The Urban Training Project (UTP) was an initiative to encourage black workers in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

to form new

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s. During the 1960s, the

Trade Union Council of South Africa The Trade Union Council of South Africa (TUCSA) was a national trade union federation in South Africa. History The council was founded in October 1954 by 61 unions which split from the South African Trades and Labour Council. They decided that on ...

(TUCSA) had first permitted unions representing black workers to affiliate, then banned them, in response to a backlash from many of its white affiliates. Its African affairs section closed in 1969. Former officials of the section established the Urban Training Project in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

the following year, with the intention of educating black workers on trade unionism and

works council A works council is a shop-floor organization representing workers that functions as a local/firm-level complement to trade unions but is independent of these at least in some countries. Works councils exist with different names in a variety of re ...

s. Numerous trade unions were created through the work of the project: {, class="wikitable sortable" ! Union !! Abbreviation !! Founded , - , Building, Construction and Allied Workers' Union , , BCAWU , , 1975 , - ,

Commercial Catering and Allied Workers' Union of South Africa The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU) is a trade union representing retail, distribution, and hospitality workers in South Africa. History The union was founded in 1975, as the Commercial Catering and Allie ...

, , CCAWUSA , , 1976 , - , Glass and Allied Workers' Union , , GAWU , , 1975 , - , Laundry and Dry Cleaning Workers' Association , , LDCWA , , 1972 , - ,

National Union of Textile Workers The National Union of Textile Workers was a trade union representing workers in the textile industry in England, principally in Yorkshire. History The union was founded in 1922 when the General Union of Textile Workers merged with the Nationa ...

, , NUTW , , 1973 , - ,

Paper, Wood and Allied Workers' Union The Paper, Wood and Allied Workers' Union (PWAWU) was a trade union representing workers in various related industries in South Africa. The union was founded on 31 May 1974 in Springs, Transvaal, with the assistance of the Urban Training Projec ...

, , PWAWU , , 1974 , - , South African Chemical Workers' Union , , SACWU , , 1972 , - ,

Sweet, Food and Allied Workers' Union The Sweet, Food and Allied Workers' Union (SFAWU) was a trade union representing food processing workers in South Africa. The union was founded in February 1974 in Durban, with the assistance of the Urban Training Project. By 1977, it had sprea ...

, , SFAWU , , 1974 , - , United Automobile, Rubber and Allied Workers' Union , , UAW , , 1975 In 1973, the affiliates founded the Black Consultative Committee (BCC), as a loose federation. This began working closely with TUCSA, and led rival unions to accuse the BCC unions of not being truly independent. In 1979, some of the committee's affiliates joined the new

Federation of South African Trade Unions The Federation of South African Trade Unions (FOSATU) was a trade union federation in South Africa. History The federation was formed at a congress over the weekend of 14–15 April 1979 in Hammanskraal and officially launched five days la ...

, leading to their expulsion from the group. Most of the remaining unions took part in the formation of the

Council of Unions of South Africa The Council of Unions of South Africa (CUSA) was a national trade union federation in South Africa. History The federation was founded on 14 September 1980 by the former affiliates of the Black Consultative Committee which did not wish to join th ...

on 14 September 1980.

References

National trade union centres of South Africa Trade unions established in 1973 Trade unions disestablished in 1980