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Peter Mokaba Stadium, Limpopo, 1 May 2014 Address by President Jacob Zuma at the May Day Rally President of COSATU, Cde Sdumo Dlamini, General Secretary of the SACP, Cde Blade Nzimande, SANCO President Cde Richard Mdakane Leadership of the ANC, SACP, COSATU and SANCO present, Comrades and friends, Fellow South Africans, I greet you all on this very important day dedicated to all the workers of our country and the world at large. This day provides us as South Africans with the opportunity to take stock of the progress we have made with regards to the entrenchment of workers' rights as an integral part of our constitutional democratic order. Equally, we must use this day to reflect on the common plight and daily struggles of workers in order to share ideas about what we must still do to make the lives of workers better. Comrades, It is important for us to celebrate this day with a good background as to how it came about. In the year 1884, the then Federation of Organized Trades and Labour Unions in the United States declared the 1st of May 1886 to be the beginning of a nationwide movement for the eight-hour day. The rallying call by workers were the slogans: "Eight Hours for Work, Eight Hours for Rest, Eight Hours for What We Will!" or "Shortening the Hours Increase the Pay". On the 1st of May 1886, 80 000 workers in Chicago held a massive demonstration demanding the eight hour day. Violence broke out leading to the death of strikers and policemen and the subsequent execution of four people. May Day was subsequently recognized as an annual event at the second congress of the Socialist International in 1891. In 1904, the International Socialist Conference meeting in Amsterdam called on "all Social Democratic Party organizations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on May First for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace." The first May Day demonstrations in South Africa were held in 1895 and subsequently in 1904 and 1906. Comrades, You will recall that COSATU was barely five months old when it pulled one of the biggest stay-aways to demand recognition of May Day as a paid up public holiday in 1986. Shocked by this worker militancy, the then apartheid Prime Minister P W Botha responded by declaring the first Friday in May as the workers day - a paid holiday. The Botha regime acceded to the demand and finally responded unwillingly to the clarion call, making May 1, 1987 a paid up public holiday that it continues to be today. We therefore salute this workers' giant that fought courageously against racism, apartheid capitalist exploitation, the Group Areas Act and oppression in general, and which to this day, continues to champion and fight for the rights of workers in our country. COSATU's birth and the affirmation of May Day signalled the confidence of the working class and the coming of age of the post 1973 labour movement. It is now in the history books that COSATU broke with the reformist agenda of the old unions and reconnected with the militant progressive labour history, to build a strong and militant union movement that would be home to all progressive workers. That is part of the proud history of the labour movement in this country, the proud history of our country. Compatriots, The theme for this day is "United action for service to defend and safeguard workers' rights and unity". This theme acknowledges that workers today enjoy rights they did not enjoy before 1994. Therefore all workers are called upon to work hard and constructively to defend these hard won rights for which many paid the ultimate price, life itself. As we celebrate 20 years of freedom, we also celebrate 20 years of workers' rights. Since the dawn of democracy in 1994, the policy direction of our successive ANC administrations has been informed by our conviction that workers' rights are human rights. Comrades and friends, Today marks the 20th May Day celebrations since our historic democratic breakthrough in 1994. As we celebrate 20 years of freedom, we also remember and salute the visionary worker leaders who were dedicated and committed to the struggle which laid the foundation for the democratic South Africa in which workers enjoy constitutionally guaranteed rights. These are leaders who correctly believed, as I said earlier, that workers' rights are human rights. Their hard work, and the work that continues to be done today, has ensured that workers' rights are enshrined in the Constitution of our Republic. These rights include: . The right to fair labour practice. . The right to form and join trade unions, strike and picket. . The right to conclude union security agreements such as closed and agency shop, and . The right to collective bargaining. These rights, like all others, neither came cheap nor as a gift. They were fought for by millions of our people led by giants of our struggle who were willing to give everything and made untold sacrifices for our freedom. Workers must use these rights constructively to better their lives and determine their destiny. This must be done in honour of all the fallen giants of the trade union movement such as Curtis Nkondo, Elijah Barayi, Reg September, J B Marks, John Gomomo, Stephen Dlamini, Violet Seboni, and others. These leaders not only fought for workers' rights but also laid the foundation for constructive engagements between government and trade unions in a new democratic order. Constructive engagement means listening to each other, appreciating what is possible and what is not, acting in good faith and never resorting to blackmail as a negotiating tool. Comrades, All of us have a responsibility to continue educating our society that with rights come responsibilities. In exercising our hard won rights, we must put the interests of the country first. Unions must always be alive to the reality that endless strikes are not in the best interest of the economy and the workers themselves. Beyond this, exercising the right to strike must never be allowed to degenerate to anarchy levels characterized by actions which undermine democratic institutions and the rule of law. The methods of engagement employed by trade unions must always appreciate that we now have a democratic government put in place by the overwhelming majority of our people, most of whom are workers. On the same measure, we call on the business sector to respect the rights of workers and pay them decent wages in line with the relevant legislative framework. In particular, the mining sector must accelerate its advance towards the achievement of the objectives set out in the mining charter and other regulatory policies related to mining. The agricultural sector must also speedily attend to the plight of farm workers who still grapple with issues such as security of tenure, illegal evictions from the farms, as well as basic services such as water, electricity and sanitation. The business sector in general must honour its legal responsibility to workers with the understanding that workers are the creators of our country's wealth and therefore deserve an equitable share in it. Fellow South Africans, Working together, we have made the lives of workers much better than they were before 1994. The workers of our country can attest to this fact. Our responsibility now is to continue working together to ensure that workers enjoy and benefit from the material fruits of freedom. Their living conditions must truly reflect that we are a free and caring society which values the contribution made by workers to our livelihood. Their living conditions must be a material expression of their constitutionally guaranteed rights. Another important aspect of today's theme is the unity of workers. The unity of workers as well as the organizational cohesion of the progressive trade union movement cannot be overemphasized. COSATU as the foremost organized leading formation of workers must spare no effort in consolidating unity within its ranks and amongst workers in general because unity is an indispensable precondition for a strong organization that can successfully defend and safeguard the rights of workers. Working together, we must help build a strong COSATU capable of defending and safeguarding workers' rights and unity. Only a strong and united COSATU can unite workers and close ranks for any tendency which seeks to divide workers, weaken worker power, undermine collective bargaining and encourage action in contempt of democratic institutions. Comrades and friends, We thank all the workers who trusted the ANC in the past twenty years to safeguard and entrench their hard won rights. These include the following: . Trade union workplace organising. . Collective bargaining. . Equal pay for equal work. . Health and safety. . Affirmative Action. . Skills development. . Minimum wages for workers in vulnerable sectors, and . The right to strike and peaceful protest. Work continues to protect vulnerable workers. Working together, we have in the past five years begun to put in place measures to address labour broking and the casualisation of labour to protect vulnerable workers. We have also drastically improved the benefits of unemployment insurance. We have come a long way in short space of time but much more remains to be done. We call on the all the workers to partner with us in the next five years to ensure that we successfully implement our manifesto which is truly a product of wide consultation with all sectors of our society including workers themselves. We have committed to a few goals in the Manifesto. We will investigate the modality for the introduction of a national minimum wage as one of the key mechanisms to reduce income inequality. We have undertaken to strengthen the enforcement of provisions of the Employment Equity Act that require all employers to report on disproportionate income differentials at all wage levels and submit plans for their progressive reduction. We will take steps to ensure that collective bargaining takes place in all sectors of the economy. Bargaining councils will also be used as vehicles to promote greater equity in the economy. This will be done through linking access to state incentives and procurement as well as adherence to living wage standards and commitments to promoting wage equity in collective agreements. We will also strengthen existing laws to ensure faster change in employment equity in all workplaces by enforcing an accelerated implementation of employment equity targets. The ANC will provide greater protection for workers and employers in the informal sector. We will also enforce measures to eliminate abusive work practices in atypical work and labour broking. We also commit to expand the capacity of the Department of Labour and other authorities to ensure full compliance with labour laws. Compatriots, The ANC is the only organisation with the necessary political will and commitment, tested capacity, track record and experience to advance the interests of workers in government and to continue improving their lives. Workers must unite behind the ANC on the 7th of May when they cast their ballots during the 5th democratic general elections. The ANC needs an overwhelming and decisive majority in order for it to implement its progressive and working class biased policies without hindrance or let. Let us use our votes to reaffirm the unity and centrality of the ruling Alliance as the foremost leading and reliable formation of all the democratic forces in our country. Let us give practical meaning to the words of Isithwalandwe President Chief Albert Luthuli who said referring to COSATU's predecessor that "SACTU is the spear, ANC the shield". A vote for the ANC is a vote for decent work. A vote for the ANC is a vote for a better life for all. Together we move South Africa forward. Vote ANC! Amandla! Mayihlome! I thank you very much. -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
