Michael Mzwandile Makwayiba is a South African trade unionist. Born in Ntlangaza, in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

, Makwayiba began working on an apple farm in

Grabouw Grabouw is a town located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Grabouw is located some 65 km south-east of Cape Town, over Sir Lowry's Pass from Somerset West, along the N2 highway.The town is the commercial centre for the vast Elgin ...

. In 1990, he moved to work as a cleaner at the Green Point-Somerset Hospital. There, he joined the Health Workers' Union. He soon became one of the union's most prominent activists, and was elected as its deputy president in 1992. In 1993, the union decided to merge into the

National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) is a trade union in South Africa. With a membership of 235,000 it is the largest public sector union in the country. It organizes State, Health, Education and Welfare workers. H ...

(NEHAWU), and Makwayiba became deputy chair of its Western Cape region, and chair of its

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

branch. In 1997, he was elected as chair of the union's Western Cape region, also becoming chair 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 ...

in the Western Cape. In 2004, Makwayiba was elected as second deputy president of NEHAWU, then in 2010 rose to become the union's president. In 2016, he was additionally elected as president of the

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Makwayiba, Mzwandile Date of birth missing (living people) Living people People from the Eastern Cape South African trade unionists Year of birth missing (living people)