Jul 30, 2026 MISA, Motor Industry Staff Association, Sonja Carstens
Meet the MISA staff - From the newsroom to the negotiating table
Sonja Carstens, MISA’s Media & Communications Manager.
For Sonja Carstens, fighting for workers’ rights is not just a career choice it is part of her heritage, her professional identity and the thread that connects her life in journalism with her current role at MISA. Carstens is the daughter of the late Martin Deysel, one of the founders of FEDUSA and former General Secretary of SATU, the South African Typographical Union, who died in July 2017 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Deysel was widely respected in the labour movement for his commitment to protecting jobs and strengthening organised labour. One of the defining examples of this was his fight in 1994 to ensure that ballot papers for South Africa’s first non-racial democratic elections were printed locally. “At a time when the country was preparing for a new democracy, my father believed that such a historic national project also had to protect South African jobs. Government must lead by example and not outsource to India. That stayed with me. I grew up understanding that workers’ rights, job security and dignity are at the heart of a just society.”
That foundation shaped Carstens’ own career long before she joined MISA. As a journalist, she developed a reputation for accuracy, persistence and an instinct for stories that mattered. She was not merely reporting events, she was a legal specialist reporter analysing judgments, searching for scoops in courtrooms across the country and securing exclusive interviews that gave readers insight into issues affecting ordinary South Africans. Her background also made her the ideal reporter to cover complex labour matters, including public service wage negotiations in the PSCBC (Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council) and municipal wage negotiations in SALGA (South African Local Government Association). She understood the language of collective bargaining, but more importantly, she understood the human impact behind wage talks, strikes and disputes.
One of her personal highlights is an exclusive interview and photo opportunity with former President Nelson Mandela at Graça Machel's residence in Maputo in 2007, disproving false reports of his death. Her journalism career reached national recognition in 2014 when she was part of the Beeld team that won two prestigious Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards, SA Story of the Year and the Multiplatform Award with their entry, “How Oscar Pistorius changed Beeld forever – It Started with a Tweet”.
Carstens left the newsroom in 2016 to join a majority trade union in another industry to head up its communications and recruitment and serve on the bargaining councils of two state owned enterprises.
Today, Carstens brings that same newsroom discipline, investigative mindset and passion for workers to MISA in her role as Media & Communications Manager. “At MISA, communication is not just about sending out messages. It is about giving workers a voice, explaining complex issues in simple language and ensuring that members understand the decisions that affect their lives,” she says. Her position places her at the intersection of labour relations, media, policy and the future of work. She has represented organised labour in NEDLAC structures dealing with critical issues affecting workers and the economy. For Carstens, these platforms are important because they give organised labour an opportunity to influence national policy before decisions are finalised.
“Workers cannot be an afterthought. Whether we are dealing with legislation, the cost of living, industrial policy or the future of the automotive sector, labour must be part of the conversation from the beginning,” she says.
Her journey from the newsroom to the negotiating table reflects a rare combination of skills: the curiosity of a journalist, the discipline of a communicator and the conviction of someone raised in the labour movement. Carstens says her father’s legacy continues to guide her. “My father taught me that every job matters and every worker deserves dignity. That is the principle I carry with me every day.”
For MISA members, that commitment means having a communicator who understands their industry, their challenges and their aspirations. For Carstens, it is the continuation of a lifelong calling: to tell the stories of workers, defend their dignity and help shape a future in which they are seen, heard and valued.
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