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The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) in KwaZulu-Natal bid farewell to comrade Siphiwe Lubhede, at his funeral which took place today, after he passed away on the 3rd of January 2024, from a long illness. Comrade Lubhede served NUMSA as a Local Organizer at the Enock Mabaso Local office in Pinetown. He served the union for many years starting as a shop steward until he was eventually appointed as a Local Organizer for the union. He also served as the deputy chair and also the chairperson of Isipingo Local. 

In his tribute to comrade Lubhede, the NUMSA Deputy General Secretary (DGS) comrade Mbuso Ngubane, praised Lubhede for his love for the working class. His passing left many people heart broken. Comrade Lubhede was a true example of a committed cadre. He understood what it meant to connect shop floor struggles, with the struggles of the working class. He was elected to serve ward 37 in Newlands West from 2011 to 2016 as an ANC councillor. And even after his term ended as a councillor, he returned to NUMSA and spent the rest of his working life defending workers and their families. As a testament to his contribution to the community, representatives from SANCO, ANC and the SACP attended the funeral and spoke very highly of him. He was described as a unifier of the community and this is why members of the working class from different organisations came to pay tribute to him for the work he did in serving his community.

The DGS spoke about how the governing party has betrayed the working class. He bemoaned the massive job losses caused by the unnecessary destruction of State Owned Entities, particularly, Eskom; the collusion of the banks to manipulate the value of the Rand that undermined the value of our currency; as well as the sale of SAA to the Takatso consortium, which is a deal shrouded in secrecy. SOE’s are supposed to create jobs, but our SOE’s have shed thousands of jobs and this has worsened conditions for workers and the poor. Poverty, unemployment and inequality continues to worsen thus increasing the suffering of the working class. 

Comrade Ngubane spoke about how, as we get closer to elections, the working class cannot continue to support the governing party if it is going to keep acting against the interests of workers and their families.

“We cannot have workers merely supporting the governing party when it is driving privatization. Denel, SAA, Mango, Transnet and Eskom are being privatized. Eskom is being privatized trough renewable energy, but we are told to stop using coal. We are unable to depend on coal to drive manufacturing and to grow the economy, but our coal is being shipped overseas to the U.K. and Germany for them to have uninterrupted electricity, while we sit in the dark.”

The work which comrade Lubhede has done will not be forgotten. As a region, KZN will continue to uphold its duty to defend the working class and fight to improve their benefits and conditions, as part of honouring his memory. 

Issued by Regional Secretary KwaZulu-Natal Mzamo Khoza