| FEDUSA | |
| Location Country: | South Africa |
| Affiliation: | ITUC |
| Members: | 556,000 |
| Full Name: | Federation of Unions of South Africa |
| Headquarters: | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Key People: | Godfrey Selamatsela, President Riefdah Ajam, General Secretary Martle Keyter, Deputy President |
The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) is the second largest national trade union center in South Africa.
The federation was founded on 1 April 1997, when the Federation of South African Labour Unions merged with the Federation of Organisations Representing Civil Employees.[1] Many affiliates of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions also joined.[2] On founding, about 80% of its members were white-collar workers, and 70% were white.[3]
The federation worked closely with the World Confederation of Labour, but did not affiliate. Instead, in 1998, it affiliated to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, and has continued membership of its successor, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). In 2006, it began negotiating a merger with the rival National Council of Trade Unions. They formed an umbrella organisation, the South African Confederation of Trade Unions, in 2007, but it achieved little, and the two federations remained independent.[4]
The federation has favoured negotiation over industrial action. In 2015, it advised its public sector affiliates to accept a pay rise lower than that offered, in order to reduce government expenditure. It has placed a strong focus on its union education programme.[5] In 2019, its long-term general secretary was dismissed after being accused of corruption. By 2020, it claimed a membership of 700,000, although the ITUC quoted a figure of 500,000.
The following unions were listed as affiliates, as of 2021:[6]
| Union | Abbreviation | Founded | Membership (2011)[7] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative, Library and Technical Staff Associates | ALTSA | |||
| Airline Pilots Association of South Africa | ALPA-SA | 1,591 | ||
| HOSPERSA | 1994 | 64,742 | ||
| HIAWU | 1929 | |||
| Insurance and Banking Staff Association | IBSA | 7,963 | ||
| MISA | 1949 | 30,039 | ||
| Motor Transport Workers' Union | MTWU | |||
| National Security and Unqualified Workers' Union | NASUWU | 9,534 | ||
| NULAW | 1926 | 7,824 | ||
| National Tertiary Education Union | NTEU | 2009 | ||
| PSA | 1920 | |||
| Professional Transport and Allied Workers' Union | PTAWU | 1980 | 17,600 | |
| South African Communication Union | SACU | 1994 | 5,136 | |
| South African Parastatal and Tertiary Institutions Union | SAPTU | 2008 | ||
| SATU | 1898 | 11,344 | ||
| SAOU | 1997 | 32,029 | ||
| Tertiary Education National Union of South Africa | TENUSA | 2005 | ||
| UASA | 1998 | 74,138 | ||
| United National Public Servants Association of South Africa and Allied Workers Union | UNIPSAWU | 1998 | ||
| UNTU | 2012 | N/A |
| Union[8] | Abbreviation | Founded | Left | Reason not affiliated | Membership (1999)[9] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATEASA | 1996 | 1998 | Merged into UASA | N/A | ||
| Care Centre, Catering, Retail and Allied Workers' Union | CCRAWUSA | |||||
| Construction and Engineering Industrial Workers' Union | CEIWU | |||||
| Eskom Employees' Association | EEA | 2010 | Dissolved | N/A | ||
| Food and General Workers' Union | F&G | 1,912 | ||||
| Hairdressers' and Cosmetologists' Trade Union | 2000 | Merged into UASA | 5,591 | |||
| IMATU | 1996 | Disaffiliated | 66,657 | |||
| Independent Performing Arts Trade Union | IPATU | 120 | ||||
| Internal Staff Association | ITA | Merged into SAPTU | N/A | |||
| Jewellers' and Goldsmiths' Union | J&GU | 1939 | ||||
| Millennium Workers' Union | MWU | |||||
| Mouth Peace Workers' Union | MPWU | 1997 | ||||
| National Democratic Change and Allied Workers' Union | NDCAWU | |||||
| National Teachers' Union | NATU | |||||
| National Union of Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Commercial, Health and Allied Workers | NUHRCCHAW | |||||
| National Union of Prosecutors of South Africa | NUPSA | 2023 | Merged into PSA | 232 | ||
| OASA | 1918 | 1998 | Merged into UASA | N/A | ||
| Post and Telecom Association | P&T | 1902 | 6,358 | |||
| Professional Health Organisation of South Africa | PHOSA | 2012 | Dissolved | |||
| PAWUSA | 1967 | Transferred to COSATU | 24,943 | |||
| SALSTAFF | 1918 | 2002 | Merged into UASA | 16,357 | ||
| South African Airways Flight Engineers' Association | SAAFEA | 2009 | 159 | |||
| South African Blindworkers' Organisation | SABWO | Disaffiliated | ||||
| South African Diamond Workers' Union | SADWU | 2001 | Merged into UASA | 910 | ||
| SAFSA | 1905 | 2000 | Merged into UTATU | 10,000 | ||
| South African Independent and Allied Workers' Union | SAI&AWU | 2004 | ||||
| South African Railways and Harbours Union | SARWHU | 2001 | 2012 | Merged into UNTU | N/A | |
| South African Telecommunications Association | SATA | N/A | ||||
| SAWU | 1936 | 2001 | Transferred to Solidarity | 21,798 | ||
| Staff Association for the Motor and Related Industries | SAMRI | 2001 | Merged into UASA | 1,333 | ||
| SWU | 1925 | 2005 | Dissolved | N/A | ||
| TWU | 1924 | 2000 | Merged into UTATU | 11,118 | ||
| United Private Sector Workers' Union | UPSWU | 2008 | ||||
| UTATU | 2000 | 2012 | Merged into UNTU | N/A | ||
| Werknemers Unie van Suid-Afrika | WUSA |
1997: Chez Milani
2006: Dennis George
2019: Riefdah Ajam
1997: Mary Malete
2008: Danie Carstens
2011: Koos Bezuidenhout
2016: Godfrey Selematsela