Organise or Starve: The South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU)
On 5 March 1955, the motto was “Organise or Starve!”, coming from the Inaugural Conference of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU), which was held at the Trades Hall in Johannesburg. SACTU became the leading non-racial trade union co-ordinating body and the trade union wing of the Congress Alliance.
In October 1954, right wing trade unions walked out of the South African Trades and Labour Council (SATLC) conference held in Durban to form the exclusive White, Indian and so-called Coloured workers’ Trade Union Council of South Africa (TUCSA), which denied membership to Black workers. Nineteen trade unions objected to the formation of TUCSA. The remaining non-racial trade unions decided to set up a Trade Union Co-ordinating Committee, which had a meeting with the Council of Non-European Trade Unions (CNETU) that led to the formation of SACTU in March 1955.
Apart from racial intolerance by White trade unions, the government also passed repressive legislation that made it imperative for Black workers to organise workers across the colour line. African trade unions were free to operate but were not legally recognised by the state. The Industrial Relations Commission (IRC), appointed by the National Party government, called for the regulation and tighter control of Black trade unions by introducing registration and certification. The IRC also denied Black trade unions the right to joi
