The history of Worker’s Day is said to originate from the 1800s when workers were fighting for shorter days and also the right to have a say in how they are treated. The 1st of May is recognised internationally as Worker’s or Labour Day and here in South Africa it was officially recognised in 1994 when the democratically elected government took over as you all know where we come from. So today, we thought to speak to some of the unions just to get a sense of where we are when it comes to the state of workers in this country. Under the current government which has amended many cruel laws from the past, are things better for workers? How much has improved and how do they describe the state of workers 29 years into our democracy? To discuss this with them, we are joined on the line by....   

 

Guest: Tahir Maepa – Secretary-General of the Public Service and Commercial Union of South Africa

Guest: Abeeda Adams, - Provincial Secretary at the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa in the Western Cape

Guest: Riefdah Ajam – General Secretary for the Federation of Unions of South Africa