Confusion persists as two factions of trade union SAMWU continue to butt heads. Simon Mathe who claims to be the genuine General-Secretary of the union, says they have been meeting with COSATU leadership to ensure unity but this has been disputed by a group led by Chebeitsine Mokoto who says Mathe and his group refused to go to a mediated meeting earlier this week.

Trade union NEHAWU says the new COSATU president Zingiswa Losi, together with her new leadership should focus on economic growth and job creation as a matter of urgency. The union’s General-Secretary, Zola Saphethe, who is attending the trade union federation’s 13th congress in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, says Losi will help to unite COSATU. The union, it is understood, had nominated a second person but later withdrew the name.

The Eastern Cape Transport Department says it is awaiting treasury to confirm whether it will comply with a request for an increased budget for scholar transport in the province. It says it only received part of what they requested last year. Members of taxi association SANTACO have shut down main roads in the areas of Port Elizabeth, East London, King William’s Town and Uitenhage, demanding an increase in their subsidy. But the province’s MEC for Transport Weziwe Tikana, says their budget is constrained and she's not happy that SANTACO failed to inform the department about today’s strike.

FNB's former Chief Executive testifies before State Capture Inquiry

The Constitutional Court has ruled that the private use of cannabis is decriminalized. In a unanimous landmark judgment the court found that the private use of cannabis is a constitutional right and that it can be cultivated in a private space for private consumption. Last year the Western Cape High Court found certain sections of the Drugs Act and the Medicines Act which criminalised the use and possession of cannabis to be inconsistent with the Constitution as they prohibited the use of cannabis by an adult in a private home for personal consumption. The Constitutional Court has however not decriminalized the possession of cannabis by adult and children in public. In delivering the judgment, Justice Raymond Zondo gave Parliament 24 months to correct the constitutional defect...

COSATU speaks of a stronger united tripartite alliance

Labour union, BEMAWU is considering taking legal action against the SABC - after the public broadcaster confirmed that it will embark on a process to retrench hundreds of workers. The Communications Workers Union is also rejecting any retrenchments.

The government of Zimbabwe has declared a state of emergency in the capital Harare after 20 people died from cholera. There are fears of this outbreak infiltrating South Africa. The Limpopo Health Department is currently working contingency plans to deal this with the outbreak if it enters the country.

The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) marches to the Union Buildings and the national offices of the Education Department in Pretoria to protest over the lack of proper infrastructure such as ablution facilities and the number of schools available for learners. The organisation has called on all learners to stay away from school but the department says learners should remain in class

Learners and teachers could not control their emotions during the morning devotion session at Ramotshere High School in North-West. 24-year-old Gadimang Mokolobate, a teacher from Ramatlabama village in Mahikeng, was stabbed to death allegedly by a 17-year-old learner yesterday while he was invigilating.