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Solidarity (South African trade union)

January 29, 2023

Not to be confused with Solidarity (South African political party).

Solidarity (Afrikaans: Solidariteit) is a South African trade union that negotiates on behalf of its members and attempts to protect workers' rights. Although the union is often involved in issues of political import, it does not align or formally affiliate itself with any political party. Solidarity is a trade union within the Christian tradition of unionism.

Solidarity
Solidarity
Solidariteit/Solidarity
Founded22 June 1902
HeadquartersPretoria, South Africa
Location
  • South Africa
Members
190,000 (2019)[1]
Key people
Flip Buys (general secretary)
Dirk Hermann (deputy general secretary: Development)
Steve Scott (president)
AffiliationsITUC
Websitehttp://solidariteit.co.za/

The union has positioned itself as a vehicle for minorities in South Africa to have their voices heard. Its membership is mainly, but not exclusively, Afrikaners.

History

Solidarity is one of the oldest independent trade unions in South Africa. Its origins go back to 1902, when the Transvaal Miners' Association was founded in the mines on the Witwatersrand.[2]: 490  In 1913, it became the Mine Workers' Union, and it later became the largest affiliate of the South African Confederation of Labour (SACOL), which supported the apartheid system.[3] It left SACOL in 1992 to reinvent itself as a general union, MWU - Solidarity.[4]

In 1997, when the union's current general secretary, Flip Buys, was appointed, the union was in dire financial straits. The extreme right-wing views associated with the union had led to a dramatic decline in popularity and membership: it had only about 30,000 members left at that stage. In 2001, it absorbed the South African Workers' Union, the Denelunie, the Karweiersunie and the Bosbou- en Plantasiebestuursunie, and renamed itself as Solidarity.[5][3] Since the beginning of Flip Buys' term, the membership had increased to more than 130,000 by 2009.[2]: 490  The union has more than 17 offices throughout the country and a staff complement of about 300 serve the members.

Solidarity affiliated with the Confederation of South African Workers' Unions (CONSAWU) in 2006, but left again in 2011.[3] Through this affiliation Solidarity is represented at the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Litigation

In 2013, Solidarity sued the Department of Correctional Services on behalf of one white and four coloured Correctional Services officials in the Western Cape who alleged they were denied promotions due to the department's employment equity policy.[6] Another five applicants were later added to the case.[7]

The ANC in the Western Cape called the suit an "attack on employment equity", and accused the applicants of "stirring up racial antagonism between Africans and coloureds".[8]

Additional operations

The "Solidarity Movement" originated from the trade union and includes several organisations.[9]

Solidarity Helping Hand

 
A Helping Hand volunteer unloads donated food in Welkom.

The Solidarity Helping Hand is a social responsibility organisation that, though started by Solidarity, is an independent entity that functions on its own, separate from the union. It does however receive financial support from the union's members. It is registered as a Section 21 company (not-for-profit). It focuses specifically on supporting communities that have limited access to state support. The two areas where the Helping Hand operates intensively is Pretoria and environs and in Cape Town. Nevertheless, the Helping Hand actively expands into many other areas. As of June 2010, there were 32 other smaller regional branches throughout the country.[10] The Helping Hand focuses on assisting destitute Afrikaans-speaking people, but not to the exclusion of individuals from other cultural groups.

AfriForum

 
An AfriForum protest in Pretoria against the destruction of a Great Trek monument in Standerton.
Main article: AfriForum

AfriForum, an independent initiative of Solidarity, is an organisation in South Africa linked to the Solidarity trade union.[11] It was established in 2006 to encourage the re-engagement of the Afrikaners and other minorities in the public sphere.[12] It promotes the protection of Afrikaner culture,[13] and has opposed renaming streets and affirmative action. AfriForum has attracted significant controversy because of its views, especially denial that Apartheid was a crime against humanity, albeit nonetheless immoral.[14][15][16][17]

According to AfriForum CEO, Kallie Kriel, AfriForum is a civil rights initiative to mobilise civil society and specifically minority communities, in order to take part in democratic debate. Kriel further stated that AfriForum would like to achieve balance in South Africa. "True democracy needs alternative voices in order to succeed. While we aren’t a political party, we give alternative ideas and suggestions, where applicable, to the government stance".[18] AfriForum's claim to be a civil rights organisation has been questioned in the South African media,[19][20][21][22] and South African and international media often characterize Afriforum as a white nationalist or white supremacist group, albeit with no concrete evidence to suggest the prospect.[23][24][25][26][27]

Sol-Tech

 
Some of Sol-Tech's students at the old campus in Centurion, Gauteng.

In 2007 Solidarity started an Afrikaans technical college in Centurion with 3 lecturers and 64 students.[28] According to them this was in response to the ANC government's racist policies which discriminates against Afrikaners and their Afrikaans language,[29] and to enable Afrikaner youth to have a future in South Africa with the right skills.[30]

Reception was mixed with ANC politician Panyaza Lesufi calling it a symbol of Solidariteit's "hatred of a democratic South Africa" and an "insult to the overwhelming majority of our people".[31] While the Sowetan said that, "the establishment an Afrikaans-medium college should be applauded as an example of a proactive community intervention to address a social need rather than wait for the government to provide".[32]

SolTech college offers young people training in technical areas like vehicle mechanics, electronics, fitting and turning.[33] The college claims that 94.7% of their students get employment offers after their studies.[28]

On 1 Feb 2021, the college opened their new R300 million campus for 3000 students in Pretoria.[34]

General Secretaries

1902: W. Mather[5]
1903: S. W. Fursey[5]
1904: J. Wood[5]
1907: M. Trewick[5]
1908: Tom Matthews[5]
1915: James Forrester-Brown[5]
1921: Percy Fisher[5]
1922: J. Cowan[5]
1922: E. S. Hendriksz[5]
1923: W. Price[5]
1925: M. Dunne[5]
1926: J. C. Medo[5]
1929: H. Day[5]
1930: M. J. du Plessis[5]
1931: ?
1933: Piet Harms[5]
1935: Charles Harris[5]
1940: Fred Kukkuk[5]
1941: Bertie Brodrick[5]
1948: Daan Ellis[5]
1963: Eddie Gründling[5]
1967: Arrie Paulus[5]
1987: Peet Ungerer[5]
1997: Flip Buys[5]

References

  1. ^ "Solidariteit â€" Jou vangnet vir werksekerheid -Solidariteit WĂŞreld". Solidariteit.co.za. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b Pretorius, Fransjohan (2014). A History of South Africa: From the Distant Past to the Present Day. Hatfield, Pretoria: Protea Book House. ISBN 978-1-86919-908-1.
  3. ^ a b c Blackburn, Daniel (2021). Trade Unions of the World (PDF). ICTUR. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  4. ^ Special Report of the Director-general on the Application of the Declaration Concerning Action Against Apartheid in South Africa. International Labour Conference. 1993.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Visser, Wessel (2002). Van MWU tot Solidariteit; Geskiedenis van die Mynwerkersunie, 1902 tot 2002 (PDF). ISBN 978-0-620-42142-3. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. ^ Raubenheimer, Graeme. "AA lawsuit underway", Eyewitness News, South Africa, 24 April 2013. Retrieved on 13 May 2013.
  7. ^ Raubenheimer, Graeme. "Solidarity takes Correctional Services to court", Eyewitness News, South Africa, 25 April 2013. Retrieved on 13 May 2013.
  8. ^ Phakathi, Bekezela. "Solidarity court bid 'stirring up racial antagonism'", BDlive, South Africa, 30 April 2013. Retrieved on 13 May 2013.
  9. ^ "Who are we".
  10. ^ Helping Hand website. http://www.helpendehand.co.za/?page_id=66[permanent dead link] Accessed on: 1 June 2010
  11. ^ "AfriForum And Solidarity's 'Parallel State'". Huffington Post South Africa. 31 January 2017.
  12. ^ Visser, Wessel P. (PDF). University of Stellenbosch. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  13. ^ "AfriForum and the rise of the new right". Thought Leader. 8 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  14. ^ "South African group under fire for lobbying US for white rights". aljazeera.com.
  15. ^ "Who is AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel?". Times Live.
  16. ^ "'Apartheid was not a crime against humanity': AfriForum CEO's remark sparks outrage". Times Live.
  17. ^ "No-one can and should deny the brutality of apartheid". South Africa: Independent Online.
  18. ^ "Afrikaner aspirations: An hour with AfriForum's Kallie Kriel". thoughtleader.co.za. 16 April 2008.
  19. ^ . News24. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  20. ^ "AfriForum can't spot the irony in its own whiny argument". The Citizen.
  21. ^ "Apartheid not a crime against humanity – AfriForum CEO". The Sowetan.
  22. ^ "Mampara of the week: Kallie Kriel". Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  23. ^ "South African group under fire for lobbying US for white rights". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  24. ^ Chothia, Farouk (1 September 2018). "The groups playing on the fears of a 'white genocide'". BBC News. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  25. ^ Bort, Ryan (23 August 2018). "Trump Is Using a White Nationalist Conspiracy Theory to Inform Policy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  26. ^ "Trump's tweet echoing white nationalist propaganda about South African farmers, explained". Vox. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  27. ^ Msimang, Sisonke. "South Africa's Afriforum and Trump's kiss of death". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  28. ^ a b "Nuwe Sol-Tech kampus 'n monument van hoop vir jongmense -Solidariteit WĂŞreld". Solidariteit.co.za. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  29. ^ "Lesufi building a political career on anti-Afrikaans agitation – FF Plus - Search results | Politicsweb". politicsweb.co.za. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  30. ^ "Ons bou om te bly - OPINION | Politicsweb".
  31. ^ Staff Writer. "Why a new Afrikaans-only university is a bad idea: Lesufi". Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  32. ^ "Solidarity college project laudable". The Sowetan. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  33. ^ "Studierigtings – Sol-Tech". Sol-tech.co.za. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  34. ^ "Foto's: Ambagstudente betree nuwe Sol-Tech-kampus". February 2021.

External links

  • Official website
  • (in Afrikaans)
  • Available in Afrikaans and English
  • Available in Afrikaans and English
  • Available in Afrikaans and English
  • Available in English
  • Institute for Constitutional and Labour Law Studies' website Available in Afrikaans and English
  • Afrinetwerk's website Available in Afrikaans and Dutch
  • Available in English
  • ITUC's website Available in English, German, French and Spanish

Further reading

  • Visser, WP. 2002. Van MWU tot Solidariteit; Geskiedenis van die Mynwerkersunie, 1902 tot 2002. ISBN 978-0-620-42142-3
  • Visser, WP. 2006. From MWU to Solidarity; A trade union reinventing itself. South African Journal of Labour Relations, 30(2), 2006, pp. 19–41
  • Hermann, Dirk. 2007. The Naked Emperor; Why affirmative action failed. Protea Book House. ISBN 978-1-86919-143-6 (Originally published in Afrikaans as: Die Keiser is Kaal; Hoekom regstellende aksie misluk het. ISBN 978-1-86919-142-9)

January 29, 2023
solidarity, south, african, trade, union, confused, with, solidarity, south, african, political, party, this, article, have, been, created, edited, return, undisclosed, payments, violation, wikipedia, terms, require, cleanup, comply, with, wikipedia, content, . Not to be confused with Solidarity South African political party This article may have been created or edited in return for undisclosed payments a violation of Wikipedia s terms of use It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view May 2020 Solidarity Afrikaans Solidariteit is a South African trade union that negotiates on behalf of its members and attempts to protect workers rights Although the union is often involved in issues of political import it does not align or formally affiliate itself with any political party Solidarity is a trade union within the Christian tradition of unionism SolidaritySolidaritySolidariteit SolidarityFounded22 June 1902HeadquartersPretoria South AfricaLocationSouth AfricaMembers190 000 2019 1 Key peopleFlip Buys general secretary Dirk Hermann deputy general secretary Development Steve Scott president AffiliationsITUCWebsitehttp solidariteit co za The union has positioned itself as a vehicle for minorities in South Africa to have their voices heard Its membership is mainly but not exclusively Afrikaners Contents 1 History 2 Litigation 3 Additional operations 3 1 Solidarity Helping Hand 3 2 AfriForum 3 3 Sol Tech 4 General Secretaries 5 References 6 External links 7 Further readingHistory EditSolidarity is one of the oldest independent trade unions in South Africa Its origins go back to 1902 when the Transvaal Miners Association was founded in the mines on the Witwatersrand 2 490 In 1913 it became the Mine Workers Union and it later became the largest affiliate of the South African Confederation of Labour SACOL which supported the apartheid system 3 It left SACOL in 1992 to reinvent itself as a general union MWU Solidarity 4 In 1997 when the union s current general secretary Flip Buys was appointed the union was in dire financial straits The extreme right wing views associated with the union had led to a dramatic decline in popularity and membership it had only about 30 000 members left at that stage In 2001 it absorbed the South African Workers Union the Denelunie the Karweiersunie and the Bosbou en Plantasiebestuursunie and renamed itself as Solidarity 5 3 Since the beginning of Flip Buys term the membership had increased to more than 130 000 by 2009 2 490 The union has more than 17 offices throughout the country and a staff complement of about 300 serve the members Solidarity affiliated with the Confederation of South African Workers Unions CONSAWU in 2006 but left again in 2011 3 Through this affiliation Solidarity is represented at the International Trade Union Confederation ITUC Litigation EditIn 2013 Solidarity sued the Department of Correctional Services on behalf of one white and four coloured Correctional Services officials in the Western Cape who alleged they were denied promotions due to the department s employment equity policy 6 Another five applicants were later added to the case 7 The ANC in the Western Cape called the suit an attack on employment equity and accused the applicants of stirring up racial antagonism between Africans and coloureds 8 Additional operations EditThe Solidarity Movement originated from the trade union and includes several organisations 9 Solidarity Helping Hand Edit A Helping Hand volunteer unloads donated food in Welkom The Solidarity Helping Hand is a social responsibility organisation that though started by Solidarity is an independent entity that functions on its own separate from the union It does however receive financial support from the union s members It is registered as a Section 21 company not for profit It focuses specifically on supporting communities that have limited access to state support The two areas where the Helping Hand operates intensively is Pretoria and environs and in Cape Town Nevertheless the Helping Hand actively expands into many other areas As of June 2010 there were 32 other smaller regional branches throughout the country 10 The Helping Hand focuses on assisting destitute Afrikaans speaking people but not to the exclusion of individuals from other cultural groups AfriForum Edit An AfriForum protest in Pretoria against the destruction of a Great Trek monument in Standerton Main article AfriForum AfriForum an independent initiative of Solidarity is an organisation in South Africa linked to the Solidarity trade union 11 It was established in 2006 to encourage the re engagement of the Afrikaners and other minorities in the public sphere 12 It promotes the protection of Afrikaner culture 13 and has opposed renaming streets and affirmative action AfriForum has attracted significant controversy because of its views especially denial that Apartheid was a crime against humanity albeit nonetheless immoral 14 15 16 17 According to AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel AfriForum is a civil rights initiative to mobilise civil society and specifically minority communities in order to take part in democratic debate Kriel further stated that AfriForum would like to achieve balance in South Africa True democracy needs alternative voices in order to succeed While we aren t a political party we give alternative ideas and suggestions where applicable to the government stance 18 AfriForum s claim to be a civil rights organisation has been questioned in the South African media 19 20 21 22 and South African and international media often characterize Afriforum as a white nationalist or white supremacist group albeit with no concrete evidence to suggest the prospect 23 24 25 26 27 Sol Tech Edit Some of Sol Tech s students at the old campus in Centurion Gauteng In 2007 Solidarity started an Afrikaans technical college in Centurion with 3 lecturers and 64 students 28 According to them this was in response to the ANC government s racist policies which discriminates against Afrikaners and their Afrikaans language 29 and to enable Afrikaner youth to have a future in South Africa with the right skills 30 Reception was mixed with ANC politician Panyaza Lesufi calling it a symbol of Solidariteit s hatred of a democratic South Africa and an insult to the overwhelming majority of our people 31 While the Sowetan said that the establishment an Afrikaans medium college should be applauded as an example of a proactive community intervention to address a social need rather than wait for the government to provide 32 SolTech college offers young people training in technical areas like vehicle mechanics electronics fitting and turning 33 The college claims that 94 7 of their students get employment offers after their studies 28 On 1 Feb 2021 the college opened their new R300 million campus for 3000 students in Pretoria 34 General Secretaries Edit1902 W Mather 5 1903 S W Fursey 5 1904 J Wood 5 1907 M Trewick 5 1908 Tom Matthews 5 1915 James Forrester Brown 5 1921 Percy Fisher 5 1922 J Cowan 5 1922 E S Hendriksz 5 1923 W Price 5 1925 M Dunne 5 1926 J C Medo 5 1929 H Day 5 1930 M J du Plessis 5 1931 1933 Piet Harms 5 1935 Charles Harris 5 1940 Fred Kukkuk 5 1941 Bertie Brodrick 5 1948 Daan Ellis 5 1963 Eddie Grundling 5 1967 Arrie Paulus 5 1987 Peet Ungerer 5 1997 Flip Buys 5 References Edit Solidariteit a Jou vangnet vir werksekerheid Solidariteit WĂSreld Solidariteit co za Retrieved 20 April 2022 a b Pretorius Fransjohan 2014 A History of South Africa From the Distant Past to the Present Day Hatfield Pretoria Protea Book House ISBN 978 1 86919 908 1 a b c Blackburn Daniel 2021 Trade Unions of the World PDF ICTUR Retrieved 25 March 2021 Special Report of the Director general on the Application of the Declaration Concerning Action Against Apartheid in South Africa International Labour Conference 1993 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Visser Wessel 2002 Van MWU tot Solidariteit Geskiedenis van die Mynwerkersunie 1902 tot 2002 PDF ISBN 978 0 620 42142 3 Retrieved 5 April 2021 Raubenheimer Graeme AA lawsuit underway Eyewitness News South Africa 24 April 2013 Retrieved on 13 May 2013 Raubenheimer Graeme Solidarity takes Correctional Services to court Eyewitness News South Africa 25 April 2013 Retrieved on 13 May 2013 Phakathi Bekezela Solidarity court bid stirring up racial antagonism BDlive South Africa 30 April 2013 Retrieved on 13 May 2013 Who are we Helping Hand website http www helpendehand co za page id 66 permanent dead link Accessed on 1 June 2010 AfriForum And Solidarity s Parallel State Huffington Post South Africa 31 January 2017 Visser Wessel P From MWU To Solidarity A Trade Union Reinventing Itself PDF University of Stellenbosch p 20 Archived from the original PDF on 11 August 2013 Retrieved 14 January 2014 AfriForum and the rise of the new right Thought Leader 8 January 2014 Retrieved 14 January 2014 South African group under fire for lobbying US for white rights aljazeera com Who is AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel Times Live Apartheid was not a crime against humanity AfriForum CEO s remark sparks outrage Times Live No one can and should deny the brutality of apartheid South Africa Independent Online Afrikaner aspirations An hour with AfriForum s Kallie Kriel thoughtleader co za 16 April 2008 Don t exaggerate Sisulu asks AfriForum News24 Archived from the original on 23 August 2019 Retrieved 28 November 2019 AfriForum can t spot the irony in its own whiny argument The Citizen Apartheid not a crime against humanity AfriForum CEO The Sowetan Mampara of the week Kallie Kriel Retrieved 7 November 2018 South African group under fire for lobbying US for white rights aljazeera com Retrieved 7 November 2018 Chothia Farouk 1 September 2018 The groups playing on the fears of a white genocide BBC News Retrieved 7 November 2018 Bort Ryan 23 August 2018 Trump Is Using a White Nationalist Conspiracy Theory to Inform Policy Rolling Stone Retrieved 7 November 2018 Trump s tweet echoing white nationalist propaganda about South African farmers explained Vox Retrieved 7 November 2018 Msimang Sisonke South Africa s Afriforum and Trump s kiss of death aljazeera com Retrieved 7 November 2018 a b Nuwe Sol Tech kampus n monument van hoop vir jongmense Solidariteit WĂSreld Solidariteit co za Retrieved 20 April 2022 Lesufi building a political career on anti Afrikaans agitation FF Plus Search results Politicsweb politicsweb co za Retrieved 1 June 2021 Ons bou om te bly OPINION Politicsweb Staff Writer Why a new Afrikaans only university is a bad idea Lesufi Retrieved 1 June 2021 Solidarity college project laudable The Sowetan Retrieved 1 June 2021 Studierigtings Sol Tech Sol tech co za Retrieved 20 April 2022 Foto s Ambagstudente betree nuwe Sol Tech kampus February 2021 External links EditOfficial website Solidarity s Blog in Afrikaans AfriForum s website Available in Afrikaans and English Solidarity Helping Hand s website Available in Afrikaans and English Sol Tech s website Available in Afrikaans and English Express Personnel s website Available in English Institute for Constitutional and Labour Law Studies website Available in Afrikaans and English Afrinetwerk s website Available in Afrikaans and Dutch Consawu s website Available in English ITUC s website Available in English German French and SpanishFurther reading EditVisser WP 2002 Van MWU tot Solidariteit Geskiedenis van die Mynwerkersunie 1902 tot 2002 ISBN 978 0 620 42142 3 Visser WP 2006 From MWU to Solidarity A trade union reinventing itself South African Journal of Labour Relations 30 2 2006 pp 19 41 Hermann Dirk 2007 The Naked Emperor Why affirmative action failed Protea Book House ISBN 978 1 86919 143 6 Originally published in Afrikaans as Die Keiser is Kaal Hoekom regstellende aksie misluk het ISBN 978 1 86919 142 9 Organized labour portal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Solidarity South African trade union amp oldid 1135023633, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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