NUMSA strike forces First Battery to review retrenchments6 August, 2026A 17-day strike at a battery plant in East London, South Africa, ended with an improved settlement. The agreement also provides for a review of the selection criteria and a joint indaba on the company's future.
Union opposes De Beers plans to retrench 1,214 workers17 July, 2026The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is demanding De Beers exhaust alternatives before retrenching 1,214 workers at Venetia mine, which the company plans to close for two years.
South Africa: First Battery workers strike over retrenchments9 July, 2026Workers at First Battery downed tools on 6 July, after the company moved ahead with retrenchments of 165 workers despite union objections. First Battery is a South African automotive lead-acid battery manufacturer owned by the JSE-listed Metair Group.
South African autoworkers strike over wages at BAIC plant25 June, 2026Workers at Beijing Automotive International Company (BAIC)'s assembly plant outside Gqeberha Port Elizabeth, South Africa, are on strike after the company cut hourly wages by more than half following a two-month shutdown, in breach of national industry agreements. Members of IndustriALL affiliate, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) have been off the job for more than ten days.
Give workers a vision and they will help with solutions13 May, 2026In communities where workers are calculating whether their wages will cover transport costs and food prices, abstract climate narratives fall flat. What workers respond to is a concrete vision of something better, not a warning about calamity.
Class action lawsuit for South African coal miners22 April, 2026A landmark class action lawsuit seeks redress for tens of thousands of former coal miners and community members whose lives have been affected by exposure to coal dust and polluted environments in South Africa’s coal mines. The case, filed in the Gauteng High Court, targets South32, BHP Billiton PLC, and Seriti Power.
Unions fight for Ekapa workers as mud rush mine faces liquidation22 April, 2026The Kimberley diamond mine where five miners died in a mud rush in February is now facing liquidation. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa is challenging the process in court, arguing that workers who have already lost colleagues, and in many cases their wages, must not be abandoned.
Unions fight to save 2,400 jobs in South Africa’s ferrochrome sector9 April, 2026More than 2,400 workers in South Africa's ferrochrome sector face retrenchment after Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture and Samancor Chrome pressed ahead with Section 189 notices, despite a union-brokered electricity tariff deal. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), affiliates of IndustriALL Global Union, are demanding the notices be withdrawn immediately.
Unions voice concerns over Anglo American restructuring19 March, 2026IndustriALL Global Union affiliates from Australia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe stressed on protecting workers’ rights and benefits at the annual global dialogue meeting in Johannesburg on 12-13 March.
Collective bargaining changes lives for South African workers19 March, 2026More 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.
