Marches are expected across South Africa on Monday as workers unite for a national day of action led by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).
The trade union federation said that the mass demonstrations, coinciding with World Day of Decent Work, were in response to the country’s deepening economic crisis, with joblessness, poverty, and inequality at the forefront of worker’s grievances.
Cosatu KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Edwin Mkhize emphasised that they were prepared for the march.
“We are ready for the march. We have invited people who will collect the memorandum and we have mobilised the workers,” said Mkhize.
“We expect this march to be very big. The only challenge that we are facing is that the transport [for workers] that we have is not enough. We are receiving calls from all corners of the province, workers want to come to the march but there is not enough transport.”
To accommodate those who cannot join in the main demonstrations, Mkhize encouraged alternative action.
“We have encouraged those workers who will not be able to come to the march to stage picket demonstrations outside their workplaces. We are also encouraging those workers who are not able to come to the march or the picket demonstrations to stay at home and not go to work,” he added.
The protests, expected in major urban centres across all nine provinces, aim to shine a spotlight on the severe unemployment crisis gripping the country.
Cosatu has called for a moratorium on retrenchments, labelling it “nonsensical” for employers to continue cutting jobs when the official unemployment rate already stood at 11.3 million people, including those who have given up looking for work.
It cited the recent announcement by mining company Seriti to retrench over 1 100 workers.
“The few workers who still have jobs are now facing the risk of losing them too,” Cosatu stated.
Mkhize said there should be labour law reforms to make it more difficult for employers to retrench workers.
Collective bargaining issues have also been a point of contention.
The federation cited the City of Tshwane’s refusal to honour wage agreements which has escalated to the Labour Court.
“We want to fight for the protection of the collective bargaining with the negotiations that are taking place in the public sector. Our public sector unions are already in collective bargaining for salary increases,” said Mkhize.
Additional concerns driving Monday’s protests include the rising cost of living and crime.
Cosatu said the increase in basic food prices, compounded by Eskom’s proposed electricity tariff hike of 36% for 2025, was expected to strain already struggling households further.
“If this happens, inflation will spike, leading to more interest rate hikes,” Cosatu warned
The Mercury