The day began with a march around the streets of Mdantsane township. The march was to pledge solidarity with Palestinian workers who walk in fear in their streets because of Israeli soldiers. The memorandum was given to Mr Nxawe of the Department of Labour at the entrance to Sisa Dukashe Stadium.
One of the guest speakers, Numsa general secretary, Silumko Nondwangu, said that May Day is very important to the workers of South Africa . He said Cosatu workers must be proud of this day especially after a decade of freedom “because around the world there are workers who don’t have rights to join trade unions.”
But he warned against complacency. “We have a lot to do as Cosatu members. There are many problems within Cosatu affiliates. We must create a federation that provides service to members.”
Moving on to the issue of the alliance, he told May Day goers that, “As we celebrate a decade of freedom, we must defend our gains. The alliance must work as a unit. Workers must lead the national democratic revolution. Workers are in the majority in the ANC so the ANC should lead this country biased towards workers. Workers must make sure that they build a more revolutionary Cosatu, a more revolutionary SACP and a more revolutionary ANC,” said Nondwangu.