Solidarity (South African trade union)

Solidarity () is a South African trade union that negotiates on behalf of its members and attempts to protect workers' rights. Although the union is often involved in issues of political import, it does not align or formally affiliate itself with any political party. Solidarity is a trade union within the Christian tradition of unionism.
The union has positioned itself as a vehicle for minorities in South Africa to have their voices heard. Its membership is mainly, but not exclusively, Afrikaners.
History.
Solidarity is one of the oldest independent trade unions in South Africa. Its origins go back to 1902, when the Transvaal Miners' Association was founded in the mines on the Witwatersrand. In 1913, it became the Mine Workers' Union, and it later became the largest affiliate of the South African Confederation of Labour (SACOL), which supported the apartheid system. It left SACOL in 1992 to reinvent itself as a general union, MWU - Solidarity.
In 1997, when the union's current general secretary, Flip Buys, was appointed, the union was in dire financial straits. The extreme right-wing views associated with the union had led to a dramatic decline in popularity and membership: it had only about 30,000 members left at that stage. In 2001, it absorbed the South African Workers' Union, the Denelunie, the Karweiersunie and the Bosbou- en Plantasiebestuursunie, and renamed itself as Solidarity. Since the beginning of Flip Buys' term, the membership had increased to more than 130,000 by 2009. The union has more than 17 offices throughout the country and a staff complement of about 300 serve the members.
Solidarity affiliated with the Confederation of South African Workers' Unions (CONSAWU) in 2006, but left again in 2011. Through this affiliation Solidarity is represented at the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Core labour union functions.
Solidarity is organised in the aviation, chemical, professional services, telecommunication, electrical, metal and engineering, mining, medical and agricultural sectors. Solidarity's legal division with 34 staff members is the largest of its kind at any labour union in South Africa. The union represents its members in CCMA cases as well as in cases brought before the Labour Court.
Aviation, chemical, and professional services sector.
This sector, which combines Solidarity's chemical and general sectors, has shown a steep rise in membership. Solidarity represents employees in the chemical industry at companies like Sasol, PetroSA, AEL and in the glass industry. In the aviation sector Solidarity is mainly involved at Airlink, Air Traffic Navigation Services and SAA Technical. Solidarity professional services represents members at a large number of diverse companies that are involved in everything from agricultural research, universities and colleges to companies in the financial sector. At the moment (2009) growth is strongly focused in the medical sector where the union focuses specifically on nursing personnel.
Metal and engineering sector.
The metal and engineering sector is the sector that accounts for the largest chunk of Solidarity's membership. The union is organised at companies like ArcelorMittal, Denel and Highveld Steel.
Mining and agricultural sector.
Solidarity is rooted in the mining industry, as its origins lie in the Mine Workers' Union that was founded in 1913. Solidarity is active in the gold, platinum, copper, chrome, coal, iron ore, other base metals and the diamond mining sectors. Solidarity's agriculture arm is organised at all of the large agricultural co-operatives and agri-businesses, as well as at the large cement producers in the country.
Electrical and telecommunication sector.
Solidarity is organised in this sector, mainly at the national electricity provider, Eskom and at the large telecommunication company, Telkom. Solidarity takes part in the debate about the shortage of electricity in South Africa and the skills shortages at Eskom.
Litigation.
In 2013, Solidarity sued the Department of Correctional Services on behalf of one white and four coloured Correctional Services officials in the Western Cape who alleged they were denied promotions due to the department's employment equity policy. The department set its employment equity targets based on national demographics, but
coloured and white people make up 49% and 16% of the population of the Western Cape respectively, while each form only 9% of the national population. This makes it more difficult for white and coloured employees in the Western Cape to gain promotions than a policy which set different employment equity targets for each province. Solidarity called the policy "irrational". Another five applicants were later added to the case.
The ANC in the Western Cape called the suit an "attack on employment equity", and accused the applicants of "stirring up racial antagonism between Africans and coloureds".
Additional operations.
The "Solidarity Movement" originated from the trade union and includes several organisations.
Solidarity Helping Hand.
The Solidarity Helping Hand is a social responsibility organisation that, though started by Solidarity, is an independent entity that functions on its own, separate from the union. It does however receive financial support from the union's members. It is registered as a Section 21 company (not-for-profit). It focuses specifically on supporting communities that have limited access to state support. The two areas where the Helping Hand operates intensively is Pretoria and environs and in Cape Town. Nevertheless, the Helping Hand actively expands into many other areas. As of June 2010, there were 32 other smaller regional branches throughout the country. The Helping Hand focuses on assisting destitute Afrikaans-speaking people, but not to the exclusion of individuals from other cultural groups.
AfriForum.
AfriForum, an independent initiative of Solidarity, is an organisation in South Africa linked to the Solidarity trade union. It was established in 2006 to encourage the re-engagement of the Afrikaners and other minorities in the public sphere. It promotes the protection of Afrikaner culture, and has opposed renaming streets and affirmative action. AfriForum has attracted significant controversy because of its views, especially denial that Apartheid was a crime against humanity.
According to AfriForum CEO, , AfriForum is a civil rights initiative to mobilise civil society and specifically minority communities, in order to take part in democratic debate. Kriel further stated that AfriForum would like to achieve balance in South Africa. “True democracy needs alternative voices in order to succeed. While we aren’t a political party, we give alternative ideas and suggestions, where applicable, to the government stance.” AfriForum's claim to be a civil rights organisation has been questioned in the South African media, and South African and international media often characterize Afriforum as a white nationalist or white supremacist group.
The Growthfund.
Solidarity started the Growthfund in 2008 with the objective of collecting R100 million for the empowerment of the Afrikaans community. The eventual goal is to collect more than R500 million from the Afrikaans community, for the Afrikaans community. Solidarity's members also each contribute around R10 per month to the fund as part of their membership dues.
At the moment, the Growthfund's projects focus on training and education. A new Afrikaans technical college (an expanded version of Sol-Tech), the largest Afrikaans correspondence-college in South Africa and a multi-million rand bursary fund for scarce and critical skills are planned for the future. Solidarity bases the Growthfund project on the Helpmekaar (English: "Help one another") movement of 1916, the Reddingsdaadbond that followed, the Economic Congresses and the founding of many companies like Santam, Sanlam and Volkskas that, historically, were Afrikaner-empowerment projects.
Sol-Tech.
In 2007 Solidarity started an Afrikaans technical college in Centurion with 3 lecturers and 64 students. According to them this was in response to the ANC government's racist policies which discriminates against Afrikaners and their Afrikaans language, and to enable Afrikaner youth to have a future in South Africa with the right skills. 
Reception was mixed with Panyaza Lesufi calling it a symbol of Solidariteit's "hatred of a democratic South Africa" and an "insult to the overwhelming majority of our people". While the Sowetan said that, "the establishment an Afrikaans-medium college should be applauded as an example of a proactive community intervention to address a social need rather than wait for the government to provide". 
SolTech college offers young people training in technical areas like vehicle mechanics, electronics, fitting and turning. The college claims that 94.7% of their students get employment offers after their studies. 
On the 1st of Feb 2021, the college opened their new R300 million campus for 3000 students in Pretoria. 
Express Employment Professionals.
Solidarity owns several franchises of Express Employment Professionals, an international personnel agency. This enables the union to attempt to find work for its members who are without jobs.
Maroela Media.
Maroela Media is a site publishing Afrikaans news articles. It focuses on topics of concern to the Solidarity movement's membership.
S-Leer.
S-Leer is a training centre providing CPD training.
Akademia.
Akademia is a private tertiary institution, providing distance learning in Afrikaans.
Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge.
The Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge ("Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Associations") is a non-profit, non-governmental Afrikaans cultural organisation.
SBM.
SBM is the investment arm of the trade union and manages businesses that provide additional services to members.
Kraal publishers.
Kraal publishers ("Kraal Uitgewers") focuses on publishing books on South African history.