Trade unions and democracy : Cosatu workers' political attitudes in South Africa

Summary

Carefully analyzing the changes that characterize workers' political orientations, this study considers the results of a survey of the political attitudes of members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) undertaken prior to South Africa's third democratic general election in 2004. Key issues--such as internal union and parliamentary democracy, black empowerment, and the marginalization of women within the trade union movement--are discussed in relation to the working-class politics and the democratic transformation of South Africa. The findings of two previous surveys, conducted before the before the elections of 1994 and 1999, are also included.