The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has secured a major victory for basic freedoms, late this afternoon at the Durban High Court, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

Numsa had taken the ANC-led eThekwini Municipality to Court, after it has rescinded or withdrawn our permit to march tomorrow, Friday 01 May 2015. The Court’s judgment has ruled in our favour, and the march will go ahead as planned.

Numsa strongly condemns ill-conceived decision to withdraw our permit. This clearly demonstrates that the Municipality was being used for political expediency by certain powerful individuals either in Cosatu or elsewhere.

We applaud the Judge for upholding our hard-won constitutional right to assembly and agitate for our own needs and demands. Any state institution that is muzzled or abused to undermine our rights is a shame to our democracy.

We call on workers; the unemployed; working class youth; shack-dwellers to join en masse our march to fight for the demands of the Freedom Charter. The Durban’s march will be led by cde Zwelinzima Vavi; Thobile Ntola; Katishi Masemola and Irvin Jim.

The march commences at 09h00am, at King Dinizulu Park (opposite the Dbn Christian Centre).

Issued by NUM