The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) applauds the Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA)’s decisive action of securing a court interdict to halt salary cuts and retrenchments potentially affecting hundreds of staff at Motus, one of the leading automotive retailers in the country.

It is critical that Motus halt any further plans to retrench or cut staff salaries whilst this matter is before the Labour Court.  It needs to abide by the Labour Relations Act and return to the negotiating table with MISA and other unions in this sector, including the National Union of Metalworkers (NUMSA) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), to find progressive alternatives to the challenges facing the company and sector.

With an unemployment rate of 42.4%, we cannot afford to see a single job lost.  With reports indicating that Motus recorded a R2.5 billion profit and paid their CEO R35 million in 2025, any claims of needing to retrench workers or cut their salaries ring hollow and are nothing short of ludicrous.

It is critical that Motus’ shareholders, in particular, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which invests workers’ pension and insurance funds, intervene with the company’s errant management and ensure that they do not continue upon this path of throwing workers under the bus.

COSATU will continue to offer its full support to MISA, NUMSA, NUM and the workforce of Motus in their struggle to defend employees’ rights to work and earn a decent living.

Issued by COSATU