Hundreds of people had started to gather at Batho Hall in Bloemfontein on Wednesday morning, ahead of a nationwide Congress of SA Trade Unions protest.
The crowd, which continued to swell by the minute, was dressed in yellow and red. They appeared in a relaxed mood as they danced, sang and held placards reading: “Stop e-tolling”.
There were no police in sight.
Nearby school children were helped safely across the road by a uniformed scholar patrol.
There was no visible change to traffic flow and taxi ranks were operating as usual.
Cosatu is protesting in 32 areas across the country against the e-tolling system and labour brokers. - Sapa