The South African Association of Municipal Employees (SAAME) was 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 local government 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 originated in 1917 as a federation of local government unions. By 1919 it had ten affiliates in the

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 others elsewhere. The majority of these decided to turn the federation into a new union, which became the SAAME. It was a founding affiliate of the all-white South African Federation of Trade Unions, and later of the larger South African Confederation of Labour (SACOL). By 1980, the union had 41,492 members, but it wanted to admit non-white workers and so resigned from SACOL. It joined the

Federation of South African Labour Unions The Federation of South African Labour Unions (FEDSAL) was a national trade union federation in South Africa. History The federation was established in 1959, as the Federation of Salaried Staff Associations, by four unions representing white-colla ...

, and by 1992 it had 50,000 members. In 1996, it merged with the Durban Municipal Employees Association, Johannesburg Municipal Employees Association, National Union of Employees of Local Authorities and South African Local Authorities and Allied Workers' Union, to form the

Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union The Independent Municipal & Allied Trade Union (IMATU) is a trade union in South Africa. It has a membership of 105,000 and is the largest politically independent trade union in the local government sector. The Union was founded on 8 March 199 ...

.{{cite web , title=The history of IMATU , url=http://imatu.co.za/?page_id=33 , website=IMATU , access-date=5 April 2021

References

Municipal workers' trade unions Trade unions established in 1919 Trade unions disestablished in 1996