Workers News Nov 1997 - Special tenth anniversary edition

Title: Workers News Nov 1997 - Special tenth anniversary edition
Creator: SAMWU
Subject: SAMWU
Date Issued: Nov 1997
Date: Nov 1997
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/137959
Identifier: vital:37577
Description: I started with the municipality in 1970 as a plumber with the technical section of the JCC. There were no unions then that organised Black workers - we were not allowed to belong to any union at that time. We were first given help by the Industrial Aid Society, then the FOSATU Workers Project, and then I became one of the first shopstewards in TGWU in 1980. It was difficult in the early days of TGWU - other workers would be afraid even to sit next to you in case they were victimised by the employer. In those days there were no wage negotiations - we used to get a 20c increase. The process in launching SAMWU was a very difficult one. We started the merger talks even before COSATU was launched in 1985. But when COSATU launched, that Congress took a decision that organiations in the municipal sector should merge. It was not an easy process but because we were all for unity in the end we achieved what we set out to do. My first main challenge as SAMWU President was to unite Local Government workers. In our history Local Government workers had no national union, whereas workers in other sectors had national unions. But in many ways, after SAMWU's first Congress, things became easier for municipal workers. We had established a solid base from which to challenge the employers.
Format: 36 pages
Format: pdf
Publisher: South African Municipal Workers' Union (SAMWU)
Language: English
Rights: South African Municipal Workers' Union (SAMWU)
Rights: No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission from the publisher

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