Anarcho-Syndicalism and Union Education in South Africa: A Critical Evaluation of the Tradition of the Congress of South African Trade Unions

January 8, 2024January 8, 2024 / Zabalaza Books

Authors: Mandy Moussouris and Lucien van der Walt

PDF file size: 357 KB

This chapter focuses on the potential of trade union education as a revolutionary force in society. It aims to provide a deeper understanding of types of union education in history and practice – primarily anarchist / anarcho-syndicalist education – which have either led to revolution or built a strong revolutionary culture, and to use these to evaluate critically the evolution of union education in South Africa from the late 1980s.

IN: Linda Cooper and Sheri Hamilton (eds.), Renewing Workers’ Education: Towards a Radical, Alternative Vision, HSRC Press: Cape Town, pp. 199-214.

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From Union Renewal to a Self-Managed Society: Towards an Anarcho-Syndicalist Project

July 17, 2019February 5, 2021 / Zabalaza Books / 5 Comments

From Union Renewal to a Self-Managed Society: Towards an Anarcho-Syndicalist Project - Lucien van der Walt

Author: Lucien van der Walt

File Size: 293 KB

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Trade union renewal is high on the agenda in many countries, but we need to think carefully about why we want it. Union renewal is a profoundly political and ideological issue.We need to have a clear understanding of how we got into the current mess where many unions are bureaucratic, inefficient and struggle to respond to urgent issues. We need to think carefully about what we want to achieve, not just in terms of how we organise – but what we aim at in the long run.