The African Teachers' Association of South Africa (ATASA) was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

representing black teachers in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The union was founded in 1919, as the South African Native Teachers' Federation, a loose federation of regional teachers' unions. It focused on increasing wages, and encouraging teachers to obtain higher qualifications. In 1973, it became the first South African union to affiliate to the

World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

. It opposed the compulsory teaching of

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

in black schools. However, it was increasingly seen as close to the Government of South Africa, and was opposed by many younger teachers. In 1976, its offices were destroyed in an arson attack, blamed on anti-apartheid activists. The union participated in the 1990 negotiations which formed the

South African Democratic Teachers Union The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) is the largest trade union for teachers in South Africa. It is allied to the African National Congress and is an affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). History The ...

, but instead affiliated to the loose

National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa The National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA) is a professional organisation of teachers in South Africa. It is headquartered in Pretoria, South Africa. History The union was founded in 1991 as a federation. By 1997 ...

(NAPTOSA). In 2006, it became an integral part of NAPTOSA.{{cite book , last1=Zengele , first1=Vincent Thulani , title=THE INVOLVEMENT OF TEACHER UNIONS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF EDUCATORS’ ACT 76 OF 1998 , date=2009 , publisher=University of South Africa , location=Pretoria , url=http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/3189/Thesis_zengele_v.pdf , access-date=27 April 2021

References

Education trade unions Trade unions established in 1919 Trade unions disestablished in 2006 Trade unions in South Africa