South African Communist Party

SACP welcomes Cosatu’s engagement with the SACP on the Conference of the Left

Sunday, 17 May 2026: The South African Communist Party (SACP) has noted the communication issued by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) following its Special Central Executive Committee meeting held on 14 May 2026, including Cosatu’s reaffirmed interest in the Conference of the Left and its request for further engagement on the character, role and arrangements of the conference.

Cosatu has been part of the broader political process towards the Conference of the Left. While the initiative was originally advanced by the SACP, the conference is now being driven through a broader Steering Committee made up of social and political formations, including Cosatu and other progressive forces.

The Party welcomes Cosatu’s continued commitment to strengthening working-class unity, rebuilding progressive forces, and advancing a socialist-oriented programme against austerity, unemployment, inequality, poverty and the deepening crisis facing workers and communities.

The SACP will engage Cosatu this week to provide a full briefing on the work of the Steering Committee, the state of preparations, the political objectives of the conference, and the role of participating formations. This engagement will also allow the Party and Cosatu to clarify any outstanding organisational and political matters in a comradely manner.

The SACP remains firmly committed to ensuring that the Conference of the Left becomes a unifying platform for workers, communities, social movements, progressive organisations and left formations to develop a common programme of action.

The struggle for working-class unity and socialist transformation continues.

--
---
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY,
FOUNDED IN 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA