President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the inaugural Elijah Barayi Lecture at 10h30 Wednesday 15 May 2024 at the Imbizo Hall, Soweto Campus, University of Johannesburg.  Accreditation will be from 08h00.

This lecture serves as part of a national programme celebrating Workers’ Month and seeks to establish a tradition of hosting an Elijah Barayi Lecture annually.

The late Elijah Barayi was a former Deputy President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the founding President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).  NUM and COSATU under his leadership played a critical role in the resistance to apartheid, the achievement of a constitutional democracy and the progressive labour laws protecting the rights of workers today.

President Barayi symbolised a generation of leaders who fought valiantly to improve the working and living conditions of conditions of millions.  We welcome this progressive initiative by the Presidency and the Department of Employment and Labour to celebrate a South African working-class hero and to remind the nation of the need to continuously defend and enforce the hard won rights of workers.

We encourage members of the public to attend this important occasion honouring one of our gallant sons.

Please note that those wishing to attend should send their names, ID numbers as well as contact details and organisation (if any) to: Reen.Moodley@labour.gov.za to ensure admittance.

Issued by COSATU

For further comment please contact:

Matthew Parks
Acting National Spokesperson & Parliamentary Coordinator 
Cell: 082 785 0687