Randall Howard (born 1961) is a former South African trade unionist. Born in the Bonteheuwel area of

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 ...

, Howard was the second-oldest of fourteen children. After completing school, he worked to support his family. From 1986, he worked at South African Container Depots (SACD), where he clandestinely operated as a

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

for 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 ...

(TGWU). He soon became the chair of the shop stewards' committee, and organised events such as long union meeting on Friday, intended to disrupt port activities and encourage employers' to engage with the union's demands. Howard's success led him to win election as chair of the TGWU's

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

branch. In 1988, he was sacked by SACD, and began working full-time for the union, serving as deputy general secretary, then from 1994 as the union's general secretary. He took it into a merger which formed the South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union, winning election as the new union's general secretary. In 2006, Howard was elected as the president of the

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership ...

. He stood down from his union positions in 2009, when he became an advisor to

Richard Baloyi Masenyani Richard Baloyi was the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs under South African President Jacob Zuma, from 2009 to 2014. Before, he was Minister of Public Service and Administration in Kgalema Motlanthe's cabin ...

, the Minister of Public Services.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Randall 1961 births Living people People from Cape Town South African trade unionists