South African workers have launched a sit-in over 'broken promises', demanding permanent jobs.

Trade unions and workers marched through Johannesburg on Wednesday to demand permanent jobs, the insourcing of outsourced workers, and the reinstatement of dismissed employees.

Footage shows protesters chanting, singing and blowing vuvuzelas while carrying placards, including "Our city, our work, our right" and "Permanent jobs for security and cleaners."

An unemployed worker, Clifton Mahlamvu, expressed his frustration.

"The City of Johannesburg carried out insourcing in 2017, 2018 and 2019. But the city of Johannesburg stopped before it reached us," stressed an unemployed worker, Clifton Mahlamvu.

For many demonstrators, unemployment has become a daily struggle, leaving families unable to afford basic necessities.

A protestor, Nomthandazo Radebe, shared her experience.

"It's very painful as a mother. I can't even bring cabbage into my house. It's even harder when my child comes home from school looking for a pencil or a crayon. We don't have those things in the house. What do I expect that child to do at the end of the day? He or she is going to steal. They're going to steal. Then people will say that the children from Johannesburg are the generation of nyaope or drugs.”

Activist Meshack Ntshauba stressed workers have been waiting for permanent jobs for more than a decade.

"These workers you see here have been promised jobs since 2011. Most of these workers passed the screening and testing by the city, but they were left behind again. They are giving [jobs] to their friends and relatives. They are not giving them to the people who deserve them. That is corruption.”

The protest is set to be followed by a three-day sit-in outside Johannesburg's political offices.