The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which boasts roughly 2 million members across the country, embarked on a nationwide strike to protest socio-economic issues impacting workers on 06 July 2023. The strike aimed to demand government action to alleviate pressure caused by load-shedding, cable theft, crime, corruption and rising inflation on employees and uplift the economy. Cosatu’s demands include raising the social relief grant, extending the employment stimulus, implementing pension reforms and addressing issues in municipalities, public infrastructure and law enforcement agencies. The strike, protected under the Labour Relations Act, affected major urban centres in all nine provinces and sent a message to both the private and public sectors to take action.
