The Council of Non-European Trade Unions (CNETU) was a

national trade union federation A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...

bringing together unions representing black workers in South Africa. The federation was established in November 1941, with the merger of the Non-European Trade Union Co-ordinating Committee and the recently-founded Joint Committee of African Trade Unions, associated with Max Gordon.

Moses Kotane Moses Mauane Kotane (9 August 190519 May 1978) was a South African politician and activist. Kotane was secretary general of the South African Communist Party from 1939 until his death in 1978.

presided over the inaugural conference. Gana Makabeni, who had been the leader of the Coordinating Committee of African Trade Unions was elected president, and David Gosani elected secretary. The

war economy A war economy or wartime economy is the set of contingencies undertaken by a modern State (polity), state to mobilize its economy for Materiel, war production. Philippe Le Billon describes a war economy as a "system of Production (economics), p ...

led to rapid increases of manufacturing industry, bringing large numbers of African workers into urban areas and increasing the price of food and other goods. This led to much increased industrial unrest. There were 37 registered strikes by African workers in 1941. This led to the government informally recognising African unions. After a one-day strike by the African workers organised by CNETU in December 1942 the Johannesburg City Council agreed to raise the salaries of its workers by 60%. In 1945 119 unions with 158,000 members, a majority from Johannesburg, were affiliated. These unions were not recognised by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

or the employers. Initially, the federation worked closely with the Trotskyist Workers' International League, but the Trotskyists were expelled in 1945. Gana Makabeni opposed strike action and campaigned for government recognition of African unions. In 1945 he was replaced by J. B. Marks. In 1946 it pushed, with the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installe ...

and 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 ...

, unsuccessfully, for the

African Mine Workers' Strike The African Mine Workers' Strike was a labour dispute involving mine workers of Witwatersrand in South Africa. It started on 12 August, 1946 and lasted approximately a week. The strike was attacked by police and over the week, at least 1,248 worker ...

to become a General Strike. In 1947, a group of unions split away, to form the rival Council of African Trade Unions. By 1950, only 53 unions were still affiliated. After the passing of the Native Labour (Settlement of Disputes) Act, 1953 it collapsed.

References

{{Political history of South Africa Defunct trade unions in South Africa Trade unions established in 1941 Trade unions disestablished in 1953