Booing of Cyril Ramaphosa at May Day rally ‘regrettable but a warning to ANC’, says Cosatu

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Cape Town – The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says the booing and heckling of President Cyril Ramaphosa by angry striking workers in North West on Sunday was “regrettable” but it served as a warning to the African National Congress (ANC).

Ramaphosa was whisked away from a Workers’ Day rally in North West after angry workers from the Sibanye-Stillwater gold mine staged a protest, demanding amongst other things an additional R1000 a month.

The workers booed the president and stormed the stage.

The striking workers were unhappy with Cosatu, the ANC, and the government’s response to their plight, as they had been striking for months.

ALSO READ: Cosatu wants Cyril Ramaphosa’s SONA to address policies on foreign worker employment

In a statement, Cosatu said that the booing of Ramaphosa was unacceptable. However, it said that the worker’s demands were justifiable.

“The Federation has noted the regrettable disruptions that happened in our main rally at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg in the North-West Province. This was, without a doubt, a regrettable and unacceptable incident that prevented our invited Alliance guests from addressing the rally.

“We hope that the Rustenburg disruptions will jolt the ANC and its government into action. This threatens the coherence and the legitimacy of the Alliance in the eyes of the working class. There is an urgent need to address and revive the worker’s confidence in the sixth administration. This administration needs to prove that it possesses the capacity to deliver on the 2019 ANC Elections Manifesto commitments,” Cosatu said in a statement.

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Compiled by Sinothando Siyolo

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