The Motor Industry Combined Workers' Union (MICWU) was 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 in vehicle manufacturing and servicing, and also petrol attendants, in South Africa. The union was founded in 1961, to represent "coloured" workers who had previously been part of the Motor Industry Employees' Union, as the unions were compelled to divide on racial lines. The new union affiliated to 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 ...

, and by 1980, it had 13,135 members. That year, it absorbed the Motor Industries Union of South Africa, which it had previously established to represent black workers. In 1987, under the leadership of Des East, the union merged with the

Metal and Allied Workers' Union The Metal and Allied Workers' Union (MAWU) was a trade union representing workers in metalworking, engineering and related industries in South Africa. The union was founded in April 1974 in Pietermaritzburg, with the assistance of the General Fa ...

, the National Automobile and Allied Workers' Union and the United Metal, Mining and Allied Workers of South Africa, to form the

National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) is the biggest single trade union in South Africa with more than 338,000 members, and prior to its expulsion on 8 November 2014, the largest affiliate of the Congress of South African Tr ...

.{{cite web , title=Metal that will not bend , url=https://www.numsa.org.za/article/metal-that-will-not-bend-2012-04-23/Q , website=NUMSA , access-date=12 March 2021

References

Vehicle industry trade unions Trade unions established in 1961 Trade unions disestablished in 1987 Trade unions in South Africa