Tanya van Meelis serves as the Head of the Policy Unit and Labour Market Policy Coordinator at the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).

In this capacity, she is responsible for developing and implementing policies related to labour market issues.

Her professional background includes significant experience in economic policy and competition matters. Notably, she has held the position of Acting Deputy Director General for the Transformation and Competition unit at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic).

Additionally, she served as Chief Economist at the Economic Development Department. Tanya has actively participated in international forums, representing COSATU at events such as the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) conference.

She continues to be involved in global labour discussions, as evidenced by her participation in the Labour 20 (L20) meeting, where she emphasized the importance of connecting grassroots struggles to broader campaigns.