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Trade unions in South Africa has a history dating back to the 1880s. From the beginning unions could be viewed as a reflection of the racial disunity of the country, with the earliest unions being predominantly for
white White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
workers. Through the turbulent years of 1948–1991 trade unions played an important part in developing political and economic resistance, and eventually were one of the driving forces in realising the transition to an inclusive democratic government. Today trade unions are still an important force 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 count ...
, with 3.11 million members representing 25.3% of the formal work force. The
Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.One Union expelled, ...
(COSATU) is the largest of the three major trade union centres, with a membership of 1.8 million, and is part of the
Tripartite alliance The Tripartite Alliance is an alliance between the African National Congress (ANC), the Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded i ...
with the ruling
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 install ...
(ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP).


The history

Early trade unions were often for whites only, with organizations like the South African Confederation of Labour (SACoL) favouring employment policies based on racial discrimination. They also often did not fully accept women into the unions.
Mary Fitzgerald Mary Fitzgerald may refer to: * Mary Fitzgerald (trade unionist) (1883–1960), Irish-born South African political activist * Mary Fitzgerald (artist) (born 1956), Irish artist * Mary Anne Fitzgerald (born 1945), South African-born British journali ...
is considered the first female South African trade unionist and who led many strikes and sit ins before 1911. The first trade union to organise
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
workers was the
Industrial Workers of Africa Anarchism in South Africa dates to the 1880s, and played a major role in the labour and socialist movements from the turn of the twentieth century through to the 1920s. The early South African anarchist movement was strongly syndicalist. The as ...
(IWA), formed in September 1917 by the revolutionary syndicalist
International Socialist League International Socialist League can refer to: *International Socialist League (South Africa), a former syndicalist group *International Socialist League (UK), a Trotskyist party *International Socialist League (2019) The International Socialist Lea ...
(ISL). The IWA merged into the
Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union of Africa The Industrial and Commercial Union (ICU) was a trade union and mass-based popular political movement in southern Africa. It was influenced by the syndicalist politics of the Industrial Workers of the World (adopting the IWW Preamble in 1925), ...
(ICU), formed in 1919, in 1920. The ICU was initially a union for black and coloured dockworkers in
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 larges ...
and formed by
Clements Kadalie Clements Kadalie (1896 – 1951) was born Lameck Koniwaka Kadali Muwamba in Nyasaland (present-day Malawi). At age sixteen, he was a qualified teacher. He later settled in Cape Town, South Africa where he became South Africa's first black natio ...
and Arthur F. Batty. It was the first nationally organized union for black workers who would eventually include rural farm workers, domestic and factory workers, dockworkers, teachers and retailers. By the 1920s it was said to be more popular than the ANC and eventually had branches in the Free State, Transvaal and Natal and in 1925 it moved its headquarters to
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
. In 1924, the South African Trades Union Council (SATUC) was formed with 30,000 members of black trade unions with Bill Andrews as its secretary. It would attract black trade unions from the dry-cleaning, furniture, sweets and automobile industries. By the 1930s the
South African Trades and Labour Council The South African Trades and Labour Council (SAT&LC) was a national trade union federation in South Africa. History The federation was founded in 1930, when the South African Trades Union Council merged with the Cape Federation of Labour Unions. ...
(SATLC) had united much of the country. The SATLC maintained an explicitly non-racial stance, and accepted affiliation of black trade unions, as well as calling for full legal rights for black trade unionists. Some black unions joined SATLC, while in the 1940s others affiliated with the
Council of Non-European Trade Unions The Council of Non-European Trade Unions (CNETU) was a national trade union federation bringing together unions representing black workers in South Africa. The federation was established in November 1941, with the merger of the Non-European Trade ...
, raising it to a peak of 119 unions and 158,000 members in 1945. In 1946, the CNETU 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 install ...
and the South African Communist Party pushed 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. The strike was broken by the police brutality which was part of the rise of the National Party (NP) and their slogan of
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
as all black trade unions were violently suppressed.


1970 – 1991

By 1954 SATLC was disbanded, and with the formation of the
Trade Union Council of South Africa The Trade Union Council of South Africa (TUCSA) was a national trade union federation in South Africa. History The council was founded in October 1954 by 61 unions which split from the South African Trades and Labour Council. They decided that on ...
(TUCSA) union membership included white, coloured, and Asians, with blacks in dependent organizations. Independent black unions were excluded from affiliation and 14 previous unions from SATLC founded the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU). SACTU merged with the Council of Non-European Trade Unions and became the trade union arm of the ANC. The union grew to a membership of 53,000 by 1961, but was driven underground, and for a decade black unionism was again virtually silenced in South Africa. In 1979 the Federation of South African Trade Unions (FOSATU) was formed, with the Council of Unions of South Africa (CUSA) being created in the following year. What was to become one of the largest unions in South Africa, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was created in 1982, and was deeply involved in the political conflict against the ruling National Party. The union embraced four "pillars" of action - armed struggle, mass mobilisation ( ungovernability), international solidarity, and underground operation. The
Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.One Union expelled, ...
(COSATU) was formed in 1985, and FOSATU merged into it in the same year (more formally known in the teaching industry). The largest strike up to that date in South Africa's history took place on 1 May 1986, when 1.5 million black workers "stayed away" in a demand for recognition of an official May Day holiday. In the following June up to 200 trade union officials, including Elijah Barayi and Jay Naidoo of the COSATU, and Phiroshaw Camay, the general secretary of the CUSA, were reported to be arrested under a renewed state of emergency. Also in 1986, CUSA joined with the Azanian Confederation of Trade Unions (AZACTU) to form the National Council of Trade Unions (NACTU), and Chief
Mangosuthu Buthelezi Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi (born 27 August 1928) is a South African politician and Zulu traditional leader who is currently a Member of Parliament and the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family. He was Chief Minister of th ...
created the United Workers' Union of South Africa (UWUSA), particularly to oppose disinvestment in South Africa. The UWUSA eventually faded from view, but not before revelations in July 1991 that it had collaborated with anti-union employers in a campaign against both COSATU and NACTU activists, and had received at least 1.5 million Rand from the security police. In 1988 a new Labour Relations Act placed restrictions on labour activities, including giving the Labour Court the power to ban lawful strikes and lock-outs. This was to be short-lived, and negotiations between COSATU, NACTU and the
South African Committee on Labour Affairs South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*su ...
(SACOLA) eventually produced a 1991 amendment which effectively repealed the previous powers. In 1990 SACTU, which had continued underground activities from exile, dissolved and advised its members to join COSATU. COSATU, as a member of the Tripartite alliance with the ANC and SACP, provided material support in the form of strikes and both political and economic unrest, which eventually led to the displacement of the National Party, and the majority victory of the ANC in the 1994 political elections.


Today

Trade unions are recognized within the 1996
Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Gove ...
, which provides for the right to join trade unions and for unions to bargain collectively and strike. That has translated into the Labour Relations Act, which established the working framework for both unions and employers. Three institutions have also been created to further the goals of reducing industrial relations conflict, eliminating unfair discrimination and redressing past discrimination in the workplace: the
National Economic Development and Labour Council National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
(NEDLAC), the
Labour Court A labor court (or labour court or industrial tribunal) is a governmental judiciary body which rules on labor or employment-related matters and disputes. In a number of countries, labor cases are often taken to separate national labor high courts. O ...
and th
Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration
(CCMA). With the creation of the Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) from the merger of the Federation of South African Labour Unions (FEDSAL) and several smaller unions in 1997, the three main union organizations were established. COSATU, with a membership of 1.8 million, is followed by FEDUSA with 560,000 members and NACTU with almost 400,000 members including the powerful mineworkers union. All three are affiliated with the
International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest trade union A trade union (labor union in Am ...
. A fourth national trade union centre was formed in 2003. The
Confederation of South African Workers' Unions The Confederation of South African Workers' Unions (CONSAWU) is a national trade union centre in South Africa. History The federation was established in 2003 by 21 trade unions which identified themselves as Christian democratic. It applied fo ...
(CONSAWU) is affiliated with the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). The 2006 ICFTU Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights noted South Africa:
"Serious violations were reported during the year, including the death of two workers killed by their employer in a wage dispute, and a striking farm worker killed by security guards. Protest strikes and demonstrations met with violent repression, such as the use of rubber bullets, which in the case of striking truck drivers, led to injuries."


Labour and HIV/AIDS

South Africa has one of the largest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the world, with a 2005 estimate of 5.5 million people living with HIV, 12.4% of its population. The trade union movement has taken a role in combating that pandemic. COSATU is a key partner in the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), a registered charity and political force working to educate and promote understanding about HIV/AIDS, and to prevent new infections, as well as push for greater access to antiretrovirals. COSATU passed a resolution in 1998 to campaign for treatment. "It was clear to the labour movement at that time that its lowest paid members were dying because they couldn’t afford medicines," stated Theodora Steel, Campaigns Coordinator at COSATU. "We saw TAC as a natural ally in a campaign for treatment. We passed a formal resolution at our congress to assist and build TAC." Notwithstanding the formal alliance of COSATU with the ruling ANC, it has been at odds with the government by calling for the rollout of comprehensive public access to antiretroviral drugs.


Labour Relations Act

The Labour Relations Act was passed in 1995 and experienced major amendments in 1996 1998 and 2002. Its stated purpose is to "give effect to section 27 of the Constitution" by regulating organisational rights of trade unions, promoting
collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The ...
, regulating the right to strike and the recourse to lockouts and providing mechanisms for dispute resolution and the establishment of Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court as superior courts "with exclusive jurisdiction to decide matters arising from the Act". The act also addresses employee participation in decisionmaking and international law obligations in respect to labour relations. The Labour Relations Act does not apply to the
South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...
, the National Intelligence Agency or the South African Secret Service.


Bargaining councils

Bargaining councils are formed by registered trade unions and employers' organisations. They deal with collective agreements, attempt to solve labour disputes and make proposals on labour policies and laws. As well, they may administer pension funds, sick pay, unemployment and training schemes and other such benefits for their members. The Amended Labour Relations Act also notes that the councils are to "extend the services and functions of the bargaining council to workers in the informal sector and home workers".


Agency Shop Agreements

Agency Shop Agreements are struck by a majority trade union (either one union or a coalition of unions representing the majority of workers employed) and an employer or employers' organisation. The agreement requires employers to deduct a fee from the wages of non-union workers to "ensure that non-union workers, who benefit from the union’s bargaining efforts, make a contribution towards those efforts". Permission from the employee is not required for deductions to be assessed. However, employee who are conscientious objectors and refuse membership in a trade union on the grounds of conscience, they may request for their fees to be paid to a fund administered by the Department of Labour.


Closed shop Agreements

Closed shop A pre-entry closed shop (or simply closed shop) is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times to remain employed. This is different fr ...
agreements, which require all workers in the covered workplace to join unions, may be struck if two thirds of the workers vote in favour of the agreement. Workers must then join the union or face dismissal. In addition, "if a union expels a member or refuses to allow a new worker to become a union member, and if this expulsion or refusal is in accordance with the union’s constitution or is for a fair reason, then the employer will have to dismiss the worker. This dismissal is not considered unfair". Conscientious objectors may not be dismissed for refusing to join the union. Restrictions on closed shops include the requirements not to compel workers to be trade union members before obtaining employment and for dues collected from employees to be used only to "advance or protect the socio-economic interests of workers".


References

{{Africa in topic, Trade unions in Politics of South Africa Political organisations based in South Africa