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This issue analyzes the state's "campaign" against English-speaking clergy and the systematic expulsion of foreign ministers. It includes Sonny Leon’s vision for the Labour Party, Edgar Brookes’ analysis of the first three Spro-cas reports, and a satirical future-history of public executions in South Africa. -
This issue critiques the 10th anniversary of the Republic, highlighting the "Coloured" Labour Party's defiance of the government-created Representative Council. It includes Neville Curtis's call for a boycott of Republic Day celebrations, supported by an array of socioeconomic statistics, and an analysis of Afrikaner linguistic conservation. -
This issue features a keynote address by British Labour politician Denis Healey on the "Opinions of Mankind" regarding Apartheid. The editorial expands on Terence Beard's thesis that the "Common Society" is impossible without closing the catastrophic economic gap between races. It also explores the "otherness" created by poverty and the psychological barriers to change in the white electorate. -
This issue focuses on the judicial crisis following the re-detention of the "22" (including Winnie Mandela), the role of student protests in challenging arbitrary state power, and the ethical dilemmas of the English-speaking community. It includes Edgar Brookes on the "State of the Republic" and Peter Randall on the "Social Dynamics of Change." -
This issue focuses on the shifting spectrum of student activism in the 1970s, the role of the Church in politics, and the government's introduction of the "Book of Life" (Identity Document). It features Neville Curtis on the emergence of Black Consciousness (SASO) and its challenge to NUSAS, as well as an analysis of the deportation of the Rev. Dick Cadigan. -
Published following the 1970 General Election, this issue critiques the "annihilation" of the Herstigte Nasionale Party and the "sham" of separate development. It features Edgar Brookes on the "Brain Drain" of liberal academics and Donald Gillham’s philosophical inquiry into the nature of revolutionaries versus bigoted conservatives. Other topics include the threat to African writing and the dilemma of liberals regarding the Middle East conflict. -
A 1970 issue exploring the inherent link between politics and sport, the legacy of Jan Smuts, and the struggles of writers in Zulu and Afrikaans. Key articles include André Brink's analysis of the Afrikaans writer's moral dilemma and Edgar Brookes' reassessment of Smuts. It documents the police harassment of the non-racial South African Soccer Federation and the banning of athletes Arthur Ashe and Papwa Sewgolum. -
A 1970 issue exploring the "General Election for What?", Nadine Gordimer’s critique of censorship as a "homeland" for the mind, and E.G. Malherbe’s analysis of the newly legislated "autonomous" non-white universities. It features a critical look at the "Poverty Gap" and the psychological struggle within the Afrikaner personality between rigid authoritarianism and modern "man-of-the-world" Calvinism. -
A 1969 issue dedicated to the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi and his relevance to a "violent world." The editorial analyses the unexpected victory of the anti-apartheid Labour Party in the Coloured Persons' Representative Council elections, mocking the government's attempts to nominate losing candidates to maintain control. It also includes Edgar Brookes' analysis of the "sullen silence" of oppressed South Africans and Donald Molteno’s critique of the "B.O.S.S. Act" (Bureau of State Security). -
A 1969 issue featuring an editorial on the Apollo 11 moon landing ("In Peace for All Mankind") and its implications for global unity. It includes a tribute to the rebanned Liberal Party leader Peter Brown by Alan Paton, an analysis of Emily Hobhouse’s pacifism and passive resistance by Marie Dyer, and a philosophical exploration of the "tensions" within liberalism by C.O. Gardner. The issue also reviews the film "Katrina" and discusses the American campus protest scene. -
A 1972 issue featuring a sharp critique of the English-language press for supporting the government's external "dialogue" policy and using state-sanctioned terminology like "terrorist" for guerrilla fighters. It includes a significant field report by David de Beer on the political shift in South West Africa (now Namibia) following the 1971 World Court Opinion, detailing the student boycott in Ovamboland and the opposition of the Lutheran churches to apartheid. Other articles cover the Coloured Persons' Representative Council, literacy work in Swaziland, and South Africa's expansionist foreign policy -
A 1969 issue of the liberal journal featuring an editorial on the global student rebellion, comparing South African student protests to those in Spain, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. It includes a foundational article by Anthony Barker on the "vivid humanity" and systemic disadvantages of African nurses, and a comparative study by Alan McConnell Mabin on the press in Communist Yugoslavia versus the "sensationalist" South African press. The issue explicitly challenges "eiesoortige" (own-kind) development as a tool for rigid racial separation. -
Formed in the mid-1990s, CANSA was an alliance of labour activists, NGOs, and academics. It provided a critical intellectual and street-level challenge to the South African government’s neoliberal economic shifts. CANSA played a crucial role in mobilising support for the "People’s Budget" and served as a precursor to the Social Movements Indaba (SMI) and the Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF). -
Founded in 1955 as the Women's Defence of the Constitution League, the Black Sash was a non-violent white women's resistance organisation. It became famous for its "silent vigils" and its extensive network of Advice Offices that provided legal aid and documented the effects of Pass Laws and forced removals on Black South Africans. Post-1994, it transitioned into a human rights organisation focused on social security and constitutional justice. -
Established by the NEDLAC Act (No. 35 of 1994), NEDLAC is South Africa's primary statutory body for social dialogue and collective bargaining. It facilitates consensus-building among the government, Organised Labour, Organised Business, and Community groups on social and economic policy. It was born out of the transition-era National Economic Forum (NEF) and the National Manpower Commission (NMC).
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The South African Municipal Workers' Union (SAMWU) is the largest trade union in the local government sector in South Africa and a dominant force in the country’s public service sector.
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Founded in 1974, PPWAWU was a significant force in organising workers in South Africa's capital-intensive paper and forestry industries. It played a major role in the transition of the labour movement from industrial resistance to sectoral bargaining. In February 1999, it merged with the CWIU to form the "super union" CEPPWAWU.
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A prominent South African trade union founded in 1974. A pioneer in shop-floor democracy, the CWIU organised workers at major multinationals like SASOL and Shell. It was a critical force in the 1970s and 80s labour movement. In 1999, it merged with PPWAWU to form CEPPWAWU.
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The Transport and General Workers Union (T & GWU) was a South African trade union representing workers across a range of sectors, including goods transport, passenger services, contract cleaning, contract security, and related service industries. Active during the late apartheid and early transition periods, the union was involved in collective bargaining, workplace organisation, and campaigns around centralised bargaining, labour rights, and improved working conditions. T & GWU participated in broader labour movement structures, including engagements with other COSATU-affiliated unions.
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The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU) is a South African trade union representing workers primarily in the commercial, retail, catering, and allied service sectors. The union has played a significant role in collective bargaining, workplace organisation, and labour rights advocacy, and forms part of the broader history of the South African labour movement. -
The National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (NUPSAW) is a South African trade union representing workers primarily in the public service and allied sectors. Established to advance and protect the labour, social, and economic rights of its members, the union engages in collective bargaining, worker education, and advocacy within the broader labour movement. NUPSAW operates nationally and is active in issues relating to employment conditions, workplace equity, and public service delivery.
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Founded in May 1987, NUMSA is the largest single trade union in South Africa. It was formed through the merger of several unions, including MAWU, NAAWU, MICWU, and UMMAWOSA. Historically a leading affiliate of COSATU, NUMSA was expelled in 2014 following its decision to withdraw support for the ANC-SACP alliance. It is a founding member of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU).
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Founded in November 1985 at the University of Natal, COSATU is South Africa's largest trade union federation. It emerged as a unified front of 33 unions to challenge apartheid labor laws and broader political oppression. It is a key member of the Tripartite Alliance.
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In 1991 and 1992, the NUM accepted basic wage increases on the gold mines that were far below the annual inflation rate because of the crisis in the industry. The priority of the union was to preserve employment. But this left the door wide open for rich mines (like Kloof, Elandsrand and Vaal Reefs) to hide behind the low increases that are set in the Chamber negotiations at levels that Free gold, BuffeIsfontein and marginal mines can live with. The NUM decided that workers need a way of adding more money onto their wages If the mines can afford to pay more. The ideal is for a national wage policy in which the richer mines can help the poorer mines to pay the same wages. But this will mean new tax laws, new ownership rules and a new government to force it all through. Right now, the union needs a special policy for collective bargaining in an industry that is in long term decline. The economy is not growing, few new mines are opening, so workers who get retrenched are threatened with starvation. NUM has already accepted a reduction in real wage standards to slow down the speed at which mines are contracting. -
This policy document outlines the strategic mandate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in the lead-up to the 1994 democratic elections. Adopted by the Executive Committee (EXCO), the programme formalises the federation’s "Three Priorities": Political Mobilisation: Ensuring a decisive electoral victory for the African National Congress (ANC) and securing its legitimacy to govern. Organisational Development: Strengthening the internal structures of COSATU to transition from a resistance movement to a sustainable force in a post-apartheid economy. Advocacy for Worker Interests: Establishing a framework to ensure the ANC-led government prioritises labour rights, specifically through the implementation of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP).