The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) marks its 8th anniversary since its historic formation on 22 April 2017—a milestone in the ongoing struggle to build a militant, independent, and worker-controlled trade union movement.
SAFTU was born to challenge exploitation, neoliberal austerity, precarious work, and the betrayal of working-class interests by compromised leaderships. It emerged with a clear mandate: to represent the most marginalised, to organise the unorganised, and to place the working class at the centre of political and economic transformation.
Eight Years of Resistance, Vision, and Voice
Since 2017, SAFTU has led the fight for decent work, living wages, and quality public services. We have been a consistent voice against:
- Austerity budgets that cut public services and freeze wages,
- The privatisation of state-owned enterprises,
- Labour brokering and the casualisation of labour,
- A National Minimum Wage that entrenches poverty,
- And the deregulation of labour protections that erode the right to strike and weaken collective bargaining.
In April 2018, SAFTU mobilised hundreds of thousands of workers in a historic general strike to oppose both the introduction of a poverty-level National Minimum Wage and the amendments to labour laws that sought to undermine hard-won workers’ rights—particularly the right to strike. It was a powerful rejection of anti-worker policies and marked SAFTU’s explosive arrival as a militant force.
Our Vision Remains Clear
SAFTU continues to call for:
- A living wage for all workers;
- Universal access to healthcare, education, and social protection;
- A progressive tax system to redistribute wealth;
- Democratic public ownership in key sectors;
- And an end to inequality, exploitation, and neoliberalism.
Achievements in Brief: 8 Years of Organising, Educating, and Fighting Back
1. Mass Campaigns and Worker Power
- Led campaigns against labour brokering, VAT and fuel price hikes, and public sector cuts.
- Submitted a Section 77 application to NEDLAC demanding action on poverty, unemployment, and collapsing public services.
2. Working-Class Alliances
- Convened the 2018 Working Class Summit with over 150 formations—laying the foundation for a mass-based anti-austerity front.
- Initiated #RedFriday and Operation Khula to build grassroots worker-community power.
3. Legal and Institutional Victories
- Secured landmark Constitutional Court rulings on freedom of association and labour brokering.
- Expanded union access to the CCMA, bargaining councils, and NEDLAC.
4. Organising and Solidarity
- Supported major battles at Clover, Eskom, Dischem, CellC, Spar, and within the public service.
- Established early warning systems and coordination teams to assist affiliates.
5. Political Education and Research
- Launched educational programmes with the Rosa Luxemburg and Friedrich Ebert Foundations.
- Produced detailed submissions on national budgets, wage policy, and workers’ rights.
6. Communications and Visibility
- Built a vibrant digital presence, issued bold public statements, and livestreamed actions and congresses.
7. Gender and Youth Work
- Established National Committees, ran campaigns on gender justice, and partnered with NUMSA in LGBTI+ workplace advocacy.
8. Institutional Development
- Despite severe funding constraints, SAFTU established a functional national office, three provincial structures, and coordinated 20+ affiliates.
- We now have structures in all nine provinces and locals in many towns and cities across the country—making SAFTU a truly national force.
Unfinished Tasks and the Way Forward
While SAFTU has made important strides, many founding goals remain unfulfilled. We are yet to develop effective organising strategies to reach and represent the most vulnerable: informal sector workers, domestic workers, farmworkers, security and cleaning workers. These sectors remain underorganised, underpaid, and unprotected.
We reaffirm our commitment to intensify our organising drive and call on all affiliates to prioritise this as a strategic objective.
Join the Current Campaign: Unite Against Austerity, VAT Hikes and Anti-Worker Laws
SAFTU is currently leading a national campaign against:
- The increases in VAT that hurt the poor while sparing the rich,
- Ongoing budget cuts that cripple public services and deepen unemployment,
- And the latest amendments to labour laws that aim to restrict the right to strike, weaken union power, and roll back historic worker victories.
We call on all workers, communities, and progressive formations to join the May Day marches, rallies, and mass demonstrations taking place across all provinces—and to remain mobilised for continued actions beyond May Day.These are not isolated issues. They represent an all-out assault on the working class—and we must meet them with unity, resistance, and struggle.
A Pledge to the Working Class
On this important anniversary, SAFTU salutes the courage, sacrifice, and resilience of the working class. We honour the organisers, shop stewards, and members who have kept the federation alive and militant over the past eight years.
We recommit ourselves to building a united, democratic, and socialist-oriented trade union movement that puts workers and the poor before profit and privilege.
SAFTU lives! The working class leads! The struggle continues!
