Cosatu embarks on nationwide protests over decent jobs, retrenchments

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will be taking to the streets this Wednesday in nationwide marches to mark International Day for Decent Work. The federation says workers are facing mass retrenchments , non-compliance with the minimum wage and growing casualisation. Cosatu spokesperson Zanele Sabela says they will also be marching to Sun International over planned job cuts and Mass Mart over the dismissal of hundreds of workers at Makro. “There are mass retrenchments despite the fact that unemployment is quite high at 43.8%. There’ll be marches to Sun International, which is aiming to reduce its staff in physical casinos. Despite the fact that, you know, the physical casinos have shown growth and delivered revenue of R3.4 billion in the six months to the end of June.” “The workers at Massmart that were dismissed in 2021 when they were taking part in a legal and protected strike we want them to be reinstated,” explains Sabela. Below is the full interview with Cosatu spokesperson Zanele Sabela: