Trade Unions and Democratization in South Africa, 1985-97

MARK ANSTEY Professor and Director, Labour Relations Unit, University of Port Elizabeth JEREMY BASKIN Public servant, Department of Labour SAKHELA BUHLUNGU Lecturer in Sociology, University of Witwatersrand DEREK de VILLIERS Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Administration, Vista University, Port Elizabeth PG EIDELBERG Senior Lecturer, History Department, University of South Africa STEVEN FRIEDMAN Director of the Centre for Policy Studies in Johannesburg GRAEME A. GA-TZ Lecturer, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, University of Witwatersrand IAN MACUN Research Officer and Deputy Director of SWOP MARK SHAW Co-ordinator, Crime and Policing Policy Project, Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria KARL VON HOLDT Co-ordinator, COSATU's September Commission on the Future of the Unions

The writings in this volume see the South African labour movement as an actor capable of shaping democratization. Through the strategic use of power, labour has reconfigured democratization through negotiated compromises, attempting to ensure that the costs of adjustment are not borne by workers alone.The writings in this volume see the South African labour movement as an actor capable of shaping democratization. Through the strategic use of power, labour has reconfigured democratization through negotiated compromises, attempting to ensure that the costs of adjustment are not borne by workers alone. The book examines these strategies and practices and assesses labour's capacity to exert influence in the future. The findings suggest that labour's marginalization would put at risk the consolidation of democracy.