The International Workers' Day in SA holds its own cultural significance.

The public holiday signifies the sacrifices made on the long road to fair employment standards and in the struggle against apartheid during which unions played a key role.

However, job cuts linked to low economic growth, government austerity measures, rising global protectionism and technological and digital advances, are but a few of the issues threatening the vision of a strong working class, sustained by decent work for all.

The labour movement is also fragmented and Congress of South African Trade Unions is divided on whether to choose the South African Communist Party over the African National Congress in 2026 local government elections.

Storm clouds are gathering on the horizon in the form of the recently proposed amendments to labour laws and the Draft Code of Good Practice on Dismissal.

This is according to union representatives, who see the net effect of these proposals, in their current form, as allowing small businesses to fire workers without a formal hearing, employers to extend probation without justification and bosses with no obligation to rehire suitably qualified retrenched workers amongst other issues.

Another source of risk for workers is what appears to be an increasingly protectionist global economy.

The newly-installed President Donald Trump Administration in the United States has signalled its intention to impose a raft of tariffs against various countries, including SA, which may spark reciprocal action resulting in the destabilisation of fair global trade.

As an important exporter of agricultural produce, wine, minerals and assembled vehicles to name a few, the prospects for the country seem grim.   
--SABC--