--- title: "EXCLUSIVE — Amcu says new Labour Party registered, invites ‘progressive forces’, including other unions, to join" description: "The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union says it has registered a new Labour Party with the Electoral Commission of South Africa to contest the 2024 national and provincial elections." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "ROAD TO 2024 ELECTIONS" author: "Ed Stoddard" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/ed-stoddard/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-02-29-exclusive-amcu-says-new-labour-party-registered-for-2024-polls/" published: "2024-02-29T13:09:34" updated: "2024-02-29T20:07:36" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 441 --- # EXCLUSIVE — Amcu says new Labour Party registered, invites ‘progressive forces’, including other unions, to join > The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union says it has registered a new Labour Party with the Electoral Commission of South Africa to contest the 2024 national and provincial elections. By Ed Stoddard · Published 29 February 2024, 15:09 SAST · Updated 29 February 2024, 22:07 SAST ## Key points - The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) says it has registered a new Labour Party with the IEC to contest the 2024 national and provincial elections. - The Labour Party of South Africa set to officially launch on 6 March in Johannesburg, with a media conference scheduled for the following day. - The party's registration is the result of a resolution of the 2023 Special National Congress of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), but it will not be an Amcu party. - The Labour Party aims to be a home for all progressive trade unions, civil society organisations, and like-minded movements, opposing neoliberal policies and aiming far left. - The party's entrance adds to a swelling electoral field that includes former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto Wesizwe party, potentially peeling off voters from the ANC and the EFF. ## Content The new Labour Party will officially launch on 6 March in Johannesburg at a venue to be confirmed, according to an invitation which *Daily Maverick* has seen. It says a media conference is scheduled for 7 March, and an Amcu official confirmed that details for that will soon be sent out. “We have received confirmation from the IEC that the Labour Party of South Africa (Labour) has been registered for the national and provincial elections of 2024. This is the culmination of a vision that has been shared by various civil society organisations and trade unions for many years – to establish a true people-focused political party that can oppose the increasingly neoliberal policies of most if not all of the current political parties on offer in South Africa,” the invitation says. ![Illustrative image: Sibanye Stillwater employees affiliated to AMCU and NUM protest at the mine's stadium on May 09, 2022 in Driefontein, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/City Press/Tebogo Letsie)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/V-VMKXE0OLaoIo_-Fvgz6zuIvz0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/ED_381180.jpg) *Sibanye Stillwater employees affiliated to Amcu and NUM protest at the mine's stadium in Driefontein on 9 May 2022, reportedly demanding an increase of R1,000 per month. (Photo: Gallo Images / City Press / Tebogo Letsie)* “The registration of the Labour Party is a direct result of a resolution of the 2023 Special National Congress of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), following years of deliberation and discussion. However, it was decided that this will not be an Amcu party.” The IEC confirmed to *Daily Maverick* on Thursday evening that the Labour Party has been registered. **Read more in Daily Maverick:**[2024 elections](https://www-dailymaverick-co-za.webpkgcache.com/doc/-/s/www.dailymaverick.co.za/article_tag/2024-elections/) The invite goes on to quote the resolution: “That the… Labour Party shall seek to be a home for all progressive trade unions, civil society organisations and like-minded movements that share the same values and ethos.” ![Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) members sing and dance during the fifth anniversary commemoration of the Marikana massacre at Wonderkop on August 16, 2017 in Rustenburg, South Africa. In 2012, 34 Lonmin mineworkers were killed during protests that were sparked by R12 500 a month salary demand. (Photo by Gallo Images / The Times / Masi Losi)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/3zwORQFJR9RgLvG58jTRr5P8Nb4=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AV_00068363.jpg) *Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union members sing and dance during the fifth anniversary commemoration of the Marikana Massacre at Wonderkop in Rustenburg on 16 August 2017. (Photo: Gallo Images / The Times / Masi Losi)* ![President of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union Joseph Mathunjwa addresses members at the Impala Rugby fields on January 16, 2019 in Rustenburg, South Africa. Mathunjwa gave an update to the Amcu members on the strike action at the Sibanye-Stillwater gold mine in Carletonville. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Thapelo Morebudi)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/ff1O6SPxkDi__FF8eGKK0vFDhE0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AV_00079160.jpg) *President of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union Joseph Mathunjwa addresses members at the Impala Rugby fields in Rustenburg on 16 January 2019. (Photo: Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Thapelo Morebudi)* The entrance of the Labour Party adds to a swelling electoral field that includes former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto Wesizwe party that could peel off voters from the governing ANC and the EFF. The Labour Party, with its stated opposition to “neoliberal policies”, is clearly aiming far left. The agenda of the meeting will include items such as “Broad Ideological Points of Departure” and the “Interim Party Executive”, according to the invitation. Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa for years professed a disinterest in entering the political fray but the firebrand trade unionist has often taken a stridently anti-ANC tone. **DM**