South African Congress of Trade Unions

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The South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU about "South African Congress of Trade Unions") was a South African Union - an umbrella organization at the time of apartheid .

history

prehistory

In the 1930s there were numerous unions of different political orientations in South Africa, some of them also separated by skin color. They formed the South African Trades and Labor Council (SATLC) that in 1944 the socialist -oriented Workers' Charter adopted. The Suppression of Communism Act 1950 allowed the authorities to crush the SATLC. Numerous trade unions for non-blacks left the SATLC and formed the Trade Union Council of South Africa (TUCSA).

Foundation and activities

On March 5, 1955, SACTU was founded in Johannesburg as an umbrella organization for black and non-racial unions. The naming indicated a connection to the opposition African National Congress (ANC), which had gained in importance in the course of the Defiance Campaign . SACTU initially consisted of 19 individual unions with a total of 20,000 members. The first president was Petrus Beyleveld, with JB Marks serving as advisor . Just a few months after it was founded, SACTU delegates took part in the Congress of the People near Johannesburg. The government passed the Industrial Conciliation Amendment Act - later known as the Labor Relations Act - in 1956, which severely restricted union activity. Blacks should lose their union representation altogether and trade unions that are segregated according to population group should not be banned. However, union work was able to continue. The number of members in the area of ​​the Witwatersrands stagnated at 15,000 until 1961, while in other regions, such as Natal , many members could be won. In 1959 the number of SACTU members increased by 13,500 after the riots in Cato Manor in Natal . Several SACTU officials such as Billy Nair , Stephen Dlamini and Gert Sibande were among the 156 defendants in the Treason Trial , which began in 1956 and ended in 1961 with the acquittal of all defendants. During this time the SACTU carried out numerous strikes and actions such as the potato boycott in Bethal . In 1960, Moses Mabhida was chairman of SACTU. In 1961 SACTU had 53,000 members in 51 individual unions. With the ban on numerous opposition groups after the Sharpeville massacre , it became difficult for SACTU to get involved. Dozens of executives have been arrested, and some have died in prison. Billy Nair was also among the defendants in the Rivonia Trial in 1963/1964.

SACTU was a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Trade Union Confederation (WFTU).

Succession organization

A larger successor organization emerged with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in December 1985, which is also close to the ANC and represents more than two million employees .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d e SACTU at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on January 10, 2013
  2. ^ Industrial Conciliation Act, 1956 at O'Malley's Archives , accessed January 10, 2013
  3. COSATU website , accessed on January 10, 2013