workers

1973 STRIKES – BIRTH OF NEW UNIONS

1973 STRIKES – BIRTH OF NEW UNIONS

TWO THOUSAND BLACK WORKERS at Coronation Brick and Tile in Durban went on strike in January 1973. They could not know that their action to demand a modest wage increase would ultimately transform workers’ struggle in South Africa. They launched a process of concerted...

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WHAT ABOUT WHITE WORKERS?

WHAT ABOUT WHITE WORKERS?

HOW DID THE END OF APARTHEID affect South Africa’s white workers? An excellent question. And the answer can go a long way towards explaining some of the more virulent politics evident today. But the question is rarely asked because – so the assumption goes – there are...

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News Briefs

News Briefs

NUMSA Dirty Tricks Document ARE STATE SECURITY AGENCIES involved in the closing of democratic space? Evidence of people being approached to spy on social justice activists, phone taps, phony intelligence reports, and sinister thefts of electronic equipment indicate...

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Letters to the Editor

Dear Amandla! At a time when the crisis in Cosatu has reached breaking point and we can expect the emergence of a new trade union movement or federation, it is critically important for left trade unionists to draw some lessons from the crisis. Cosatu’s demise is not...

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Department of Labour: Toothless as a snail

President Zuma has signed a contentious round of amendments to the Labour Relations Act into law. After protests from Cosatu, the government withdrew the proposal of compulsory secret balloting among union members before a strike, as demanded by the DA and the...

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