ONKGOPOTSE JJ TABANE: South African workers hungry for a credible voice
South African workers have lost all confidence in union federations to represent their aspirations. This is clear enough from the extent of nonunionised workers in our labour landscape. Statistics reveal that less than 30% percent of our workforce over the 23 years of our freedom has bothered to take up union membership. When unions speak and articulate worker concerns they often speak as if they represent all workers in the country – alas this is not the case and it is far from it. As we reflect on Workers Day we have to take a moment to understand this anomaly especially after the hype of the disintegration of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) as well as the birth of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Safta). The first thing we need to understand is that Cosatu, as the biggest federation of workers, has been facing credibility problems since 1994 and refusing to shed its political alliance in favour of being more effective as a representative of worker...
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