This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
In an informative analysis, Gideon du Plessis, general secretary of trade union Solidarity, gives an overview of the seminal events and developments of the past decade during which the standing and power of once dominant organisations such as the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), metalworkers’ union Numsa and labour federation Cosatu waned.
The decline started, he argues, with the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (Amcu) poaching members from NUM in the wake of the tragic Marikana killings of 2012. He goes on to identify and outline the further events and developments which exacerbated the trend towards dividing and weakening the trade union movement and the working class. He also elaborates on the current difficulties that Numsa, Amcu and labour federation Saftu are facing. Moreover, a number of elective congresses are coming up, with leadership positions to be contested. However, in the view of Du Plessis, “a turning point has since been reached and trade union unity has been boosted as a result of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on job security. Workers are now less concerned about the colour of their trade union T-shirt, and joint campaigns to save jobs are being embarked on.” In particular, during the recent wage negotiations in the gold sector, Amcu and NUM buried the hatchet and aligned their wage demands. “These two like-minded unions are now on a joint strike at Sibanye-Stillwater and they are holding joint member meetings, organising marches and media conferences together.” Based on his non-partisan analysis, Du Plessis concludes that: “There is a window of opportunity for ideologically aligned unions and federations in SA to unite the working class and once again become a force employers, the government and the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) social partners need to take seriously.”
- Read the full original of Gideon du Plessis’ article at BusinessLive
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page