Cape Town — The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is calling for a national day of protest throughout the country on 7 October, to protest against unemployment and income.
In a statement shared to X, COSATU said it proposed a national strike for 7 October 2024 to address some serious issues in the country.
COSATU said 11.3 million people need jobs and listed their demands as follows:
- Stop the attack on collective bargaining
- Prevent crime and corruption
- Reduce high interest rates, address the high cost of living
- Stop job losses and privatisation
- Address the high unemployment and create decent jobs
- Speedy implementation of Zondo Commission recommendations
- Government to stop pursuit of Austerity measures
- Businesses and government must agree with COSATU labour law reforms
- COSATU demands a people’s budget
- Immediate implementation of the NHI
- Stop Gender-based Violence (GBV) in the workplace
Media Alert: #CosatuNationalStrike
Workers in South Africa are preparing to participate in a National Strike on the 7th of October across all provinces against high joblessness, income inequality, poverty @SAfmRadio @SakinaKamwendo pic.twitter.com/eYdinW2Nfy— @COSATU Today (@_cosatu) September 19, 2024
According to SABC News, COSATU said the protest will happen via marches and pickets in all major cities in towns in the country. COSATU spokesperson, Zanele Sabela, said it was a significant day for workers and hoped that everyone would use their tools to join the movement as it was a significant day for the workers.
COSATU leader, Matthew Parks said that unemployment remains South Africa’s biggest crisis and said if it was able to create good-paying, stable jobs, it would alleviate the crisis. He said a lot of their engagements with NEDLAC have been about resolving economic blockages and creating jobs.
He added that they have addressed entities such as Eskom, Transnet and Metro Rail to create jobs.
“Everything we’re trying to resolve is about unemployment because everything else won’t be sustainable if you don’t have people working, taking care of their families, contributing to the fiscus and building the economy,” Parks said.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
