By: Bright Ntuli
Trade union federations COSATU and SAFTU have cautiously welcomed the marginal 0.1% growth in South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) recorded in the first quarter of 2025, while raising concerns about the nature and impact of the growth.
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) described the slight uptick as neither inclusive nor transformative. SAFTU spokesperson Newton Masuku said that unless South Africa undertakes a radical overhaul of its fiscal, monetary, and trade policies, the country is unlikely to achieve the kind of growth needed to address its deepening unemployment crisis.
“The structural problems in our economy remain unaddressed. This so-called growth is not reaching the millions of unemployed and underemployed South Africans,” Masuku said.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) echoed similar sentiments, warning that the persistently high unemployment rate continues to pose an existential threat to the country’s social and economic stability. The federation reiterated that urgent collaboration between government, business, labour, and civil society is essential to tackle what it calls a “ticking time bomb.”
COSATU spokesperson Matthew Parks called for a “bold and decisive Marshall Plan” to reboot South Africa’s economy and create the millions of decent, sustainable jobs that the working class urgently needs.
“Government must act with the urgency and scale that the crisis demands. Piecemeal reforms are no longer sufficient,” Parks said.
South Africa’s official unemployment rate remains among the highest globally, hovering around 32%, with youth unemployment significantly higher, and economists have repeatedly warned that without inclusive and labour-absorbing economic policies, marginal growth figures will do little to shift the dial on inequality and poverty.
