International Day for Decent Work. This day underscores the continuous struggle for fair wages, secure employment, equality, and respect in the workplace. Our members took to the streets, raising their voices for improved working conditions and social justice, reflecting SACCAWU’s unwavering commitment to defending workers’ rights and dignity.
For fifty years SACCAWU has been at the forefront of organising and fighting for workers in the Retail, Wholesale, Hospitality, Catering and the Financial Services sectors. We remain the largest, most representative, influential and significant union representing workers in these sectors.
Over these decades SACCAWU has won significant protection and improvement for workers, substantial improvements in wages and benefits and greater job security for workers, as well as safe transport. SACCAWU has been a pioneer amongst unions in the country to place issues and challenges faced by women in the workplace squarely on the agenda. It was under the banner of SACCAWU that the first substantial Maternity and Paternity Rights for workers were won and now lead the campaign for childcare, for children of workers.
However, over the last few years, we have experienced the growing economic downturn, financial crisis, and Covid Pandemic. With these we have witnessed the growth of casualization, the use of labour brokers, extended trading hours, and low wages.
The entry of Walmart and the general Walmartisation of the sector as employers have been on the offensive. Bosses are trying by all means to erode the Union power. This they do by reversing the hard-fought gains made by workers through bitter struggles and enormous sacrifices over many years. They are reducing workers to cheap and extremely exploited labour; as was the case in the dark days of Apartheid.
Today, employers continuously try to aggressively undermine Unions at all levels. And, unless we rebuild our Union, recruit new members, strengthen shopfloor structures, build unity within and between different workplaces and companies, the bosses will get what they always wanted: A cheap, unorganised, disunited and ready-for-super exploitation workers.
SACCAWU has achieved much for workers over the years; the improvement of average minimum wages; full parental rights, including paid maternity and paternity leave; negotiated social benefits, including SACCAWU National Provident Fund, medical aid, funeral scheme and other benefits.
While we have achieved a lot, much more is possible and necessary to stem the tide of bosses’ attacks on workers. We will never win at the boardroom table what we cannot win in the streets. We can win nothing on the streets unless we strongly organise!
Tel: (011) 403 9333
Email: mpho@saccawu.org.za
HEAD OFFICE
BL Premium reports that consumer inflation accelerated slightly to an annual rate of 3% in December from 2.9% a month earlier, reinforcing expectations of a 25 basis point interest rate cut at the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting next week. Month-on-month inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) accelerated by 0.1%, reflecting mild upward pressure in the final month of the year. The numbers were better than expected as economists had forecast an increase of between 3.1% and 3.2% year-on-year and a monthly rise of 0.2% to 0.3%. Wednesday’s data from Stats SA highlighted persistent pressures from housing and food costs, though the overall rate is at the bottom of the Bank’s 3%-6% target range. Annual inflation for food and nonalcoholic beverages stood at 2.5%, while the annual inflation rate for housing and utilities was 4.4% reflecting the upward trend in rentals and utility services. Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop commented. “With CPI well below the midpoint of the inflation target of 4.5% year-on-year, and likely to remain so for the rest of this year and most of the first half of next year, the MPC is still expected to trim interest rates this month, by 25 basis points.”
Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jana Marx at BusinessLive (subscriber access only<). Read too, SA inflation rate remains favourable despite fuel price hikes, at The Citizen
BL Premium reports that SA’s labour federations admit they have failed workers by not uniting to confront the socioeconomic challenges that have relegated many members into unemployment queues and abject poverty. Speaking at Nedlac’s annual labour school in Pretoria this week, deputy president Paul Mashatile noted that the meeting was taking place as the world faced multiple crises “characterised by inequality, high levels of unemployment, climate change, wars, migration, urbanisation, and the growing youth dividend”. The event, attended by leaders of labour federations Cosatu, Fedusa, Nactu and Saftu, was effectively a planning session for the year ahead. Mashatile urged organised labour to provide innovative solutions on how best to strengthen the economy, build social cohesion and improve governance systems, placing the needs of workers at the forefront. However, Nactu president Pat Mphela, said workers had “lost hope in organised labour” while the federation believed “we have failed the workers and communities”, a situation that needed to be urgently addressed. Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi said Nedlac partners needed to develop a comprehensive plan to address the socioeconomic challenges that “our members and communities face. We need to come with concrete actions and not simply to lament”. Fedusa general secretary Riefdah Ajam pointed out that government policy on state-owned enterprises was increasingly leaning towards privatisation, “framed as a solution to inefficiency and financial mismanagement”. He added: “History has shown that privatisation leads to job losses, reduced public access to essential services, and deteriorating working conditions.”
Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
