COSATU'S Contested Legacy: South African Trade Unions in the Second Decade of Democracy (Afrika-Studiecentrum Series, 28)

COSATU's Contested Legacy provides a fresh and up-to-date analysis of trade unionism in contemporary South Africa by focusing on the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the largest and most powerful federation. Drawing on quantitative data from four time series surveys of union members over a period of sixteen years, the authors present rigorous and authoritative analyses that shed light on the dilemmas and opportunities facing trade unionism today. The volume shows how various sections of the trade union movement grapple with these dilemmas and contest with one another to chart a future trajectory for trade unionism.

Sakhela Buhlungu, PhD (2002), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, is Professor of Sociology at the University of Pretoria. He has published extensively on labour, including A Paradox of Victory: COSATU and the democratic transformation in South Africa (UKZN Press, 2010).

Malehoko Tshoaedi, PhD (2008), University of Leiden, is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of South Africa. She has published widely on women and trade unions. Her recent publication is (En)gendering the Transition in South Africa: the Role of COSATU Women Activists, Transformation (2012).