South Africa is a country with a history riddled with inequality. And although there has been progress in trying to provide opportunities for all regardless of race, gender and disability, there is still a way to go. One way that South Africans ensure there is equality is by creating and joining trade unions.
Trade unions play an important role in the South African workforce and currently represent over 3 million members, which is about 25% of the formal workforce.
What is a Trade Union in South Africa?
A trade union (or labour union) is a worker-led organisation that collectively represents employees to negotiate with employers for better salaries, benefits, better working conditions and job security. These organisations use various methods, such as collective bargaining and strikes, to balance power and improve workplace standards. They provide members with a collective voice, legal support, and community, advancing shared interests against management.
For small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), knowing how unions work for your employees can help ensure you are never in the firing line. In this article, we look at what unions are, the benefits they provide, and the various unions available in South Africa.
Who Can Join a Trade Union?
According to Section 23 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA), every employee has a right to join a trade union. The LRA strengthens trade unions in two ways:
- It supports freedom of association rights, which allow employees and jobseekers to be members of a trade union.
- Supports organisational rights and allows unions to organise employees.
- Gives rights to employees to come together to form employers’ organisations.
- Prevents employers from offering incentives to employees or jobseekers to keep them from joining a union.
- The Act prevents the victimisation of employees or jobseekers for their trade union activities.
Under the LRA, registered unions have the following rights:
- Organisational rights are awarded by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA).
- A right to become a member of a bargaining or statutory council. This is subject to the admission requirements of the council.
- The right to enter agency and closed shop agreements.
- Right to establish workplace forums.
- Right to conclude collective agreements as defined under the LRA.
Benefits of Joining a Trade Union
Here are five reasons as to why employees join trade unions.
1. Improved Wages and Benefits
Typically, trade union members tend to earn more than non-unionised workers. Trade unions use their collective power to bargain with management for better salaries, pensions, holidays, health insurance, sick leave, overtime and more.
2. Personal Protection
Trade unions work to protect the rights of employees. If an employer is being unfair, trade unions will represent their members during dispute discussions. In the modern world, trade unions are demanding skills training, lifelong learning and social protection for workers in companies adopting robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).
3. Workplace Equality
Trade unions work to ensure equal rights and pay for all workers by fighting discrimination against race, gender, sexual orientation and disability, by fostering respect and dignity in the workplace. Additionally, trade unions promote maternity rights, flexible working and paternity pay, so that caring responsibilities are shared.
4. Workplace Health and Safety
Trade unions won’t let their members enter a workplace that is not safe. Employees who are union members have the right to contact their union to negotiate for a safer workplace, whether through the procurement of safety equipment or medical insurance.
5. Legal Representation and Support
Trade union members receive professional and often free legal advice and representation in workplace disputes, disciplinary hearings and grievance meetings. Unions represent members at various forums, including the CCMA and the Labour Court.
Registered Trade Unions in South Africa
Here is a list of the registered trade unions in South Africa.
1. Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)
COSATU is the largest of three major trade union centres and boasts a membership of 1,8 million. The role of the organisation is to defend and advance workers’ rights, improve their material conditions, organise the unorganised, and ensure worker participation in South Africa’s economy.
2. Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA)
DENOSA is the largest nurses’ union in South Africa and works as both a trade union and a professional body. The objective of the organisation is to advocate for nurses’ rights, improve working conditions, ensure fair pay, and provide professional development, while also promoting quality health services and influencing health policy nationally for better patient care and a stronger healthcare system.
3. National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU)
NEHAWU is South Africa’s largest public sector trade union, advocating for workers in health, education, government, and social welfare by fighting for better wages, safer workplaces, fair labour practices, job security, and democratic participation.
4. National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA)
NUMSA’s objectives are to fight for workers’ rights, better wages, improved working conditions, and benefits like pension/provident funds and funeral cover in sectors like auto, engineering, and manufacturing. The union currently has over 360 000 members.
5. National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
NUM is a trade union that organises and advocates for workers in the mining, energy, construction, and metal sectors. The organisation focuses on improving the economic and social welfare of its members through collective bargaining, ensuring better wages, decent housing (hostels), safer working conditions, and fighting issues like outsourcing.
6. Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA)
The PSA is the largest fully representative union in the public service sector. The PSA’s principal purpose is to regulate the relationship between employers and employees. Through its work, the PSA negotiates fair terms of remuneration, protects benefits such as medical aid and pension schemes, addresses working conditions and leverages its legal resources to protect the rights of its members.
7. South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU)
Formed in 1990, SADTU is the union body for over 250 000 teachers and workers in the education sector. The main objective of SADTU is to advocate for educators’ rights, welfare and professional development, while also championing free, quality education for all learners, fighting against privatisation, and promoting social justice, human rights, and equality in the education sector.
8. South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU)
SAMWU is the trade union representing workers in local government, including municipalities, water boards, and related municipal services. SAMWU strives to protect and advance better wages and conditions of service for workers throughout the sectors in which it organises.
Many of the mentioned unions are affiliates of COSATU.
For SME founders, knowing which unions your employees belong to will help guide you in any disputes, and for employees, it means having a strong organisation looking after workers’ rights to safe working environments.
Remember, it’s not only employees who have union protection, but business owners also have representatives in the form of the National Small Business Chamber and other business councils.
