ABSTRACT
Organized labour in South Africa is said to face a dilemma in the era of neo-liberal globalization: it either accepts the economic policy reversal of its ally, the ruling African National Congress, and faced marginalization or else it actively opposes government. However, drawing on historical and contemporary research, the account suggest that South Africa opens up the possibility of an alternative one: that the degree of autonomy acquired by COSATU during the struggle for democracy enables it to emerge as a ‘left pressure group’ inside the Tripartite Alliance pushing for redistributive policies. However, such a path requires a high degree of political tolerance by government – a tolerance that the post-colonial experience in Africa suggests is unlikely. The account concludes that if labour were to be marginalized, it would therefore put at risk both the consolidation of democracy and economic reconstruction.
