June-Rose Nala is a former South African trade unionist and academic. Born in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, Nala worked at the Frame Group textile mill as a weaver. She became active in the wave of strikes in 1973, as the

Durban Moment The Durban Moment refers to the period in the early and mid-1970s when the South African city of Durban became the centre of a new vibrancy in the struggle against apartheid. Coined by academic Tony Morphet, the term describes the convergence of v ...

developed. In September, the

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 ...

was established, and Nala was elected to its executive. In 1975, Nala was elected as secretary of the Natal Benefit Fund. The

Government of South Africa The Government of South Africa, or South African Government, is the national government of the Republic of South Africa, a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary ...

believed that she was involved in instigating strikes at the Natal Cotton and Woollen Mills, and in May 1976 both she and Obed Zuma were arrested and detained. However, they were both released without charge in December. On release, Nala was elected as general secretary of the

Metal and Allied Workers' Union The Metal and Allied Workers' Union (MAWU) was a trade union representing workers in metalworking, engineering and related industries in South Africa. The union was founded in April 1974 in Pietermaritzburg, with the assistance of the General Fa ...

(MAWU). She held the position until 1984, when she travelled to England, to study at

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is a higher education institution and part of the University of West London, in Oxford, England. It is not a Colleges of the University of Oxford, college of Oxford University. Named ...

. She returned to South Africa by 1989, when she became a lecturer at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

. In this role, she founded the Workers' College, which in 1999 became formally linked with the university. In 2007, Nala spoke at the congress of the

National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) is the biggest single trade union in South Africa with more than 338,000 members, and prior to its expulsion on 8 November 2014, the largest affiliate of the Congress of South African Tr ...

, the successor of MAWU.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nala, June-Rose Year of birth missing Possibly living people Alumni of Ruskin College People from Durban South African trade unionists Academic staff of the University of Natal