Imperialism or Solidarity - International Labour and South African Trade Unions

The re-emergence of black trade unions in the 1970s was assisted by a shift of Western labour from "imperialism" to "solidarity", a result of a relative decline of cold War tensions and the social democratic influence in the movement. At the same time, the black trade unions themselves developed an active, international, non-aligned policy. Southall's analysis provides a backdrop to the understanding of COSATU's present foreign policy: an attempt at more equal relations between the unions of the North and South, and the forging of global worker solidarity.