NALSU News: Looking back on the 2025 Vuyisile Mini Workers School and Neil Aggett Labour Studies Lecture
It has been a week since the 2025 Vuyisile Mini Workers School, held in partnership with Rhodes University, NALSU, and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) South Africa, closed … yet the conversations, insights, and energy, from the programme continue to resonate deeply.
Day 4 was one of the most vibrant and energising. We began with an engaging session by Siviwe Mhlana (NALSU, SOAS: University of London), who unpacked the intersections between gender issues, justice, and energy policy.
The momentum carried through as Dinga Sikwebu (a stalwart of the labour movement), led an insightful, lively, and eye-opening discussion on electricity policy, ESKOM, and labour movement strategy.
A proud moment followed with the graduation ceremony. Participants were celebrated for their commitment, and engagement throughout the programme. This uplifting ceremony added a sense of achievement and community spirit to the day. And it showed that the Vuyisile Mini Workers School is serious about fostering critical thinking, learning, engagement and non-sectarianism.
The events of the day culminated in Dinga Sikwebu’s public Neil Aggett Labour Studies Lecture. The venue at the Graham Hotel was packed with trade unionists and people from Rhodes University, local communities, and movements. Scores joined online as well.
Dinga’s Aggett Lecture topic was “COSATU@40: Decades of Political Alignment and Entanglement.” He interrogated COSATU’s evolution from its initial position that unions should be political but independent, to the 1990s embrace of the Tripartite Alliance and engagement with state policy.
He offered a powerful, open-minded and honest reflection on the federation’s political journey, including COSATU’s efforts to shape the Alliance, the deployment of unionists, “swell the ranks,” the left axis project, and pushes for Alliance reconfiguration – and how alignment had reshaped COSATU itself.
Crucially, Dinga argued, it was important to re-evaluate the notions that unions are essentially economistic, sectional, and limited, which underlie strategies of aligning with parties. It was a thought-provoking session, with a lively Q&A, and left a lasting impact.
Friday, Day 5, provided a quieter, more reflective close to the programme. Participants revisited the themes of the week, shared insights, and engaged in activities that helped consolidate learning. It was a meaningful end to an intellectually rich, engaged and sometimes emotionally moving week.
Looking back, the 2025 Vuyisile Mini Workers School was an unforgettable experience filled with deep learning and thought-provoking conversations. The programme created space to critically engage with South Africa’s economic landscape, worker rights, union strategies, and the evolving challenges facing the labour movement.
The NALSU team extends its heartfelt gratitude to The Graham Hotel for their warm and impeccable hospitality, which contributed greatly to the comforts, and smooth running of the week.
A week later, the lessons remain, reminding us of the importance of collective dialogue, worker education, and spaces that nurture critical thinking and solidarity.
ABOUT NALSU: Based in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, the Neil Aggett Labour Studies Unit (NALSU) at Rhodes University is engaged in policy, research, and workers' education, has a democratic, non-sectarian, non-aligned, and pluralist practice, and active relations with a range of advocacy, labour, and research organisations. We draw strength from our location in a province where the legacy of apartheid and the cheap labour system, and post-apartheid contradictions, are keenly felt.
MORE: http://www.ru.ac.za/nalsu