By Oxley Zandile Kuboni

Dawn breaks, it’s another working day

I jump into my overalls – duty calls

Take off, bare-handed. How long will I last?

The thought fills the empty hole in my stomach

That this day too shall come to pass

Hop into a taxi

With one thing on my mind

Survival of my family

For one thing I strive,

No matter what the circumstances

My little ones’ existence

Another day goes by

Another week, another month

Soon, it’s a strike

We want a living wage

How ironic

The more things change

The more they stay the same

How will I ever break

The cycle of poverty

When all I earn is a slave wage?

When all I get goes straight

From hand to mouth?

Oxley Zandile Kuboni is a Numsa member at VWSA.