‘Collective bargaining changes lives for South African workers’ 19 March 2026

More than 400 delegates representing workers across 21 sectors gathered in Cape Town from 7 to 9 March for the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) national bargaining conference, leaving with a mandate to fight for living wages and a declaration naming sweatshop conditions in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal a national crisis. “We are workers by day, family members at home and community members by night,” one delegate told the conference. The remark underscored the many roles workers juggle and why collective bargaining matters beyond the factory floor. SACTWU, an IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, held the event from 7 to 9 March under the theme: unity, jobs, growth and service to members. The union has more than 100,000 members across sectors including clothing, footwear, tanning, laundry, farming and agro-processing and was formed in 1989.

… Delegates condemned appalling conditions in sweatshops in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal. A joint inspection blitz led by the Department of Employment and Labour, overseen by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour, uncovered widespread labour and immigration violations in the Amajuba district on 5 February 2026. The operation exposed extreme exploitation, unsafe workplaces and slave-like practices in factories supplying major South African retailers including Mr Price, Pick’n Pay, Ackermans, Pepkor and JET, all violating labour laws and safety standards. Most workers in the factories are undocumented, SACTWU general secretary Bonita Loubser confirmed. The union is taking legal action through the courts and bargaining councils to enforce compliance with national labour laws.

.. Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) president Zingiswa Losi addressed delegates, telling them: “Trade unions organize workers, defend rights and transform society.” With many young shop stewards attending for the first time, Losi emphasized that recruiting young workers is a way to secure union power. SACTWU is affiliated to COSATU. On job protection, the conference stressed the need for campaigns to secure decent jobs under the African Continental Free Trade Area and other trade agreements. Delegates also called for implementation of the Retail-Clothing Footwear Textile Leather masterplan and stronger safeguards against cheap imports.