Unions must change for the future, not fight it

Is May Day still relevant with union facing a bleak future,

The first of May marked Workers’ Day. All the trade unions, including Cosatu and Saftu, celebrated the day. Interestingly, at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in the North West, Amcu joined Cosatu to observe the day.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was at the stadium to address workers. However, they demanded that he go. He tried to sweet talk them but they did not budge.

The EFF also marked the day and its leader, Julius Malema, announced that the red berets are working on establishing a workers’ union. Is there space for another trade union?

The pertinent question is: is May Day still relevant, in this day and age, where the number of workers has declined significantly? I suppose so as we still have workers.

However, we are living in a different era, where the nature of work has changed. Technology has taken over and robots are replacing warm bodies.

Therefore, this is the era of consultants and freelancers as opposed to full-time employees. This poses a serious challenge to the unions. Remember, consultants and freelancers do not form part of the unions. That means the number of union members will continue to shrink.

Having said that, unions don’t seem to be preparing for the future. Instead of finding a creative way of retaining members, they are fighting against change.

It is clear May Day might even cease to be a public holiday. That’s the reality we have to face.