Trade unions and politics in South Africa

Analysis of the South African industrial structure during the past three decades has produced various theoretical paradigms to explain the structure’s origin, dynamics, and future. This analysis aims to add to these often confusing theoretical analyses, however, with one major difference, namely, by incorporating the implications of the new constitution on industrial relationships and their concomitant social relationships. Although the author acknowledges the interdependence of the various facets of the socio-economic structure, emphasis in this article is restricted to the following: firstly, the relationship between trade unions and politics in South Africa, and secondly, the effects of the constitution on the racial consciousness of the trade union movement. The author concludes that trade unions have a political role. In the contemporary South African situation this role has resulted in trade unions developing a ‘race’ rather than a class consciousness, a situation which has been exacerbated by the new constitutional dispensation. S. Afr. J. Sociol. 1985, 16(2): 43–48

Class consciousness · Consciousness · Constitution · Development economics · Economics · International trade · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Trade union · Gender Studies · Labor Movements and Unions · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa · Psychology

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