Solidarity () is a South African trade union that represents Afrikaner workers's interests. It is also a trade union within the Christian tradition of unionism. It is an affiliate of AfriForum.

History Its origins go back to 1902, when the Transvaal Miners' Association was founded in the mines on the Witwatersrand. In 1913, it became the Mine Workers' Union, and it later became the largest affiliate of the South African Confederation of Labour (SACOL), which supported the apartheid system.

In its earliest iteration, the TMA took militant stances in a series of “great industrial strikes” and, as the renamed Mine Worker’s Union, in 1922 was a major player in the “Rand Revolt,” in which it fought for preservation of jobs for white South Africans at the expense of black workers in South Africa’s gold mines.

It left SACOL in 1992 to reinvent itself as a general union, MWU - Solidarity.

In 1997, when the union's current general secretary, Flip Buys, was appointed, the union was in dire financial straits. The extreme right-wing views associated with the union had led to a dramatic decline in popularity and membership: it had only about 30,000 members left at that stage. In 2001, it absorbed the South African Workers' Union, the Denelunie, the Karweiersunie and the Bosbou- en Plantasiebestuursunie, and renamed itself as Solidarity. Since the beginning of Flip Buys' term, the membership had increased to more than 130,000 by 2009. The union has more than 17 offices throughout the country and a staff complement of about 300 members.

Solidarity affiliated with the Confederation of South African Workers' Unions (CONSAWU) in 2006, but left again in 2011. Through this affiliation Solidarity is represented at the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

Initially a multi-ethnic – though exclusively white – union, the role it and its predominantly Afrikaner constituency has played as a civil society organisation has shifted over the course of the last century, a product of both economic and political tides that have washed the country.

Litigation In 2013, Solidarity sued the Department of Correctional Services on behalf of one white and four coloured Correctional Services officials in the Western Cape who alleged they were denied promotions due to the department's employment equity policy.Raubenheimer, Graeme. "AA lawsuit underway", Eyewitness News, South Africa, 24 April 2013. Retrieved on 13 May 2013. Another five applicants were later added to the case.Raubenheimer, Graeme. "Solidarity takes Correctional Services to court", Eyewitness News, South Africa, 25 April 2013. Retrieved on 13 May 2013.CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA Case CCT 78/15

The ANC in the Western Cape called the suit an "attack on employment equity", and accused the applicants of "stirring up racial antagonism between Africans and coloureds".Phakathi, Bekezela. "Solidarity court bid 'stirring up racial antagonism'", BDlive, South Africa, 30 April 2013. Retrieved on 13 May 2013.

Additional operations The "Solidarity Movement" originated from the trade union and includes several organisations.

Solidarity Helping Hand

The Solidarity Helping Hand is a social responsibility organisation that, though started by Solidarity, is an independent entity that functions on its own, separate from the union. It does however receive financial support from the union's members. It is registered as a Section 21 company (not-for-profit). It focuses specifically on supporting communities that have limited access to state support. The two areas where the Helping Hand operates intensively is Pretoria and environs and in Cape Town. Nevertheless, the Helping Hand actively expands into many other areas. As of June 2010, there were 32 other smaller regional branches throughout the country.Helping Hand website. http://www.helpendehand.co.za/?page_id=66 Accessed on: 1 June 2010 The Helping Hand focuses on assisting destitute Afrikaans-speaking people, but not to the exclusion of individuals from other cultural groups.

AfriForum

AfriForum, an independent initiative of Solidarity, is an organisation in South Africa linked to the Solidarity trade union. It was established in 2006 to encourage the re-engagement of the Afrikaners and other minorities in the public sphere. It promotes the protection of Afrikaner culture, and has opposed renaming streets and affirmative action. AfriForum has attracted significant controversy because of its views, especially denial that Apartheid was a crime against humanity, albeit nonetheless immoral.

According to AfriForum CEO, Kallie Kriel, AfriForum is a civil rights initiative to mobilise civil society and specifically minority communities, in order to take part in democratic debate. Kriel further stated that AfriForum would like to achieve balance in South Africa. "True democracy needs alternative voices in order to succeed. While we aren’t a political party, we give alternative ideas and suggestions, where applicable, to the government stance". AfriForum's claim to be a civil rights organisation has been questioned in the South African media, and South African and international media often characterise Afriforum as a white nationalist or white supremacist group.

Sol-Tech

In 2007 Solidarity started an Afrikaans technical college in Centurion with 3 lecturers and 64 students. According to them this was in response to the ANC government's allegedly racist policies which allegedly discriminates against White Afrikaners and their Afrikaans language, and in their eyes to enable Afrikaner youth to have a future in South Africa with the right skills.

Reception was mixed with ANC politician Panyaza Lesufi calling it a symbol of Solidariteit's "hatred of a democratic South Africa" and an "insult to the overwhelming majority of our people". While the newspaper The Sowetan said that "the establishment an Afrikaans-medium college should be applauded as an example of a proactive community intervention to address a social need rather than wait for the government to provide".

SolTech college offers young people training in technical areas like vehicle mechanics, electronics, fitting and turning. The college claims that 94.7% of their students get employment offers after their studies.

On 1 February 2021, the college opened their new R300 million campus for 3000 students in Pretoria.

General Secretaries 1902: W. Mather 1903: S. W. Fursey 1904: J. Wood 1907: M. Trewick 1908: Tom Matthews 1915: James Forrester-Brown 1921: Percy Fisher 1922: J. Cowan 1922: E. S. Hendriksz 1923: W. Price 1925: M. Dunne 1926: J. C. Medo 1929: H. Day 1930: M. J. du Plessis 1931: ? 1933: Piet Harms 1935: Charles Harris 1940: Fred Kukkuk 1941: Bertie Brodrick 1948: Daan Ellis 1963: Eddie Gründling 1967: Arrie Paulus 1987: Peet Ungerer 1997: Flip Buys

References

External links

Solidarity's Blog AfriForum's website Available in Afrikaans and English Solidarity Helping Hand's website Available in Afrikaans and English Sol-Tech's website Available in Afrikaans and English Express Personnel's website Available in English Institute for Constitutional and Labour Law Studies' website Available in Afrikaans and English Available in Afrikaans and Dutch Consawu's website Available in English ITUC's website Available in English, German, French and Spanish

Further reading Visser, WP. 2002. Van MWU tot Solidariteit; Geskiedenis van die Mynwerkersunie, 1902 tot 2002. Visser, WP. 2006. From MWU to Solidarity; A trade union reinventing itself. South African Journal of Labour Relations, 30(2), 2006, pp. 19–41 Hermann, Dirk. 2007. The Naked Emperor; Why affirmative action failed. Protea Book House. (Originally published in Afrikaans as: Die Keiser is Kaal; Hoekom regstellende aksie misluk het. )