History

Advance and Defend Workers’ Interests
To protect and promote the interests of workers in all matters of mutual concern between employees and employers. Our goal is to improve the standard of living for union members, workers, and the broader working class. We are committed to defending employment rights and socio-economic interests.

Promote Socio-Economic Justice
To champion the socio-economic rights of union members and the working class. We actively resist unfair labour practices and unjust dismissals.

Ensure Job Security
To safeguard workers’ job security by advocating for job creation programmes and opposing dismissals based on operational requirements.

Eliminate Discrimination
To eradicate all forms of unfair discrimination in the workplace and society. This includes discrimination based on race, gender, sex, ethnicity, social origin, colour, birth, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, age, disability, HIV status, religion, culture, and political opinion.

Build a Democratic, Worker-Controlled Union
To establish and maintain a union that is democratic and worker-led, grounded in the principles of non-racialism, non-tribalism, non-sexism, non-homophobia, and non-xenophobia.

Promote Accountability and Democracy
To foster democratic participation and accountability within the union. We encourage members, shop stewards, officials, and office bearers to act responsibly and transparently in all their duties.

Advance and Defend Workers’ Interests
To protect and promote the interests of workers in all matters of mutual concern between employees and employers. Our goal is to improve the standard of living for union members, workers, and the broader working class. We are committed to defending employment rights and socio-economic interests.

Promote Socio-Economic Justice
To champion the socio-economic rights of union members and the working class. We actively resist unfair labour practices and unjust dismissals.

Ensure Job Security
To safeguard workers’ job security by advocating for job creation programmes and opposing dismissals based on operational requirements.

Eliminate Discrimination
To eradicate all forms of unfair discrimination in the workplace and society. This includes discrimination based on race, gender, sex, ethnicity, social origin, colour, birth, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, age, disability, HIV status, religion, culture, and political opinion.

Build a Democratic, Worker-Controlled Union
To establish and maintain a union that is democratic and worker-led, grounded in the principles of non-racialism, non-tribalism, non-sexism, non-homophobia, and non-xenophobia.

Promote Accountability and Democracy
To foster democratic participation and accountability within the union. We encourage members, shop stewards, officials, and office bearers to act responsibly and transparently in all their duties.

To achieve our aims, SATAWU is committed to the following objectives:

Recruit and Unite Workers
To mobilize and organize workers in pursuit of their economic, social, and welfare interests.

Promote Education and Training
To provide and support educational and training initiatives for both members and staff.

Eradicate Workplace Discrimination
To eliminate all forms of unfair discrimination in the workplace.

Inspire and Educate Members
To foster unity, inspiration, and continuous learning among our members.

Deliver Quality Service
To offer effective, responsive, and high-quality services to our members.

Encourage Active Participation
To ensure members are actively involved in shaping the union’s direction and future.

Mandate and Accountability
To seek appropriate mandates and report back to relevant union structures and members.

Constructive Engagement
To embrace and offer constructive criticism that strengthens the union.

Accessible Communication
To provide clear and understandable information about the union and its work to members and workers.

Promote Democratic Participation
To encourage democratic involvement, especially the active participation of women in union activities.

Strengthen Shop Steward Structures
To build strong, active, and effective shop steward networks.

Advance Democracy and Socialism
To promote democratic values and socialist principles in the workplace, economy, country, and globally.

Foster Solidarity and Unity
To build solidarity, cooperation, and comradeship among all workers and the broader working class.

While we celebrate our achievements in transforming social relations, we must also confront the persistent realities of inequality, unemployment, and poverty in South Africa.

According to Statistics South Africa, the unemployment rate rose to 25.6% in the second quarter of 2013—the highest in two years. During this period:

The labour force grew by 222,000, including 122,000 unemployed and 100,000 employed individuals.
Employment increased in both the formal sector (109,000) and informal sector (30,000).
Employment declined in agriculture (26,000) and private households (12,000).
The number of discouraged work-seekers rose by 35,000, while the not economically active population decreased by 145,000, resulting in a net drop of 110,000.
Compared to the previous year:

Employment increased by 2.0% (274,000).
Unemployment rose by 5.7% (254,000).
Discouraged work-seekers increased by 2.3% (54,000).
The not economically active population decreased by 0.5% (79,000).
Income Inequality and Economic Crisis
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that South Africa’s Gini coefficient—a measure of income inequality—is approximately 0.70, one of the highest in the world. In contrast, the global average was 0.62 in 2008. This reflects severe income disparities within South Africa, where the share of employees in national income dropped from 56% in 1995 to 51% in 2009, indicating a reverse redistribution from the poor to the rich.

The global capitalist system is in crisis, and workers are bearing the brunt. We are witnessing the erosion of constitutional rights and the rise of precarious working conditions, driven by privatization and labour market deregulation.

Our Response
As Fidel Castro once said:

“We can condemn globalization and we can condemn gravity, but it is more useful to devise concrete strategies to deal with realities than only condemning.”

SATAWU recognizes that gender inequality intersects with economic injustice. We are committed to:

Empowering women in the workplace and union leadership
Fighting discrimination based on gender, race, socio-economic status, and other arbitrary grounds
Promoting inclusive policies that uplift all workers, especially the most vulnerable
Building solidarity across gender and class lines to advance social and economic justice

You said:

Capitalism is in crisis from its Global economic depression, and workers are paying the price. We are witnessing workers’ constitutional rights for fair working conditions been threatened by inhuman, precarious working relations, emanating from Capitalist Privatization and deregulation of the labour markets. Well comrades, “we can condemn Globalization and we can condemn gravity but it is more useful to devise concrete strategies to deal with realities than only condemning” (Fidel Castro). Now the question is to what
Well comrades, “we can condemn Globalization and we can condemn gravity but it is more useful to devise concrete strategies to deal with realities than only condemning” (Fidel Castro). Now the question is to what
Now the question is to what extend can we as Trade Unions deal with realities of the Capitalist Economic crisis, while operating in the Capitalist economy? We need to address the inherent contradiction in that we fight for higher wages within the existing capitalist system, even though we explicitly commit ourselves to the overthrow of that very same system. On the other hand, we need to ask ourselves if our mandate as a trade union organization should be confined to the organized expression of workers’ desires and needs at the shop floor, or whether a fundamental importance of the linkage of struggles for wages with political struggles is what makes us a class for ourselves and not a class in ourselves. The same argument
On the other hand, we need to ask ourselves if our mandate as a trade union organization should be confined to the organized expression of workers’ desires and needs at the shop floor, or whether a fundamental importance of the linkage of struggles for wages with political struggles is what makes us a class for ourselves and not a class in ourselves. The same argument
The same argument need to apply to gender struggles, on whether we should or should not align ourselves with the broader struggles for women’s emancipation and move beyond the narrow, reformist objective of bettering the position of women within the existing patriarchal capitalist system. Whether our strategic objective should or should not be the fundamental transformation of oppressive gender relations in the economy, the workplace, in our
Whether our strategic objective should or should not be the fundamental transformation of oppressive gender relations in the economy, the workplace, in our organization and broader society. For us to meaningfully engage on these issues, we need to understand that the origin of women’s oppression is economically and socially-created, that it is not natural or inevitable, but most importantly that it is linked to the capitalist system of exploitation and domination of one by the other. We need to understand that In South Africa race, class and gender are
For us to meaningfully engage on these issues, we need to understand that the origin of women’s oppression is economically and socially-created, that it is not natural or inevitable, but most importantly that it is linked to the capitalist system of exploitation and domination of one by the other. We need to understand that In South Africa race, class and gender are
We need to understand that In South Africa race, class and gender are interconnected, and that black working class women experience triple oppression, because they are oppressed on the basis of race, class and gender. “Inequalities in income and wealth ownership are still racialised. An average African man earns in the region of R2 400 per month, whilst an average white man earns around R19 000, which makes a racial income gap of roughly R16 800. Black women are yet to be liberated from the triple oppression. While most white women earn an average of R9 600 per month, African women earn R1 200, which makes a racial income gap of R8 400. 56% of whites earn more than R6 000 per month whereas 81% of Africans earn less than R6 000 per month. Almost all the top 20 paid directors in JSE listed companies are white males, and in 2008 they earned an average of R59 million per annum, whilst in 2009 the average yearly earnings of an employee
“Inequalities in income and wealth ownership are still racialised. An average African man earns in the region of R2 400 per month, whilst an average white man earns around R19 000, which makes a racial income gap of roughly R16 800. Black women are yet to be liberated from the triple oppression. While most white women earn an average of R9 600 per month, African women earn R1 200, which makes a racial income gap of R8 400. 56% of whites earn more than R6 000 per month whereas 81% of Africans earn less than R6 000 per month. Almost all the top 20 paid directors in JSE listed companies are white males, and in 2008 they earned an average of R59 million per annum, whilst in 2009 the average yearly earnings of an employee
Almost all the top 20 paid directors in JSE listed companies are white males, and in 2008 they earned an average of R59 million per annum, whilst in 2009 the average yearly earnings of an employee was R34 000. The means of production remain concentrated in white capitalist hands: 50% of JSE is accounted for by 6 companies and more than 80% is accounted for by large banks and companies engaged in the core of the minerals-
The means of production remain concentrated in white capitalist hands: 50% of JSE is accounted for by 6 companies and more than 80% is accounted for by large banks and companies engaged in the core of the minerals-energycomplex. Estimates of black ownership of JSE-listed companies range between 1.6% and 4.6%”(Zwelinzima Vavi, SACP 13th National Congress). This means, experiences and challenges of a rural African woman are different from that of a white
This means, experiences and challenges of a rural African woman are different from that of a white middle class woman and also from those of a rural African man. “Woman’s fate is bound up with that of the exploited male. This is a fact. However, this solidarity arising from the exploitation that both women and men suffer and that binds them together historically, must not cause us to lose sight of the specific reality of the woman’s situation. The conditions of her life are determined by more than economic factors, that she is a victim of a specific reality. It is true that both she and the male worker are condemned to silence by the exploitation. But under the current economic system, the worker’s wife is also condemned to silence by her worker husband. In other words, in addition to the class exploitation common to both women and men, women must confront a particular set of relations that exist between them and men” (Thomas Sankara). We further need to understand that Capitalism, racism and patriarchal systems are also interconnected. All these systems
“Woman’s fate is bound up with that of the exploited male. This is a fact. However, this solidarity arising from the exploitation that both women and men suffer and that binds them together historically, must not cause us to lose sight of the specific reality of the woman’s situation. The conditions of her life are determined by more than economic factors, that she is a victim of a specific reality. It is true that both she and the male worker are condemned to silence by the exploitation. But under the current economic system, the worker’s wife is also condemned to silence by her worker husband. In other words, in addition to the class exploitation common to both women and men, women must confront a particular set of relations that exist between them and men” (Thomas Sankara). We further need to understand that Capitalism, racism and patriarchal systems are also interconnected. All these systems