The union’s leader Zingiswa Losi applauded workers belonging to different federations in the country for Wednesday’s historic show of strength by uniting as they protested nationally.
SACP deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila and Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi lead striking workers in Pretoria on 7 October 2020. Picture: Theto Mahlakoana/EWN
PRETORIA – Congress of South African Trade Union (Cosatu) president Zingiswa Losi said the government had demonstrated that it did not care about the country’s workers.
Speaking outside the National Treasury in Pretoria where striking workers will be handing over a memorandum, she called on trade unions to unite in the light of what she said was an onslaught by employers as the economy continued to plummet.
Losi applauded workers belonging to different federations in the country for Wednesday’s historic show of strength by uniting as they protested nationally.
“Leaders of unions of federations, what must preoccupy us as leaders is not our egos, but the issues that are confronting workers in the workplace.”
GALLERY: Workers take to the streets in national strike
Meanwhile, South African Communist Party deputy general secretary Solly Mapaila told the marchers that the country’s austerity economic trajectory was being influenced by international organisations and called on workers to reject this.
“There will be figures and even a number of pages of documents from institutions who command the policy space for our country to impose authority measures.”
Among the issues on the memorandum of demands, which will be handed to the ministers of transport and employment and labour, is a call for the government to deal with corruption and revive the economy to enable the creation of jobs.
