When the guardians of workers become the problem

By Tahir Maepa: Secretary General of the Public Service and Commercial Union of South Africa (PSCU) and founder of Resistance Against Impunity Movement (RAIM) NPC, writing in his official capacity.

South Africa marks Workers’ Day a day forged in blood, sacrifice, and the unbreakable resolve of the working class. But in 2026, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: the greatest threat to workers is no longer only exploitation by employers or failure by the state it is the decay within trade unions themselves.

For generations, workers have paid subscriptions in good faith. Month after month, hard-earned wages are deducted with the understanding that unions will defend jobs, improve conditions, and safeguard dignity. Yet across the labour movement, a disturbing pattern has emerged allegations of embezzlement, financial mismanagement, and self-enrichment by those entrusted to lead.

This is not a marginal issue. It is a crisis of legitimacy.

When union funds meant for legal battles, strike support, or member benefits are siphoned off or misused, the betrayal cuts deeper than any employer’s action. When leaders live comfortably while members face unemployment, debt, and declining real wages, the moral authority of unionism collapses. Workers are no longer represented they are exploited twice: once at work, and again by those claiming to defend them.

The result is a growing trust deficit. Workers are asking a dangerous question: Who is actually on our side?

This erosion of trust is not new. Warnings have surfaced for years from internal disputes to public allegations, from member complaints to investigations involving millions of rands. Yet accountability has been slow, inconsistent, or absent. In many cases, consequences do not match the scale of the betrayal.

And where oversight fails, impunity thrives.

At the centre of this failure lies a structural weakness: the limited independence and capacity of the Registrar of Labour Relations. While the law speaks of independence, the reality is that the office remains financially and administratively tied to the Department of Employment and Labour. This creates a vulnerability real or perceived to political pressure and institutional hesitation.

South Africa already knows what meaningful independence looks like. Chapter 9 institutions, such as the Public Protector, exist precisely because democracy requires watchdogs that are insulated from executive influence. Workers deserve nothing less.

The principles affirmed in cases such as PSA v Minister of Labour reinforce a broader constitutional truth: institutions exercising public power must act lawfully, independently, and in the interests of those they serve. Workers among the most economically vulnerable require oversight bodies that are fearless, properly resourced, and empowered to act decisively.

If unions are to survive and reclaim their purpose, reform is not optional it is urgent. An independent Registrar, with secure funding and stronger investigative powers, would be a critical step. So too would mandatory, transparent financial disclosures that are accessible to every member. Workers must know where their money goes not through rumours, but through verified, audited facts.

Equally important is restoring internal democracy. Leaders must be accountable, removable, and subject to the will of members not entrenched through factional control or opaque processes. A union that fears its own members is already lost.

But reform must go deeper than governance. Trade unions must confront the economic reality facing South Africa today. With unemployment at crisis levels, the labour movement cannot afford to operate as if it represents only those already inside the system. A narrow, defensive approach risks protecting a few while excluding millions.

The future of unionism depends on relevance and relevance requires honesty. Workers’ Day should not be reduced to slogans, marches, and recycled rhetoric. It must become a moment of reckoning. A moment to ask: are unions still vehicles of worker power, or have they become institutions of convenience for a few?

The history of South African unions is heroic. They were central to the struggle

against apartheid and the fight for dignity and rights. But history alone cannot sustain legitimacy. Institutions that once liberated can also decay especially when shielded from criticism. The task now is not to abandon unions, but to reclaim them.

Clean, accountable, worker-controlled unions remain essential to democracy and economic justice. But unions captured by corruption, complacency, or political gamesmanship are worse than weak they are harmful.

“The struggle for the working class is not over it has simply changed form” Tahir Maepa