Where South Africa differs is that unionisation has not been declining as it has in a number of the advanced economies. South Africa also differs from many industrialised countries in having a large number of trade unions, most of which are small and unaffiliated to the major trade union federations.
UNION STRATEGY AND STRUCTURE
An analysis of union growth would not be complete without an examination of how union membership is distributed between the country’s major federations and what trends there have been in the strategic choices of unions. In 1994, there were five major union federations which represented 89 per cent of all union members in seventy-seven affiliated unions. By far the largest federation was Cosatu with a 45 per cent share of union membership. The National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) was the second largest – roughly a quarter of Cosatu’s size. Table 3 shows the details of the major trade union federations, comparing their membership size in 1994 and in 2011.
Table 3: Trade union federations, affiliates and membership, 1994 and 2011
By 2011 the configuration of the major federations had changed significantly. Cosatu has increased its number of affiliates, taking on a few smaller trade unions, such as the South African State and Allied Workers Union (Sasawu), the South African Football Players Union (Safpu) and a few others. More importantly, Cosatu’s share of the union membership has jumped to 72 per cent of all workers represented by the major federations or 56.8 per cent of total union membership in the country. Its largest affiliate remains the NUM with just over 300 000 members followed by Numsa and the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), the largest unions in the manufacturing and public service respectively. While Cosatu was committed to a policy of ‘one industry, one union’ at the time of its formation in 1987, this has not been systematically pursued by the federation in the post-1994 period. Mergers have taken place between the old Construction and Allied Workers Union (Cawu) and the NUM and between unions in the chemical and paper and forestry sectors to form the Chemical Energy Paper Printing Wood and Allied Workers Union (Ceppwawu), but the original affiliates of Cosatu in the public service remain intact as separate unions focussing on different parts of the public service. More significant has been the blurring of organisational boundaries between the NUM and Numsa, in particular in mining and in the energy sector, with Numsa taking on members in both these sectors.
In contrast to Cosatu’s growth, Nactu’s membership has dropped by more than half. Recent developments, such as the growth of Amcu in the mining sector and the affiliation of the National Transport Movement may affect this decline, but Nactu remains a federation of relatively small unions spread throughout most sectors of the economy and representing predominantly less skilled and semi-skilled workers. What Nactu retains as a common characteristic with Cosatu is a distinct political unionism, both federations being aligned to party political traditions. The declining significance and support for the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) post-1994 may well have a bearing on the decline in the membership of Nactu. The relationship of Cosatu to the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) has arguably had the opposite effect, although this political relationship is a far more complex one – and will be touched on in the final section.
The formation of the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) through the merger of the old Federation of South African Labour Unions and Force in 1997 established the second largest federation with a membership of predominantly semi-skilled and skilled workers. A substantial proportion of Fedusa’s membership was concentrated in the public service – which was the exclusive domain of the unions affiliated to Force. One of Fedusa’s largest affiliates, the Public Service Association (PSA), disaffiliated, leaving it with a substantially reduced representation in the public service. In the last few years, Fedusa has increased its membership, also among less skilled workers, and now represents workers in most sectors. The largest affiliate of Fedusa is now the United Association of South Africa (Uasa), a general union in mining, manufacturing and the services sectors with over 70 000 members. This feature may well foreshadow the future trajectory of Fedusa as a federation characterised by political neutrality and focussed more on particular strata of the labour force across all sectors of the economy.
The Confederation of South African Workers Unions (Consawu) carried the mantle of the more conservative element in the union movement, taking over from the former South African Confederation of Labour (Sacol). Its major affiliate, Solidarity, grew out of the old Mineworkers Union (MWU) and recently disaffiliated from Consawu to pursue its representation of primarily white workers independently of any federation. This leaves Consawu as a small federation of unions concentrated mainly in the public sector, with a number of small unions in mining, construction, fishing and retail sectors.
The major fissures in the union movement that existed prior to 1994 have thus carried through into the post-1994 period with a trade union landscape characterised by a few federations of unions representing the overwhelming majority of all union members. In 1994, 89 per cent of all union members were concentrated in five federations whereas by 2011 this declined by roughly ten per cent to 78 per cent of union members in four major federations. The most significant shifts have been the increased dominance of Cosatu within the union movement and the growth of Fedusa as an independent voice.
The small grouping of trade unions that remain nonaligned to any of the main federations continues to characterise the union movement although their number has declined slightly from 136 in 1994 to 103 in 2011. Although slightly more union members are concentrated in the nonaligned trade unions, this is most likely explained by a few large unions, such as the PSA and Solidarity, choosing to disaffiliate from union federations.
While the total number of trade unions has declined, the number of applications to register new unions has averaged eighty-eight applications per year over the past ten years. At the same time, the Department of Labour cancelled the registration of approximately twenty-eight trade unions per year over the same period, mainly because of noncompliance with legal obligations under the Labour Relations Act.
The turnover in trade union organisations can be viewed in the context of the post-1994 era of freedom of association and easier access to registration. The main motive for union formation remains a genuine attempt at representing and protecting worker interests, but within the new dispensation trade union organisation has become fair game for those seeking access to resources and opportunities – ranging from labour consultants seeking to represent employees in dispute resolution processes to a few who have made union officialdom a livelihood. The formation of breakaway unions is not a new feature, and includes breakaways from Cosatu affiliates. Amcu was registered in 2001; there has been a break-away from Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) in the fishing sector, and 2012 saw a breakaway from South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) with the formation of the National Transport Movement. While the formation of breakaway unions fragments and weakens union organisation they cannot be read solely as a reflection of internal weaknesses. Internal splits in unions often relate to particular circumstances even though they are most commonly associated with divisions among union leaders and officials.
The above has suggested a relatively stable pattern of union growth and structure since 1994. What remains is an assessment of the character of trade unionism and, especially, of the significance of the industrial conflict of 2012 for trade unionism and for the legal framework.
CHANGES IN UNION ORGANISATION AND LABOUR LAW
A key factor in sustaining trade unions, particularly during apartheid, has been their organisational tradition of shop-floor democracy and worker control. The emphasis on worker control over their leadership and their organisations was critical to the survival and growth of these unions, and continues to be important in explaining how unions sustain themselves. The 1996 LRA does not interfere in the internal operations of unions and, in fact, promotes accountability within trade unions in the legal requirements with which unions have to comply and the way in which these requirements are enforced.
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