The Minister of Manpower Utilisation, Fanie Botha warned of a government plan to adopt tougher measures against the rapidly expanding and increasingly militant Black trade unions. The newly established industrial court was proferred as a means of disciplining certain unions. This stern warning by Botha came almost two years after the formation of the Federation of South African Trade Unions (FOSATU) in 1979, which brought another dimension to the union movement. FOSATU was the predecessor to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) which was launched on 1 December 1985, when popular unrest had spread across South Africa.
eventREF E-0094860Revised
22 February 1981
The Minister of Manpower Utilisation, Fanie Botha reveals government plan on increasingly militant Black trade unions.
- Updated
- 30 Sep 2019
How we know this
- 01O’Malley, P. ‘1981’, from Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and Dialog, [online], available at www.nelsonmandela.org.za (Accessed: 11 January 2013)
- 02South African History Online, ‘Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)’, [online], available at www.sahistory.org.za (Accessed: 11 January 2013)
Last updated · 30 Sep 2019
South African History Online. (2013, February 14). The Minister of Manpower Utilisation, Fanie Botha reveals government plan on increasingly militant Black trade unions.. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094860
South African History Online (2013) 'The Minister of Manpower Utilisation, Fanie Botha reveals government plan on increasingly militant Black trade unions.', South African History Online, 14 February. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094860 (Accessed: 8 November 2026).
South African History Online, The Minister of Manpower Utilisation, Fanie Botha reveals government plan on increasingly militant Black trade unions. [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094860, (accessed 8 November 2026).
"The Minister of Manpower Utilisation, Fanie Botha reveals government plan on increasingly militant Black trade unions.." South African History Online, 14 Feb. 2013, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094860. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.
South African History Online. "The Minister of Manpower Utilisation, Fanie Botha reveals government plan on increasingly militant Black trade unions.." South African History Online. February 14, 2013. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094860.
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