SAFTU

12/01/2026

SAFTU stands ready to defend itself in court and reiterates its invitation to Mafuko Security to act on its threats and take us to court.

We stand by our statement without reservation: Mafuko Security is among the worst employers in the private security sector. This is not conjecture or political rhetoric. Workers have provided documentary proof to us and have given on-record testimony on national television confirming the abuses we exposed. Watch the interview.

One of the gravest violations is the deduction of monies from workers’ wages for provident fund contributions, UIF, and related statutory benefits, without those monies being passed on to the relevant funds and authorities.
This is wage theft. It strips workers of social protection and retirement security and constitutes unlawful conduct.

SAFTU therefore reiterates its demand:
•Mafuko Security must immediately comply with all labour laws and produce verifiable proof that all deducted monies have been paid over, or
•Government departments and public institutions must cancel Mafuko Security’s contracts without delay if it does not comply.

The state cannot outsource security to companies that exploit workers and violate the law. International airports are National Key Points, and any department that continues contracting exploitative private security firms at such strategic sites becomes complicit in undermining national security and workers’ rights.

SAFTU further reaffirms its call for the full insourcing of security services at all National Key Points, including international airports, ports of entry, power stations, water infrastructure, and key government facilities.

We go further:
•Security workers currently deployed at international airports and other National Key Points must be trained, professionally developed, and absorbed into the South African Police Service,
•Subject to proper vetting, accredited training, and decent conditions of service.

Security at National Key Points is a core state responsibility, not a profit-making opportunity for labour brokers. Insourcing into SAPS will end exploitation, strengthen accountability, improve public safety, and restore dignity to workers already performing critical national functions.

We speak from workers’ lived experiences, evidence, and public testimony.
If Mafuko Security believes the truth is defamatory, the courts are open.

We are ready. The workers are ready.

An injury to one is an injury to all!

12/01/2026

South Africa did the right thing by taking Israel to the International Court of Justice.
It was a brave, principled and necessary step to defend international law, protect civilian life, and affirm that no state is above the law.

Yes—there is a predictable right-wing backlash, at home and globally. But that backlash only confirms how important this action is. South Africa stood on the side of the UN Charter, the Genocide Convention, and the long tradition of anti-colonial and anti-apartheid internationalism.

🎧 Listen now to Richard Pithouse as he carefully unpacks why this move matters, why it is legally grounded, and why it is morally unavoidable—even two years on.

This is what principled foreign policy looks like:
Humanity before power. Law before impunity. Justice before silence.

11/01/2026

Find time to watch this debate on how Mafuko Security is treating workers! Terrible!

11/01/2026

Watch Zwelinzima Vavi, Frederick Mabasa - NUMSA Cluster Coordinator, Busiswe Tsibiyana a worker not paid by Mafoko security for 5 years and Mduduzi Msweli also a victim of Masuko live on Newzafrica now

11/01/2026

Gwede Mantashe, a government official, believes that the people are unemployed simply because they are lazy and always expect the government to find jobs for them. ‘I have never had the government looking for a job for me …. Today people expect government to give them jobs, they don’t look for jobs’ - Gwede Mantashe, former ANC Secretary General and Minister of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.

We need to hold him accountable and demand that he make a public apology.

Add your name to the open letter here: https://awethu.amandla.mobi/petitions/youth-demand-accountability-on-job-creation-and-minister-gwede-mantashe-s-statement.

09/01/2026

06/01/2026

06/01/2026

📘 SAFTU POLITICAL EDUCATION PAMPHLET (SHORT VERSION)

DID SOCIALIST STATES DELIVER PROSPERITY?

A worker-centred inquiry (last 3–5 decades)

PAGE 1

🔹 WHAT DO WE MEAN BY “PROSPERITY”?

In this pamphlet, prosperity does NOT mean:
• billionaires
• stock markets
• luxury consumption

Prosperity means:
✔ universal or near-universal healthcare
✔ free or affordable education and skills
✔ low unemployment or guaranteed work
✔ decent, accessible housing for the majority

1. Cuba

What workers gained
• Universal, free healthcare
• One of the highest doctor-to-population ratios globally
• Infant mortality lower than many rich capitalist countries
• Free education from primary to postgraduate
• No mass homelessness; housing is a social right

Limits (honest)
• Low wages
• Scarcity of goods
• Severe impact of the US blockade

Lesson:
Even under siege, a socialist state can deliver human security.

2. Vietnam
What workers gained
• Universal, free healthcare
• One of the highest doctor-to-population ratios globally
• Infant mortality lower than many rich capitalist countries
• Free education from primary to postgraduate
• No mass homelessness; housing is a social right

Limits (honest)
• Low wages
• Scarcity of goods
• Severe impact of the US blockade

Lesson:
Even under siege, a socialist state can deliver human security.

3. Laos

What workers gained
• Expanding public healthcare
• Universal primary education
• Very low open unemployment
• Employment through agriculture, public works, and state projects
• Housing largely accessible through community and state systems

Limits
• Low industrial base
• Lower incomes

Lesson:
Even a poor socialist country can guarantee work, housing, and social stability.

06/01/2026

WHAT IS IMPERIALISM, COLONIALISM AND OLIGARCHY?

SAFTU Educational Pamphlet – produced

1. What Is Imperialism?

Imperialism is a system where powerful countries dominate weaker countries so they can:
• Take control of natural resources (oil, minerals, land)
• Exploit cheap labour
• Control markets and trade
• Protect the wealth of big corporations and billionaires
Today, imperialism does not always look like old-style colonial rule. It works through:
• Multinational corporations
• Military bases and wars
• Economic sanctions
• Debt and unfair trade rules
What Marxists Mean by Imperialism
Karl Marx explained that capitalism is driven by profit. As it develops:
• Wealth becomes concentrated in a few hands
• Big companies destroy smaller ones
• Markets become saturated
Later Marxists explained that:
Imperialism is the highest and final stage of capitalism
At this stage:
• Big monopolies dominate the economy
• Banks and corporations control states
• Capital must expand beyond borders to survive
• War, instability and exploitation increase
👉 Imperialism is capitalism pushed to its extreme.

2. What Is Colonialism?
Colonialism is when one people invade, occupy and rule another people’s land by force.
Colonialism meant:
• Land was stolen
• People were forced into labour
• Local economies were destroyed
• Cultures and languages were suppressed
• Racism was used to justify violence
Colonialism Happened Across the World
Colonialism was not limited to Africa. Indigenous peoples were attacked and nearly wiped out in many parts of the world:
• Africa: all African peoples were conquered and dispossessed
• Australia: Aboriginal people faced genocide and land theft
• New Zealand: Māori land was seized through colonial wars
• The Americas: Indigenous nations were almost exterminated
• Asia: countries like India, Indonesia and Vietnam were colonised
👉 Colonialism was not civilisation — it was theft, violence and destruction.

3. Colonialism in Africa Was Imposed Through War

It is important to be clear:
Colonialism in Africa did not only affect the Khoi and San who were nearly exterminated.
All African peoples were colonised through violent conquest.
Across Southern Africa and the continent:
• African kingdoms and communities resisted
• Countless battles were fought to defend land and independence
• Colonial borders were drawn through war and bloodshed
Examples include:
• Xhosa Wars of Resistance
• Anglo-Zulu War (including Isandlwana)
• Basotho resistance under King Moshoeshoe
• Maji-Maji uprising (Tanzania)
• Herero and Nama resistance (Namibia – genocide)
👉 This history explains land dispossession, migrant labour and racial inequality today.

4. Colonialism and Imperialism Today (Neo-Colonialism)

Even after independence, many countries are not truly free.
Old Colonialism
Today’s Imperialism
Direct foreign rule
Indirect control
Settler armies
Corporations, debt, sanctions
Colonial governors
Local elites serving foreign interests
Open racism
“Markets” and “investors”
👉 Political freedom without economic control is neo-colonialism.

5. What Is an Oligarchy?

An oligarchy is a system where a small group of extremely wealthy people — billionaires — control the economy and the state.
In an oligarchy:
• Elections exist, but real power lies with the rich
• Laws protect wealth, not workers
• Public services are privatised
• Workers pay for economic crises
Today, imperialism is driven mainly by billionaire interests, not ordinary people.

6. Oligarchy in Practice: Trump and Putin

Donald Trump

Donald Trump does not act in the interests of ordinary Americans.
He advances the narrow interests of billionaires:
• Tax cuts mainly benefited the richest
• Billionaires were placed in charge of the state
• Labour and environmental protections were weakened
• Foreign policy served oil, arms and corporate profits
👉 “America First” is a slogan.
In reality, it means “Billionaires First.”
Vladimir Putin
In Russia, wealth and power are also concentrated among oligarchs close to the state, while workers’ rights and unions are suppressed.
👉 Different countries — same system of elite rule.

7. Imperialist Wars, Coups and Regime Change

Imperialism is enforced through violence:
• Wars: Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Vietnam
• Coups: Iran (1953), Chile (1973), Congo (Lumumba)
• Regime-change operations: Venezuela, Haiti, Syria
These actions are not about democracy.
They are about resources, markets and profits.

8. Why SAFTU Is Internationalis
Capital operates across borders.
Workers must also unite across borders.
SAFTU believes:
• Workers everywhere face the same system
• Borders divide workers, not capital
• Solidarity is our strongest weapon

9. Why SAFTU Is Pan-Africanist

Africa is rich, but Africans remain poor because:
• Resources are exported raw
• Industry is destroyed
• Profits leave the continent
• Local elites serve foreign interests
Pan-Africanism means:
• Unity of African workers
• Industrial development
• Control over our resources
• Development that serves the people

10. Why SAFTU Is Socialist

Capitalism has produced:
• Mass unemployment
• Extreme inequality
• Environmental destruction
• Endless wars
Socialism means:
• Public ownership of key industries
• Democratic worker control
• Production for human needs, not profit
• Dignity, equality and justice

CONCLUSION
Imperialism, colonialism and oligarchy are connected systems of exploitation.
That is why South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) is:
• Internationalist
• Pan-Africanist
• Socialist
People before profits.
Workers before billionaires.
Solidarity against exploitation.