Christopher Ndodebandla Dlamini (born 10 October 1944 – 19 November 2009) was a South African trade union leader. Dlamini grew up in

Benoni Benoni may refer to: Places * Benoni, Gauteng, a town in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, in the East Rand region of Gauteng province in South Africa * Benoni, a barangay in Mahinog, Camiguin, Philippines People * Benoni (given name), a ...

and Springs. He became aware of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

at an early age, and saw himself as a supporter of the organisation, although he did not join. He was expelled from school in 1963, and began working in the stores at Sanbra Engineering. In 1973, he joined the new Engineering and Allied Workers' Union, and at the end of the year took part in a short strike which achieved an increased Christmas bonus. In 1974, Dlamini moved to work for

Rank Xerox Rank Xerox Limited was formed in 1956 as a joint venture between the Xerox Corporation of United States (a.k.a. Haloid Photographic) and The Rank Organisation of the United Kingdom, to manufacture and market Xerox equipment initially in Europe ...

, and sat on the company liaison committee, but found it was far less effective than a trade union. When he moved to work for

Kellogg's Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets con ...

in 1977, he joined the

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), and helped recruit other workers at the factory. He became a

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a trades/labour union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the un ...

in 1979. Many of the union's members were unhappy with its leadership, and Dlamini won election as the union's president, taking it into 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 ...

(FOSATU). In 1977, Dlamini joined the

Azanian People's Organisation The Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) is a South African liberation movement and political party. The organisation's two student wings are the Azanian Students' Movement (AZASM) for high school learners and the Azanian Students' Convention (A ...

, but found it ineffective. At some point in the 1980s, he instead joined the

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded on 12 February 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), and tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by t ...

, and later became part of its leadership. In 1984, he was a founder of the East Rand People's Organisation, which organised a two-day general strike in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

. This resulted in his arrest on the charge of "economic sabotage". Dlamini was elected as president of FOSATU in 1982, and from 1984 worked full time between that role and his shop steward work. He supported the merger of FOSATU into the new

Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU or Cosatu) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.One Union ...

(COSATU), and was elected as the new federation's vice president. COSATU encouraged mergers of unions in the same industry, and Dlamini led SFAWU into the new Food and Allied Workers' Union in 1986, becoming its founding president. In 1988, Dlamini was an organiser of a major anti-apartheid conference, as a result of which, he was banned and prohibited from leaving his house for ten days. He was part of a delegation which visited

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

in prison in 1989, and in 1990, he took part in meetings with the leadership of the newly unbanned ANC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dlamini, Chris 1944 births 2009 deaths People from Benoni, South Africa South African Communist Party politicians South African trade union leaders Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1994–1999