-
Cosatu members gather during a rally.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) President, Zingiswa Losi, is today expected to deliver the keynote address at the labour federation’s main Workers’ Day rally at the Kees Taaljaard Stadium in Middelburg, Mpumalanga.
Today, it’s International Workers’ Day#HappyWorkersDay, says #COSATU @eNCA @ilo @ILOAfrica @ILOACTRAV #DecentWork #SocialJustice #EconomicGrowth #ClassStruggle #Socialism #MayDay2025 pic.twitter.com/185jN0zEws
— @COSATU Today (@_cosatu) May 1, 2025
International Workers’ Day in South Africa holds its own cultural significance.
The public holiday signifies the sacrifices made on the long road to fair employment standards and in the struggle against apartheid during which unions played a key role.
Meanwhile, Cosatu says its focus this year is on job losses in mines.
The labour federation’s provincial chairperson, Siyabonga Hlongwane, says: “Because of the Section 189 where employers retrench our workers, we thought to come here this time around to try and raise that awareness but also, for the leadership to commit themselves because what we’ve witnessed in the recent times, the commitment was only theoretical but we haven’t seen anything in practice. So, we thought it will be proper that we come here and talk to that because Section 189, especially in the mines, has really been ravaging.”
VIDEO | May Day Celebrations – “We still have entrenched levels of poverty and inequality”
