COSATU announces Friday march against rising cost of living

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in the Western Cape has officially announced a protest march scheduled for Friday, June 19, 2026, as workers across the province take to the streets to demand urgent government action against the crippling rising cost of living that continues to squeeze household budgets.

The provincial action will commence at 10:00 AM from Hanover Street in the Cape Town CBD, where COSATU members and affiliates will converge before marching to the Western Cape Provincial Legislature and National Parliament to deliver their memorandum of demands. The march represents a coordinated effort by thousands of workers affiliated with COSATU’s constituent unions to voice their grievances against what union leaders describe as an “economic crisis” threatening the livelihoods of South African working families.

Workers in the Western Cape are expected to participate in this national protest alongside COSATU members across other provinces, united in their call for immediate government intervention. The timing of the march – scheduled for Friday, June 19 – aligns with COSATU’s national protest against rising costs of living, confirming the event as a key component of the union’s broader campaign.

COSATU’s demands center on multiple interconnected economic challenges plaguing workers. The union has highlighted job losses and retrenchments as primary concerns, with Western Cape workers facing increasing uncertainty about their employment security. Union leaders have also pointed to weak economic growth as a fundamental barrier to improving living standards across the province.

The rising cost of living remains the most pressing issue for marchers. COSATU has specifically criticized steep price increases in the food basket, electricity tariffs, water rates, municipal fees, and transport costs that “hit the poor especially hard”. The union’s memorandum calls for the City of Cape Town to freeze tariff increases and adopt a more progressive tariff structure that protects low-income households.

This Friday’s march continues COSATU’s pattern of organized protests against economic hardship. In October 2024, COSATU held a nationwide strike on World Day for Decent Work, with Western Cape supporters marching to the provincial legislature and Parliament to demand government and business accountability. Nearly 300 COSATU members and supporters participated in that 2024 Cape Town march, highlighting high levels of crime, gangsterism, and violence in working-class communities alongside economic demands.

The union has consistently demanded that the Government of National Unity commit to upping workers’ standard of living if it wants to address economic growth. In previous actions, COSATU has given government 14 days to respond to their demands, a timeline union leaders may reaffirm in Friday’s march.

COSATU’s data underscores the severity of the situation: one in four households had limited access to food, and one in four individuals had limited access to food in 2023. The union has called for government to end austerity budgets and shift focus from reducing debt-to-GDP ratios toward directly addressing expenditure that impacts workers’ daily survival.

The march also addresses broader labour concerns, including demands for stronger labour laws to curb labour broking, outsourcing, and casualisation, as well as better protection against workplace violence and sexual harassment. COSATU’s memorandum includes calls for decent and sustainable employment, with the Western Cape government having committed to creating over 600,000 jobs by 2035.

Union leaders will deliver their memorandum directly to the Mayor’s Office at the Civic Centre, the Provincial Legislature, and Parliament, targeting all three spheres of government. The demands include stopping retrenchments, pushing workers on utility costs, and addressing what COSATU describes as an “anti-poor budget”.

As workers prepare to march through Cape Town’s streets on Friday, the message to government and business remains clear: the economic crisis demands immediate action, and workers will not tolerate continued erosion of their living standards. The march represents both a protest against current hardships and a call for sustainable economic policies that prioritize South African workers’ welfare.