The Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers of South Africa (AUBTWSA) is 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 workers in the construction industry in

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

. The union was founded in 1916 as the Building Workers' Industrial Union (BWIU), with the aim of uniting all construction workers in the country. The Operative Bricklayers' Society merged in, and its former chair,

Jimmy Briggs James Briggs (8 April 1937 – 9 April 2011) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a full back. Briggs played the majority of his career with Dundee United, making nearly 400 appearances and captaining the side when they defea ...

, became the union's first chairman. By 1926, it had 2,000 members, mostly in

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

and

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

. In its early years, the union's leadership was predominantly left-wing. The early programme of the union was influenced by

syndicalism Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of prod ...

, with the stated aim of developing “sufficient knowledge and power to enable the Union ultimately to control effectively the Building Industry in the interests of the Workers”. C.B. Tyler, general secretary from 1921 to 1943, was a former syndicalist, then a founder of the

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...

, and remained on the left after leaving the party. Many in the executive, however, moved to the right in the 1930s and 1940s. The union grew steadily: by 1946 its membership was 8,327, about half in Transvaal. Its branches in Transvaal and the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

only accepted white workers, but those in Natal and the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

also organised

coloureds Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...

and Indians. Some white members objected to this policy, especially outside the Cape, and there was also no effort to organise black Africans. However, efforts to make the union for whites-only were consistently defeated, and it retained a mixed membership. It was affiliated to the

South African Trades and Labour Council The South African Trades and Labour Council (SAT&LC) was a national trade union federation in South Africa. History The federation was founded in 1930, when the South African Trades Union Council merged with the Cape Federation of Labour Unions. ...

Afrikaner nationalist Afrikaner nationalism ( af, Afrikanernasionalisme) is a nationalistic political ideology which created by Afrikaners residing in Southern Africa during the Victorian era. The ideology was developed in response to the significant events in Afrik ...

groups attempted to win over the union, but were unsuccessful. After Tyler died in 1943, he was succeeded by Billy Blake, also a founder member of the union.Ivan Walker and Ben Weinbren, 1961, ''2000 Casualties: A History of the Trade Unions and the Labour Movement in the Union of South Africa''. Johannesburg: South African Trade Union Council, p. 191. At the end of the 1940s, the union merged with the Amalgamated Bricklayers' Trade Union of South Africa, and in 1951 it renamed itself as the "Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers of South Africa". It remained predominantly English-speaking, but the Afrikaner communist Piet Huyser served as its national organiser of the union from 1948 onwards. Huyser was banned from activity in the union in 1953 in terms of the

Suppression of Communism Act, 1950 The Suppression of Communism Act, 1950 (Act No. 44 of 1950), renamed the Internal Security Act in 1976, was legislation of the national government in apartheid South Africa which formally banned the Communist Party of South Africa and proscribed ...

. In 1972, the union absorbed the Coloured, Malay and Asiatic Building Workers' Union, followed in 1980 by the majority of the

Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers of South Africa The Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers of South Africa (ASW) was a trade union representing carpenters, joiners and those in related trades in South Africa. The union originated in 1881, when the British-based Amalgamated Society of Carpenters an ...

. This took its membership up to 19,000. In 1991, it was a founding affiliate of the short-lived Federation of Independent Trade Unions. The union was still in existence in 2017.

References

{{Trade unions in South Africa navbox Building and construction trade unions Trade unions in South Africa Trade unions established in 1916 1916 establishments in South Africa