SADTU supports SAMWU’s National Day of Action
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) stands in solidarity with its fellow affiliate in the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) as it embarks on its National Day of Action on Thursday, 09 July 2026.
On this day, SAMWU members will march to the office of National Treasury in Pretoria to hand over memorandum directed to the Treasury, Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and the Department of Water and Sanitation. The action seeks to defend workers’ rights, collective bargaining, and quality public services.
Across the country, solidarity pickets will be held at provincial Treasury offices and municipal offices in support of the national march.
Municipal workers remain at the forefront of local government service delivery. They are entrusted with ensuring that communities receive essential services despite increasingly difficult working conditions. However, many municipalities continue to fail workers by not honouring signed collective agreements, delaying salary payments and third-party deductions, undermining organisational rights.
The deteriorating state of local government infrastructure, coupled with corruption, outsourcing, excessive use of consultants and privatisation have contributed significantly to the collapse of service delivery and the worsening conditions of municipal workers. The result is that workers are often denied their salaries, benefits, and the necessary tools to perform their duties effectively, while communities continue to suffer from poor service delivery and unreliable access to water and other essential services.
SADTU fully supports SAMWU’s demands for, among others:
- An end to outsourcing and tenderisation.
- An end to the wasteful expenditure of billions of rand on consultants.
- Respect for collective agreement and the collective bargaining process.
- Payment of workers’ salaries and benefits on time.
- Implement agreed wage increases and stop delays in wage curve negotiations.
As a trade union committed to defending workers’ rights, SADTU joins SAMWU in calling on the National Treasury, municipalities, and water boards to fulfil their obligations to workers and communities alike.
The struggles of municipal workers are the struggles of all workers. An injury to one is an injury to all.