The Confederation of South African Workers' Unions (CONSAWU) is a

national trade union centre Organizers within trade unions have sought to increase the bargaining power of workers in regards to collective bargaining by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on a ...

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 ...

History

The federation was established in 2003 by 21 trade unions which identified themselves as

Christian democratic Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

. It applied for membership of the government's National Economic Development and Labour Council, but it was rejected for having a membership below 300,000. In 2006, it engaged in discussions about a merger with rivals the

Federation of Unions of South Africa The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) is the second largest national trade union center in South Africa. History The federation was founded on 1 April 1997, when the Federation of South African Labour Unions merged with the Federa ...

and the

National Council of Trade Unions The National Council of Trade Unions (NACTU) is a national trade union center in South Africa. History The federation was formed by the merger of the Council of Unions of South Africa (CUSA) and the Azanian Confederation of Trade Unions (AZAC ...

, although they later excluded CONSAWU from the talks, on the grounds that it was too right-wing. By 2008, the federation claimed a total of 290,000 members, of whom nearly half were members of its largest affiliate,

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

. It affiliated with the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC; ; ; ) is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation was formed on 1 November 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) a ...

. It was largely inactive by 2017, but attempted to revive itself with a promise of lower affiliation fees than rival federations. Solidarity has since withdrawn, along with the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers, formerly its second-largest affiliate.

Affiliates

Current affiliates

* Brick and General Workers' Union (BGWU) * Building, Wood and Allied Workers' Union of South Africa (BWAWUSA) * Building Workers' Union (BWU) * Care Centre, Catering, Retail and Allied Workers' Union of South Africa (CCRAWUSA) * Commercial Workers' Union of South Africa (CUSA) *

Federal Council of Retail and Allied Workers The Federal Council of Retail and Allied Workers (FEDCRAW) is a trade union representing workers in the retail sector in South Africa. The union was founded on 8 August 1984 as a split from the Commercial Catering and Allied Workers' Union of Sout ...

(FEDCRAW) * Food, Cleaning and Security Workers' Union (FOCSWU) * Mine, Engineering and Distributor Workers Union of South Africa (MEDWUSA) * National Certified Fishing and Allied Workers' Union (NACFAWU) * National Construction Building and Allied Workers' Union (NACBAWU) * National Union of Education (NUE) * National Union of Hotel, Restaurant Catering, Commercial Health and Allied Workers (NUHRCCHAW) *

Professional Educators' Union The Professional Educators' Union (PEU) is a trade union representing education workers in South Africa. The union was founded in 1919, when the Northern Transvaal Native Teachers' Association merged with the Southern Transvaal Native Teachers' A ...

(PEU) * Progressive General Employees Association of SA (PGEASA) * South African Building and Allied Workers' Organization (SABAWO) * South African Food, Retail and Agricultural Workers' Union (SAFRAWU) * Trawler and Line Fishermen's Union (TALFU) * Transport Action, Retail and General Workers' Union (THOR) * Westcoast Workers' Union (WWU)

Former affiliates

* National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (NUPSAW) *

External links

CONSAWU website

References