membership in the country.
Developments in other sectors were not as spectacular. Mining has increased in union density to a high of 77 per cent. In 1980, union density in mining was at 6.8 per cent, rocketing to 55.2 per cent in 1990. Manufacturing increased from 41 per cent in 1980 to 70 per cent in 1990, before declining to 31 per cent in 2012. The change in union density is, of course, explained not only by changing union membership but also by changes in employment. Declining employment in mining has contributed to the increased density, although the declining union density in manufacturing is certainly affected by changing employment patterns combined with a drop in union membership.
Table 1: Trade unions, union membership and density. 1994 to 2012
Note that density figures for 1994 to 1996 are based on non-agricultural employment, hence the higher density. The figures for 2001 to 2007 are from the former Labour Force Survey (all sectors) and the 2010 to 2012 figures are from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey. Figures for trade unions and their membership are from the records of the Department of Labour.
The change in employment patterns is also likely to have affected union density in sectors such as construction and wholesale and retail which have been characterised by a growth in contracting and sub-contracting arrangements that have made it difficult for unions to retain members. Although the post-1994 legal dispensation has supported unionisation and collective bargaining, it has not regulated non-standard employment. This has very likely been a factor in impeding union growth in a number of sectors.
Table 2: Trade union density by main industry sector 1980 to 2012 (per cent)
Figures for 1980 and 1990 (from Hinks et al. 2007) exclude employment in agriculture and domestic work from the denominator, in part accounting for the high density in some sectors.
An important feature of union growth is that unionisation has not grown in sectors that have historically been characterised by low union density, sectors such as agriculture, construction and domestic work (private households). The particular difficulties posed by these sectors, such as diffuse employment, low numbers of employees per workplace, and difficulty of access to workplaces, have continued to elude union organisation both before 1994 and afterwards.
The trajectory of union growth post-1994 has thus been one of stable union membership overall and a reasonably stable union density, with some significant variation in different sectors. Compared to the pre-1994 period, the most significant growth has been in the public, mining and electricity sectors with other sectors such as manufacturing and finance showing a decline in unionisation. In the pre-1994 period, trade unionism showed a spectacular growth, particularly during the 1980s, which constituted the takeoff phase in union growth in South Africa. This growth was a product not only of effective organisation at factory level by the emerging, independent unions, but also a product of the increased bargaining position of African workers (Hinks et al. 2007; Macun 2002).
The post-1994 period is perhaps best characterised as a phase in which trade unionism has held its own. This stabilising of unionisation should be viewed in the context of gradually declining employment, changing patterns of employment and low economic growth. The market power of trade unions associated with numerical strength has helped to sustain unionisation, as evidenced by the higher earnings of union members compared to non-members.
South Africa’s unionisation rates are not unusually high, as some would think, but are comparable to the OECD countries and other large middle-income countries (Budlender 2012: 30). Where South Africa differs is that unionisation has not been declining as it has in a number of the advanced economies. South Africa also differs from many industrialised countries in having a large number of trade unions, most of which are small and unaffiliated to the major trade union federations.
UNION STRATEGY AND STRUCTURE
An analysis of union growth would not be complete without an examination of how union membership is distributed between the country’s major federations and what trends there have been in the strategic choices of unions. In 1994, there were five major union federations which represented 89 per cent of all union members in seventy-seven affiliated unions. By far the largest federation was Cosatu with a 45 per cent share of union membership. The National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) was the second largest – roughly a quarter of Cosatu’s size. Table 3 shows the details of the major trade union federations, comparing their membership size in 1994 and in 2011.
Table 3: Trade union federations, affiliates and membership, 1994 and 2011
By 2011 the configuration of the major federations had changed significantly. Cosatu has increased its number of affiliates, taking on a few smaller trade unions, such as the South African State and Allied Workers Union (Sasawu), the South African Football Players Union (Safpu) and a few others. More importantly, Cosatu’s share of the union membership has jumped to 72 per cent of all workers represented by the major federations or 56.8 per cent of total union membership in the country. Its largest affiliate remains the NUM with just over 300 000 members followed by Numsa and the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), the largest unions in the manufacturing and public service respectively. While Cosatu was committed to a policy of ‘one industry, one union’ at the time of its formation in 1987, this has not been systematically pursued by the federation in the post-1994 period. Mergers have taken place between the old Construction and Allied Workers Union (Cawu) and the NUM and between unions in the chemical and paper and forestry sectors to form the Chemical Energy Paper Printing Wood and Allied Workers Union (Ceppwawu), but the original affiliates of Cosatu in the public service remain intact as separate unions focussing on different parts of the public service. More significant has been the blurring of organisational boundaries between the NUM and Numsa, in particular in mining and in the energy sector, with Numsa taking on members in both these sectors.
In contrast to Cosatu’s growth, Nactu’s membership has dropped by more than half. Recent developments, such as the growth of Amcu in the mining sector and the affiliation of the National Transport Movement may affect this decline, but Nactu remains a federation of relatively small unions spread throughout most sectors of the economy and representing predominantly less skilled and semi-skilled workers. What Nactu retains as a common characteristic with Cosatu is a distinct political unionism, both federations being aligned to party political traditions. The declining significance and support for the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) post-1994 may well have a bearing on the decline in the membership of Nactu. The relationship of Cosatu to the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) has arguably had the opposite effect, although this political relationship is a far more complex one – and will be touched on in the final section.
The formation of the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) through the merger of the old Federation of South African Labour Unions and Force in 1997 established the second largest federation with a membership of predominantly semi-skilled and skilled workers. A substantial proportion of Fedusa’s membership was concentrated in the public service – which was the exclusive domain of the unions affiliated to Force. One of Fedusa’s largest affiliates, the Public Service Association (PSA), disaffiliated, leaving it with a substantially
