Polokwane - May Day belonged to workers and Cosatu needed to take the opportunity to shame its enemies, the union federation's president Sidumo Dlamini said on Thursday.
“We can only shame our enemies... and shame the hell out of all of those who say Cosatu is falling apart,” he told thousands of people at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, at the Congress of SA Trade Unions' national May Day rally.
“We are saying Cosatu is here and Cosatu is here to stay.”
Dlamini called on workers to vote for the African National Congress on May 7.
Dlamini thanked the ANC and the SA Communist Party for standing behind Cosatu at a difficult time. He said the intervention by an ANC task team, led by ANC deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, had ensured that individuals were not elevated above the trade union federation.
Dlamini praised President Jacob Zuma.
“President Jacob Zuma is our leader, we respect you in Cosatu.”
Earlier, Zuma, flanked by Dlamini and SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande, was cheered by the crowd when he arrived. He waved and smiled and walked a lap around the stadium as supporters chanted his name. - Sapa