Its leader, Zwelinzima Vavi, has been particularly outspoken about the failings of the government.
ECONOMIST: South Africa
2.
"We are just too tired of getting blackmailed all the time, " Zwelinzima Vavi, the General Secretary of COSATU, told the BBC's World Business Report.
BBC: South African unions claim strike success
3.
"No-one can tell me that raping a three-month-old baby or 87-year-old granny or burning a library or vandalising a school is caused by poverty, " said trade union federation leader Zwelenzima Vavi, in a recent Tweet exchange.