The General Workers' Union of South Africa (GWUSA) was a

general union A general union is a trade union (called ''labor union'' in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A gen ...

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's origins lay in the split of the

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

-based Motor Assemblers' and Component Workers' Union from the United Union of Automobile, Rubber and Allied Workers of South Africa. The new union attracted support from some workers in other industries, and so in 1981 established GWUSA to organise them. While initially successful, the union's membership fell back to 2,905 by 1985. That year, it affiliated to the new

Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU or 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 ...

. In 1987, it was dissolved, members joining various industrial unions, such as the

South African Municipal Workers' Union The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) is the largest union in local government in South Africa. History The union was founded on 24 October 1987, when the Municipal Workers' Union of South Africa merged with the Cape Town Municipal ...

and the Construction and Allied Workers' Union.{{cite web , title=COSATU construction workers union , url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/archive-files/LaJan87.0377.5429.012.002.Jan1987.8.pdf , website=South African History Online , access-date=14 March 2021

References

General unions Trade unions established in 1981 Trade unions disestablished in 1987 Trade unions in South Africa