Deputy President Paul Mashatile: Eigth National Congress of Federation of Unions of South Africa
Programme Director,
President of FEDUSA, Mr Godfrey Selematsela,
General Secretary of FEDUSA, Ms Riefdah Ajam,
Members of the National Executive Committee,
Leaders of affiliated unions,
Representatives of organised labour, business and government,
International guests,
Delegates,
Comrades and friends,
Allow me to convey the greetings of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who had intended to join this important occasion. Unfortunately, due to prior commitments, he was unable to attend and delegated me to represent him.
At the outset, let me wish the Federation of Unions of South Africa a successful 8th National Congress.
Since its founding, FEDUSA has grown significantly, with its affiliated unions representing workers across the economy, including education, health, finance, manufacturing, transport and public administration.
This year marks thirty years since our democratic Constitution was signed into law, ushering in a new era of dignity and justice for South Africa’s workers.
It marked a fundamental break with one of apartheid’s most insidious features: the industrial colour bar.
In his statement from the dock at the Rivonia Trial in 1964, President Nelson Mandela described how the colour bar reserved the better jobs in industry for whites, while Africans were confined to semi-skilled and unskilled work.
They were denied the right to form recognised trade unions or to strike.
“The complaint of Africans,” he said, “is not only that they are poor and the whites are rich, but that the laws which are made by the whites are designed to preserve this situation.”
Our Constitution now guarantees the right to fair labour practices, to form and join trade unions, to collective bargaining and to strike.
These are the very rights denied to workers when President Mandela spoke at Rivonia.
These protections are among our democracy’s greatest achievements.
While we celebrate the progress made in overcoming the injustices of apartheid and building a democratic society, a journey throughout which FEDUSA has steadfastly defended and advanced workers' rights for nearly three decades, we must also recognise that South Africa and the world face a new generation of challenges.
Geopolitical tensions, armed conflicts and changing trade policies are disrupting established economic relationships, affecting our export markets, investment and industrial competitiveness.
The International Labour Organisation, which for more than a century has championed freedom of association and collective bargaining, faces one of the most serious financial crises in its recent history.
Artificial intelligence, automation and digital platforms can raise productivity, but they can also displace workers.
The rise of artificial intelligence presents organised labour with a historic challenge and opportunity. Those who anticipate change and prepare workers with the skills, protections and voice needed in the digital economy will help shape the future.
Those who fail to do so risk allowing technological change to deepen inequality and exclusion. It is therefore imperative that trade unions position themselves at the forefront of this transition, championing policies that place people at the centre of technological advancement.
Subsequently, trade unions must prepare to bargain over workplace data, technological restructuring and access to upskilling and reskilling.
They must be able to represent workers in informal, digital and other insecure forms of employment.
The theme of this Congress, “Reclaiming and Organising the Future: Workers’ Dignity, Power, and Justice through Conscious Unionism in an Age of Crisis”, speaks directly to these circumstances.
It challenges us to ask whether the institutions established to advance workers’ interests are fulfilling their purpose.
Despite our progressive labour laws, the labour market still reflects inequalities of race, gender and disability, particularly at senior management levels.
Legislation alone will not achieve transformation.
Employers must address unequal recruitment, pay disparities and inadequate skills development.
Trade unions must actively monitor whether employment equity plans deliver results.
Transformation must be reflected in the structure of our economy, not merely in formal compliance.
We must acknowledge that relations between government and social partners are at times under strain.
We must acknowledge legitimate frustrations about the pace of reform, inadequate consultation and agreements that aren’t implemented.
We do not serve our country by pretending these frustrations do not exist.
Our most urgent national task is to achieve stronger growth and create jobs on a scale that substantially reduces poverty and inequality.
The economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the second quarter of 2026, with mining, manufacturing and trade under considerable pressure.
Some 8.5 million South Africans are unemployed.
The official unemployment rate has risen to 33.6 percent.
These figures represent people unable to provide for their families, graduates unable to enter the labour market, and communities where opportunity is limited.
When a factory closes, suppliers lose business, local enterprises lose customers and entire communities decline.
We cannot treat retrenchments as an unavoidable consequence of restructuring.
Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act requires meaningful consultation before dismissals for operational requirements.
Employers must engage in good faith, while trade unions should consider credible alternatives such as retraining and redeployment.
We need to ensure that instruments like Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (TERS) work with greater speed and transparency.
It must swiftly provide short-term financial assistance to workers and distressed companies to prevent retrenchments and avoid total loss of income.
Government, employers and unions must engage before retrenchment notices are issued.
Employment preservation must become a more deliberate part of our industrial policy.
We are focusing on increasing the quantity and improving the quality of opportunities created through government’s Labour Activation Programme.
We are expanding apprenticeships, artisan development and workplace learning.
Inclusive growth and job creation is the apex priority of the Government of National Unity. We are pursuing reforms to strengthen electricity supply, improve freight logistics and expand infrastructure investment.
We have made important progress in stabilising electricity generation. But electricity has become increasingly expensive, weakening energy-intensive industries such as steel, ferroalloys and chemicals, and straining household incomes.
We cannot build our industry without addressing electricity affordability.
Government is therefore reviewing electricity pricing policy to balance the needs of vulnerable households, the sustainability of supply and industrial competitiveness.
We are also tackling poor maintenance, theft and weak revenue management in municipal distribution so that responsible consumers do not bear the burden of avoidable losses.
The cost of living remains a serious concern.
The National Minimum Wage is both a great achievement of labour and an important protection, but it cannot resolve every pressure facing working families.
We need affordable public services, effective social protection and sustained improvements in real incomes.
The Unemployment Insurance Fund exists to protect workers during some of the most difficult periods of their lives.
Funded by workers and employers, it must be managed to the highest standards of integrity.
We are therefore troubled by recurring allegations of corruption and irregular procurement at the Fund, and by the delays workers face in accessing benefits to which they are entitled.
A worker who has lost their job should not have to struggle for months to obtain assistance.
In June, President Ramaphosa authorised the Special Investigating Unit to investigate alleged wrongdoing at the UIF.
Where wrongdoing is established, those responsible will face the consequences.
Restoring confidence in the Fund is a matter of utmost urgency, and organised labour and business must participate meaningfully in improving its governance.
The problems at the UIF point to a broader question about how our institutions of social dialogue function. South Africa has a distinguished history of negotiation between government, labour and business.
Yet confidence in social dialogue has weakened.
Unions are frustrated by agreements left unimplemented, government by negotiations that drag on without outcomes, and business by policy uncertainty.
NEDLAC must remain a forum for serious engagement, but it must also become more effective in producing practical outcomes.
Social dialogue requires each partner to exercise their responsibilities with an understanding of the interests of others. We will not always agree, but we must be able to disagree without destroying the institutions that enable us to work together.
Workers depend on functioning water systems, electricity, public transport and municipalities.
Restoring effective local government is therefore also an economic priority.
I acknowledge the public servants who continue to provide essential services under difficult circumstances. They deserve fair treatment and competent leadership.
Labour migration also requires responsible engagement.
We are committed to managing lawful migration, protecting the integrity of our labour market and ensuring that employers comply with the law, while respecting the constitutional rights of all who live and work here.
The Employment Services Amendment Bill now before Parliament seeks to strengthen public employment services, regulate private employment agencies and provide clearer rules on the employment of foreign nationals.
I encourage FEDUSA to participate in the parliamentary process.
The theme of this Congress challenges all of us.
For government, it requires competent administration and accountability. For business, it requires responsible investment and fair employment practices. For organised labour, conscious unionism requires democratic leadership, accountability to members and ethical conduct.
Government must show through its actions that it takes organised labour’s concerns seriously. We must create opportunities for young people, protect existing jobs, make electricity more affordable, expand industrial production and ensure that the transition to a sustainable economy is fair.
Our democratic settlement was built on the conviction that negotiation could resolve differences. We must renew that conviction through our actions.
I wish you constructive deliberations and a successful 8th National Congress.
I thank you.
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