The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) is the largest union in local government in South Africa.

History

The union was founded on 24 October 1987, when the Municipal Workers' Union of South Africa merged with the Cape Town Municipal Workers' Association (CTMWA), and the municipal workers' sections of

General Workers' Union of South Africa The General Workers' Union of South Africa (GWUSA) was a general union in South Africa. The union's origins lay in the split of the Port Elizabeth-based Motor Assemblers' and Component Workers' Union from the United Union of Automobile, Rubber an ...

South African Allied Workers' Union The South African Allied Workers' Union (SAAWU) was a general union in South Africa. Background The union was founded in 1978 as a split from the Black Allied Workers' Union by workers in Durban. The executives of the BAWU were expelled and the ...

and

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general union, general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900 ...

. All of these unions were affiliates of the

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 ...

, to which SAMWU also affiliated. In later years, SAMWU absorbed the

Durban Indian Municipal Employees' Society The Durban Indian Municipal Employees' Society (DIMES) was a trade union representing municipal workers of Indian origin, in Durban in South Africa. The union was founded in 1936, and by 1943, it had 2,450 members. It affiliated to the South Af ...

and the Union of Johannesburg Municipal Workers. Initially, the union grew rapidly, and by 1994 it had 100,410 members, 31.3% of all eligible workers. The union led opposition to privatisation schemes, and was particularly active in opposing the privatisation of a water treatment plant 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 ...

. In 2002, it led a national three-week strike for higher wages. In 2009, the union's leadership was voted out, and disagreements around this led the

Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers' Union of South Africa The Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers' Union of South Africa (DEMAWUSA) is a trade union representing workers employed by local authorities and state governments in South Africa. The union was founded in 2015, as a split from the South Afr ...

and the Municipal and Allied Trade Union of South Africa to split away over the next few years. The leadership lost a vote of confidence in 2019 and were replaced. The new leaders found that the union was insolvent, with some having been spent on legal costs and some was used for inappropriate purposes. In addition, membership was in decline. In 2020, the union declared that it might withdraw support for 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 ...

government. Membership of the union is open to South African workers employed, directly or indirectly, in local authorities, water utilities and allied undertakings of the economy whether in the public, private or voluntary sector, including: public administrative services in municipalities and local authorities, health and social services, libraries, cultural and other community services, water and sanitation, solid-waste management and environmental services, road construction and storm-water drainage, electricity generation and distribution, public transportation and traffic control, telecommunication and information services, scientific and technical services, and parks and recreation.

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1987: John Ernstzen :1990s: Roger Ronnie :Walter Theledi :2015:

Simon Mathe Simon Matsobane Mathe is a South African politician and trade unionist who has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature since 2019. He was formerly the General Secretary of the South African Municipal ...

:2019: Koena Ramotlou :2021: Dumisane Magagula

Presidents

:1987: Petrus Mashishi :2009: Sam Molope : Pule Molalenyane :2019: John Dlamini :2020: Nelson Mokgotho

References

External links

SAMWU
official site. Congress of South African Trade Unions Public sector trade unions in South Africa Trade unions based in Johannesburg Public Services International Trade unions established in 1987 Municipal workers' trade unions 1987 establishments in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-trade-union-stub