Affiliates, facts and figures

The Federation of South African Trade Unions - FOSATU - was formed on the 14th and 15th April 1979 at an Inaugural Congress held at Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria. The Congress was attended by 130 delegates representating 12 founding unions. FOSATU was formed as a federation to unite all workers irrespective of race, creed or sex who shared the common objective of struggling for the rights of workers. Our prime objective is to organise workers in their workplace and through the strength of their organisation to eliminate the racial discrimination and racial divisions that are used to perpetuate the exploitation of the oppressed majority of workers. It is a federation of industrial unions bound by common policies and objectives and based on the closest possible cooperation to the mutual benefit of all its affiliates and their members