South African Reduction Workers' Association

The South African Reduction Workers' Association (SARWA) was a trade union representing officials involved in processing mining ores in South Africa.

The union was in existence in the early years of the 20th-century, but it nearly collapsed following the Rand Rebellion. By 1926, it had only 900 members, all of whom were white, but it began growing again under the leadership of Archie Moore. It was a founding affiliate of the South African Trades Union Congress, and then to its successor, the South African Trades and Labour Council.[1][2][3] However, its acceptance of apartheid led it to split away in 1951, forming part of the new South African Federation of Trade Unions, which later joined the all-white South African Confederation of Labour (SACOL). By 1962, it had 3,300 members.[4]

The union renamed itself as the South African Technical Officials' Association in 1973. In 1980, it decided to begin admitting "coloured" workers, which led SACOL to expel it.[5] In 1996, it merged with the Administrative and Technical Officials' Association, to form the Administrative, Technical and Electronic Association of South Africa.

References edit

  1. ^ Lewis, Jon (1984). Industrialisation and Trade Union Organization in South Africa, 1924-1955. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521263123.
  2. ^ Gitsham, Ernest; Trembath, James H. (1926). A first account of labour organisation in South Africa (PDF). Durban: E. P. & Commercial Printing. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  3. ^ Walker, Ivan; Weinbren, Ben (1961). 2000 Casualties: A History of the Trade Unions and the Labour Movement in the Union of South Africa. South African Trade Union Council.
  4. ^ Wirtz, W. Willard (1966). Directory of Labor Organizations: Africa. Washington DC: Bureau of International Labor Affairs. pp. 39.25–39.28.
  5. ^ Miller, Shirley (1982). Trade Unions in South Africa 1970-1980: a directory and statistics. Cape Town: Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit. ISBN 0799204692.