The Professional Educators' Union (PEU) 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 education workers 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 1919, when the Northern Transvaal Native Teachers' Association merged with the Southern Transvaal Native Teachers' Association, to form the Transvaal African Teachers' Association. It later renamed itself as the Transvaal African Teachers' Association. In 1949,

Hendrik Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966), also known as H. F. Verwoerd, was a Dutch-born South African politician, scholar in applied psychology, philosophy, and sociology, and newspaper editor who was Prime Mini ...

, the recently elected National Party's Minister of Native Affairs, proposed what became the

Bantu Education Act, 1953 The Bantu ( Blacks ) Education Act 1953 (Act No. 47 of 1953; later renamed the Black Education Act, 1953) was a South African segregation law that legislated for several aspects of the apartheid system. Its major provision enforced racially-separ ...

, formalising apartheid in education. TATA, together with other teachers' organisations in the Cape, the Free State and Natal, strongly opposed it. More conservative teachers in rural areas broke away to form the rival Transvaal African Teachers' Union. TATA elected a new, radical, leadership, including

Zephania Mothopeng Zephania Lekoame Mothopeng (10 September 1913 – 23 October 1990) was a South African political activist and member of the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC). Early life Mothopeng was born near Vrede in Free State, and he had five siblings. He was ...

as president, but along with Eskia Mphahlele and

Isaac Matlare Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in which he is the son of ...

, he was dismissed from teaching in 1952. The union reunited with TATU in 1957, as the ''Transvaal United African Teachers' Association, under a more cautious leadership. By 1984, the union was able to employ its first full-time member of staff, Matshidiso Lizzy Tshabalala, who served as general secretary until 2018. By 1990, the union had 35,000 members. It participated in negotiation around the formation of the South African Democratic Teachers Union, but decided to remain independent. In 1998, it renamed itself as the "Professional Education Union". In 1997, the union affiliated to the

National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa The National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA) is a professional organisation of teachers in South Africa. It is headquartered in Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. History The union was founded in 1991 as a federation ...

(NAPTOSA), a loose federation, but when in 2006 this became a more centralised union, the PEU remained independent. It works with NAPTOSA, the Natal Association of Teachers' Unions and the

Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie The Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie (SAOU), sometimes translated as the South African Teachers' Union, is a trade union representing principally Afrikaans-speaking teachers in South Africa. The union was founded in 1905 to represent Afrikaans-sp ...

in the Combined Trade Unions, for the purpose of recognition by the Education Labour Relations Chamber. It is also an affiliate of the National Council of Trade Unions. As of 2011, it had about 17,000 members.

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References

{{Trade unions in South Africa navbox Confederation of South African Workers' Unions Education trade unions National Council of Trade Unions Trade unions established in 1919 Trade unions in South Africa