Social movement trade unionism: An investigation of workers’ perceptions of the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions practices on election and living wage issues

This study investigates workers’ perceptions of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) practices on elections and living wage issues from a social movement perspective from the Apartheid (South Africa) and Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Zimbabwe) eras to 2009. The trade union social movement perspective refers to labour movements that develop a socio-political character, and concern themselves not only with workplace issues but with broad social and political issues. A study of COSATU and ZCTU practices in South Africa and Zimbabwe at this time in the field of social movements is consistent with current calls for a conceptual shift, away from looking for invariant causes and effects to looking for mechanisms and processes that occur in many different kinds of movements and that lead to different outcomes depending on the specific contexts within which they occur. The study draws insights from social movement unionism theory to understand mechanisms and processes pursued by COSATU and ZCTU in seeking to influence policy outcomes. This study used a qualitative approach and a case study strategy. In the study, questionnaire and in-depth interview responses were drawn from COSATU secretariat, two affiliates, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) and National Union of Mine Workers (NUM).

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of the Western Cape

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Masiya, Tyanai

• Elections
• Living Wage
• Social Movement Unionism
• South Africa
• Zimbabwe

Licence

• https://uwcscholar.uwc.ac.za/bitstreams/3f10bc9a-ab2b-428d-a72b-8faeb50cbc2b/download