Commodification, economic restructuring, and the changing urban geography of labour in post-apartheid South Africa: The case of Gauteng Province, 1991–2001

New Agenda 92: Special Issue: Economics and Labour in the Global South

“…Cosatu is of the view that through this alliance it can influence the governing party's policies. Yet, since the 2000s, Cosatu has become a junior partner in this alliance, working for the ANC and rescinding social movement unionism (Barchiesi, 2006;Buhlungu, 2010;Mosoetsa and Tshoaedi, 2013). There has been a plethora of scholarly calls for a return to social movement unionism beyond Cosatu's alliance with the ANC or in other spaces where the community struggles continue (see Paret, 2015;Cherry, 2017;Mmadi, 2023).…”

“…In 1999 "a 'Transformation Lekgotla', an ad-hoc, unelected administrative body composed by the chairperson and the deputy chairpersons of the GJMC and the MLCs [Metropolitan Local Councils] plus five co-opted councillors [was] established as a transitional political organ in charge of running the five councils as a single structure" (Barchiesi, 2006:18). The management team with the Transformation Lekgotla presented the iGoli 2002 plan to the Council and it was approved on 16 March 1999 (Barchiesi, 2006). The iGoli 2002 plan was based on the separation of services provided by the GJMC and was seen as a cost effective strategy to deal with the city's fiscal crisis (Barchiesi, 2006).…”

“…The management team with the Transformation Lekgotla presented the iGoli 2002 plan to the Council and it was approved on 16 March 1999 (Barchiesi, 2006). The iGoli 2002 plan was based on the separation of services provided by the GJMC and was seen as a cost effective strategy to deal with the city's fiscal crisis (Barchiesi, 2006).…”

“…He shows that in some cases, the 'new' tends to be exaggerated as the APF was formed by activists who had linkages with the tripartite alliance and included some people who had been expelled from the SACP or Cosatu. It also had links with Samwu for example, which was formed in 1987 as a result of a merger between the Cape Town Municipal Workers Association, the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), and some community unions that had started in the 1980s (Barchiesi, 2006). Samwu's relations with the 'new social movements,' particularly the APF, as indicated, was a result of the opposition to the iGoli 2002 plan.…”

“…Samwu criticised municipal corporatisation, arguing that it posed a threat to working conditions and wages of the working class and would also exclude poor communities from accessing public services (Xali, 2005;Barchiesi, 2006). Barchiesi shows that the relationship between Samwu and the APF was short-lived, citing a strike called by Samwu on 30 November 2000 in protest against the Council's unilateral approach.…”