IHAWU

15/10/2026

IHAWU MEDIA STATEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

15 OCTOBER 2026

IHAWU CONGRATULATES THE NEWLY ELECTED COSATU NATIONAL LEADERSHIP

The Independent Health and Allied Workers Union (IHAWU) extends its warm and revolutionary congratulations to the newly elected national leadership of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).

We congratulate the newly elected President, Cde Mike Madala Shingange, together with the entire national leadership collective, and wish them strength, wisdom and courage as they assume the responsibility of leading one of South Africa’s largest trade union federations.

IHAWU recognises the important role that COSATU has played in advancing workers’ rights, defending collective bargaining and contributing to the struggle for social and economic justice in our country.

This new leadership takes office at a critical time when workers continue to face unemployment, rising living costs, deteriorating working conditions, job insecurity and growing threats to their hard-won labour rights.

As a union representing healthcare and social development workers, we remain particularly concerned about the challenges facing frontline workers, including staff shortages, workplace violence, poor working conditions and the continued erosion of dignity in the workplace.

We believe that the strength of the labour movement lies not in our different union affiliations, but in our shared commitment to defending the working class. The challenges confronting workers demand unity of purpose, principled leadership and collective action across the broader trade union movement.

We therefore encourage the newly elected COSATU leadership to prioritise rebuilding workers’ confidence in organised labour, strengthening solidarity and ensuring that the voices of ordinary workers remain at the centre of every decision.

IHAWU looks forward to a labour movement that rises above organisational differences and places the interests, dignity and livelihoods of workers first.

Once again, congratulations to the newly elected leadership. May your term of office be defined by courage, accountability, unity and meaningful victories for the working class.

An injury to one remains an injury to all!

Workers’ unity is our greatest strength!

ISSUED BY IHAWU
Independent Health and Allied Workers Union
Shield of Life Savers

Contact:
Lerato Mthunzi | Rich Sicina
065 823 0082 | 060 682 1672

127 Fox Street | Marlborough House
Marshalltown | Johannesburg

[email protected]
www.ihawu.org.za

14/10/2026

IHAWU | MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH 2026

MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS. YOUR MIND DESERVES CARE.

October is Mental Health Awareness Month in South Africa, with World Mental Health Day observed on 10 October.

Mental health is an essential part of our overall health. Yet too many people continue to suffer in silence because of stigma, discrimination, fear of judgement and limited access to professional support.

Mental health challenges can affect anyone, regardless of age, profession, gender or social standing. Persistent sadness, anxiety, emotional exhaustion, withdrawal, changes in sleeping patterns and difficulty coping with daily responsibilities may indicate that someone needs support.

As IHAWU, we are particularly concerned about the mental wellbeing of healthcare and social development workers. These workers are expected to care for others, often while carrying the emotional burden of trauma, staff shortages, demanding workloads, workplace bullying and difficult working conditions.

We cannot continue expecting healthcare workers to provide compassionate care while neglecting their own psychological wellbeing.

Employers must create psychologically safer workplaces, address bullying and harassment, provide confidential support services and ensure that workers can seek mental healthcare without fear of discrimination.

To the communities we serve, seeking professional help is not a weakness. Mental health conditions are real health concerns, and treatment, counselling and appropriate support can make a meaningful difference.

Let us build a society where mental health conversations are normal, where people are heard without judgement and where no one is made to feel ashamed for asking for help.

Healthy minds. Supported healthcare workers. Stronger communities.

Independent Health and Allied Workers Union (IHAWU)

Protecting Healthcare Workers. Defending Dignity. Delivering Justice.

02/10/2026

MEDIA STATEMENT

02 OCTOBER 2026

IHAWU CELEBRATES PRIDE MONTH AND CALLS FOR LGBTQI+ FRIENDLY HEALTH AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICES 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

The Independent Health and Allied Workers Union (IHAWU) joins the LGBTQI+ community in celebrating Pride Month and recognises all healthcare and social development workers who are part of the LGBTQI+ family.

Pride Month reminds us that every worker deserves a workplace where they feel safe, respected and valued, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Discrimination, bullying and harassment have no place in our workplaces.

As healthcare and social development workers, this responsibility also extends to the people we serve. Every patient and service user from the LGBTQI+ community deserves to access healthcare and social services with dignity, privacy, compassion and respect.

No person should be afraid to seek healthcare because they fear being judged, humiliated, discriminated against or treated differently because of who they are or whom they love.

IHAWU calls for LGBTQI+ friendly services across our hospitals, clinics, social development facilities and community services. This means creating safe and welcoming spaces, protecting confidentiality, listening without judgement, respecting people’s identities and providing equitable, professional and compassionate care.

We also recognise and appreciate healthcare and social development workers who continue to treat their LGBTQI+ colleagues, patients and communities with love, kindness, professionalism and respect.

This Pride Month, let us continue building workplaces and public services where everyone can walk through the door knowing that their dignity will be protected.

Different People. Same Purpose. Healthcare for All. Dignity for All.

IHAWU – Shield of Life Savers

Released by IHAWU – Independent Health and Allied Workers Union

Contact:
Lerato Mthunzi | Rich Sicina
0658230082 | 0606821672
127 Fox Str | Marlborough House | Marshalltown | Jhb
[email protected]
www.ihawu.org.za

24/09/2026

18/09/2026

MEDIA STATEMENT

18 SEPTEMBER 2026

IHAWU: WOMEN HAVE THE RIGHT TO COME HOME ALIVE

The Independent Health and Allied Workers Union (IHAWU) is deeply disturbed by the continued discovery of the bodies of women across Ekurhuleni. With every new report of a woman killed or found dead, fear grows amongst women, families and communities.

We extend our deepest condolences to every family that has lost a daughter, mother, sister, colleague or friend.

While SAPS must be allowed to investigate the circumstances surrounding these deaths and establish whether any of the cases are connected, we cannot wait for another woman to die before confronting the bigger reality before us. Women are being killed, and women are afraid.

For IHAWU, this crisis hits particularly close to home. The healthcare workforce is predominantly made up of women. Every day, nurses and other healthcare and social development workers leave their homes before sunrise, return late at night and work shifts at hours when public transport is limited, streets are quiet and their personal safety becomes a serious concern.

A nurse finishing a night shift may travel home while it is still dark. Another starting a night shift leaves home when many people are safely returning to theirs. Many healthcare workers walk to transport points, wait for taxis in the early hours and travel alone because healthcare does not operate from nine to five.

These are the same women who receive victims of violence in our emergency departments. They care for survivors of sexual assault, comfort traumatised families and deal daily with the devastating consequences of violence in our hospitals, clinics, mortuaries and social services.

But who keeps them safe on their way to save the lives of others?

Women cannot continue organising their lives around the possibility of being attacked. We cannot keep telling women not to walk alone, not to travel at certain times, not to exercise alone or not to use certain routes. The responsibility for violence cannot continuously be placed on women.

IHAWU calls for stronger visible policing in identified hotspots, functioning streetlights and CCTV infrastructure, greater cooperation between SAPS, municipalities and communities, and particular attention to transport routes and areas used by healthcare workers and other shift workers during early mornings and late nights.

We also appeal to members of the public to come forward with any information that may assist SAPS. Something that appeared insignificant at the time may be the information investigators need to give a grieving family answers.

We cannot become a country where another murdered woman becomes another statistic and eventually another forgotten headline.

Behind every body is a name. A life. A family waiting for her to come home.

Women have the right to work and travel safely. Women have the right to occupy public spaces without fear. Women have the right to come home alive.

IHAWU stands against Gender Based Violence and Femicide and will continue speaking for the safety of women, including the healthcare and social development workers who spend their lives caring for our communities.

IHAWU – Shield of Life Savers

END

Issued by:
Independent Health and Allied Workers Union (IHAWU)

Media Enquiries:
Lerato Mthunzi | Rich Sicina
065 823 0082 | 060 682 1672
127 Fox Street | Marlborough House | Marshalltown | Johannesburg
[email protected]
www.ihawu.org.za