This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 0160449X07306213v1 33/3/262    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Buhlungu, S. Articles by Bezuidenhout, A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Union Solidarity under Stress

The Case of the National Union of Mineworkers in South Africa

University of Johannesburg

Andries Bezuidenhout

University of the Witwatersrand

The advent of democracy in South Africa has brought a number of benefits and opened spaces for union mobilization. It has also set in motion processes that undermine union solidarity. This article takes the most influential trade union in South Africa's history, the National Union of Mineworkers, as a case study to explore this paradox. On the basis of data generated by a range of research methods, the authors explore three themes: the occupational mobility of black mineworkers, attempts at authoritarian restoration through subcontracting, and the employment of women in a predominantly male occupation.

Key Words: union solidarity • ethnicity • mining • National Union of Mineworkers • South Africa democratic transition • postapartheid

This version was published on September 1, 2008

Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 33, No. 3, 262-287 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0160449X07306213


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?