what is cosatu

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the countrys three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions. COSATUs main goal is to improve the circumstances of working people and it encourages workers to join unions. Most of the members of COSATU are black South Africans. COSATU holds a national congress every three years, where delegates elect its officers, including its president, treasurer, and secretary. COSATU has an official partnership with the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party, known as the Tripartite Alliance. COSATU is a nonracial union that is affiliated with nineteen trade unions and its presence is fairly strong in the mining, metals, food, retail, transport, paper, chemical, teaching, and public sectors.