The Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers' Union of South Africa (DEMAWUSA) is a
trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
representing workers employed by local authorities and state governments in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
The union was founded in 2015, as a split from the
South African Municipal Workers Union. In 2017, it was a founding affiliate of the
South African Federation of Trade Unions
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) is a trade union federation in South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of Sout ...
(SAFTU), and as of 2020, it had about 12,000 members.
In 2019, the union held a strike ballot among Metrobus workers in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
. Although it stated that the ballot was conducted in secret, the
Government of South Africa
The Government of South Africa, or South African Government, is the national government of the Republic of South Africa, a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary ...
claimed that it was unable to prove this, and that as a result, it should be deregistered. The union appealed this deregistration order, arguing that SAFTU affiliates were being unfairly targeted by the government.
In 2021, the union was considering a merger with the Municipal and Allied Trade Union of South Africa, another SAFTU affiliate, with a similar history.
External links
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References
{{Trade unions in South Africa navbox
South African Federation of Trade Unions
Municipal workers' trade unions
Trade unions established in 2015
Public sector trade unions in South Africa
2015 establishments in South Africa