Cosatu’s mute response: Waves of social movement unionism in South Africa and its crisis during Covid

Mbuso Nkosi

doi:10.14426/na.v92i1.2134

Cosatu’s mute response

Waves of social movement unionism in South Africa and its crisis during Covid

Authors

Mbuso Nkosi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14426/na.v92i1.2134

Keywords:

Covid-19, South Africa, Cosatu, Social movement unionism, ANC

Abstract

Cosatu’s failure to be the voice of the working class in times of crisis, such as during Covid-19 and the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, reflects its inability to envision a future beyond the ANC, writes uMBUSO weNKOSI. He argues that as long as organised labour is locked in an alliance with the ruling party it cannot be rooted in community struggles, to the detriment of the social movement unionism of the anti-apartheid struggle.

Author Biography

Mbuso Nkosi

uMbuso weNkosi is a sociology lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. His research is focused on labour studies, industrial policy, political economy, agrarian studies, archives and social theory. He served as the editor of the Global Labour Column (GLC) and the South African Labour Bulletin (SALB). His book, These Potatoes Look Like Humans: The Contested Future of Land, Home and Death in South Africa was published in 2023 by Wits University Press. Reviewed in NA91 at https://ifaaza.org/these-potatoes-look-like-humans/

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Published

06-04-2024 — Updated on 26-04-2024

Versions

26-04-2024 (2)
06-04-2024 (1)

How to Cite

Nkosi, M. (2024). Cosatu’s mute response: Waves of social movement unionism in South Africa and its crisis during Covid. New Agenda: South African Journal of Social and Economic Policy, 92(SI). https://doi.org/10.14426/na.v92i1.2134 (Original work published April 6, 2024)