Hardly five months after its formation on 1 December 1985, COSATU took on the apartheid government in 1986 to demand that May Day be made a public holiday. On the 1st of May of the following year, on the 100th anniversary of International Labout Day, Cosatu coordinated one of the biggest stay-aways in South African history. The day saw more than 1.5 million workers downing tools and participating in rallies across the country. Workers were joined on the day by scores of taxi drivers, the unemployed, students, pupils, hawkers and others, all responding to the clarion call made by the working class component of the erstwhile Mass Democratic movement led by the UDF.
The rallies were addressed by COSATU leaders including Elijah Barayi, Jay Naidoo, Chris Dlamini, Makhulu Ledwaba, Maxwell Xulu and Sydney Mufamadi. Unofficially workers had already celebrated May Day in earlier years, defying their employers and government by not going to work on May Day as the day was known internationally.
In June the same year, many of the leaders of the working class were arrested after a second state of emergency was declared by the P.W. Botha, resulting in the arrest and detention over six short weeks of more than 2700 trade unionists. But the fledgling workers movement didn’t take this lying down and many other workers went on strike in sympathy with their leaders. Locally, when five NUM regional leaders were arrested in Kimberley, 2000 workers at four mines went on strike, This would become one of many such incidents.
The workers’ pugnaciousness, stunned P.W. Botha and he eventually succumbed twice to COSATU’s demands. Initially he declared the first Friday of May as a public holiday. In response the workers took off the 1st Friday of May and the 1st of May, which they steadfastly regarded as May Day. Botha then had to accede to workers demainds again and begrudgingly declared the 1 st of May as a public holiday.
This year COSATU and other Federations will once again celebrate May Day (Workers’ Day) separately despite the one “One Country, One Federation” call made by COSATU’s founding congress and which remains one of its principles.
It is expected that as part of their commemoration of May Day, most key note speakers’ speeches will make reference to calls for a National Minimum Wage (NMW). There is divergence amongst worker federations regarding the modalities of the proposed new National Minimum Wage with the relatively new South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) having expressed its opposition to the implementation of the NMW. At the same time COSATU, FEDUSA and NACTU support the current Bill that would see the NMW become law. A third view is that of SAFTU’s General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi who said on Thursday in Cape Town during a march to Parliament that the proposed minimum wage of R 3500.00 per month or R20.00 per hour is a “slave wage.” SAFTU recently wrote to the Chief Whip of the ANC in parliament objecting to the “Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan” style labour law overhauls.
COSATU on the other hand, believes that the NMW is a “means to put money in the pockets of the poorest of the working class and to ensure that no worker is left with slave wages.” They view the NMW as a way for workers to feed their families and increase their buying power and in that way lead to an increase in local economic demand resulting in the stimulation of the economy. But COSATU also cautioned government that the NMW is not a living wage and therefore it will never be enough but indicated that with 47% of workers in the country currently earn less than the proposed R20 an hour, implementation would nevertheless be a step in the right direction.
COSATU May Day rallies, preceded by marches, will be held in Kimberley, Kuruman and Calvinia. No details were available regarding the other Federations’ events at the time of going to press. COSATU President, Sdumo Dlamani and his ANC counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa will be addressing the main rally in Nelson Mandela Bay. Watch this space for news regarding local events marking May Day 2018.
