The General Workers' Union (GWU) was a

general union A general union is a trade union (called ''labor union'' in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A gene ...

representing workers 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 1977, on the initiative of the Western Province Workers' Advice Bureau. It was initially named the Western Province General Workers' Union, but expanded across the country in 1980, becoming the "General Workers' Union". By that point, it had 13,300 members. Unlike the majority of South African trade unions, it represented all workers, regardless of ethnicity, although the large majority were black. The union focused on co-ordinating independent committees of workers, and was strongly opposed to registration with the

Government of South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority ...

.{{cite book , last1=Miller , first1=Shirley , title=Trade Unions in South Africa 1970-1980: a directory and statistics , date=1982 , publisher=Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit , location=Cape Town , isbn=0799204692 While remaining open to all workers, the union decided to strengthen its position by recruiting in specific industries. It gained recognition among dock workers in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, becoming the first of the group of unions founded in the 1970s to sign a recognition agreement. It did not affiliate to the

Federation of South African Trade Unions The Federation of South African Trade Unions (FOSATU) was a trade union federation in South Africa. History The federation was formed at a congress over the weekend of 14–15 April 1979 in Hammanskraal and officially launched five days l ...

, generally being considered to be more political and slightly more left-wing than its members. Despite its political activism, it refused to affiliate with any specific party or movement. In 1985, the union became a founding affiliate of the

Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) 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 ...

. The following year, it merged into the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

References

General unions Trade unions established in 1977 Trade unions disestablished in 1986 Trade unions in South Africa