Organise or die?
Democracy and Leadership in South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers
Johannesburg, Wits University Press, 2017, 344 p.
On the occasion of the launch of Raphaël Botiveau’s Organise or Die? Democracy and Leadership in South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers, the author will take part in a series of public discussions. This publication and the series are brought to you by Wits University Press and IFAS-Research.
Organise or Die? Democracy and Leadership in South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers is the first in-depth study of one of the leading trade unions in the country. Founded in 1982, the trade union played a key role in the struggle against white minority rule, before turning into a central protagonist of the ruling Tripartite Alliance after apartheid. Deftly navigating through workerist, social movement and political terrains that shape the South African labour landscape, this book sheds light on the path that led to the unprecedented 2012 Marikana massacre, the dissolution of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) federation and to fractures within the African National Congress (ANC) itself.
Working with the notions of organisational agency and strategic bureaucratisation, Raphaël Botiveau shows how the founding leadership of NUM built union’s structures with a view to mirror those of the multinational mining companies NUM faced. Good leadership proved key to the union’s success in recruiting and uniting mineworkers and NUM became an impressive school for union and political cadres, producing a number of South Africa’s top post-apartheid leaders, including Cyril Ramaphosa. An incisive analysis of leadership styles and strategies shows how the fragile balance between an increasingly distant leadership and an increasingly militant membership gradually broke down.
The book provides a compelling narrative of NUM’s powerful history and the legacy of its leadership. It will appeal to a broad readership – including journalists, students and social sciences scholars – interested in South Africa’s contemporary politics and labour history.
Raphaël Botiveau’s book launch tour
Tuesday 5th June
17.30 for 18.00 | Wits, Society, Work and Development Institute (SWOP)
South West Engineering Building, Graduate Seminar Room, Wits
Panelists:
Raphaël Botiveau, Associated Researcher, Institut des Mondes Africains (Paris and Aix-en-Provence), CNRS-IRD
Peter Bailey, Health and Safety Chairperson, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
Crispen Chinguno, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities, Sol Plaatje University, Kimberley
Gavin Capps, Senior Researcher, SWOP, University of the Witwatersrand
> RSVP
> Join the Facebook event
Friday 8th June
13.30 for 14.00 | University of Johannesburg, Centre for Social Change
UJ, Bunting Road Campus, Humanities Research Village, House 3, Boardroom
The reduction of democratic debate in South Africa’s trade union movement and beyond
The discussion will focus on chapter 9 of the book: “Taking Control of NUM”. You are welcome to read it here.
Panelists:
Raphaël Botiveau, Associated Researcher, Institut des Mondes Africains (Paris and Aix-en-Provence), CNRS-IRD
Cindy Morillas, Post-doctorate in political studies, Centre for Social Change
Peter Alexander, Professor of Sociology, South African Research Chair in Social Change, Director of the Centre for Social Change, UJ
Q&A discussion until 16.00, followed by drinks
> RSVP
> Join the Facebook event
Tuesday 12th June
17.30 for 18.00 | Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education
67-69 Main Road, Mowbray, Cape Town
Panelists:
Raphaël Botiveau, Associated Researcher, Institut des Mondes Africains (Paris and Aix-en-Provence), CNRS-IRD
Dr. Asanda Benya, Lecturer at University of Cape Town
Phindile Kunene, Senior Curriculum & Materials Developer, Tshisimani Centre
Q&A discussion until 20.00
> RSVP
> Join the Facebook event
Raphaël Botiveau earned his Ph.D. from the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (France) and La Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy) in 2014, with a dissertation on trade unionism and negotiation in South Africa’s post-apartheid gold and platinum industries. He is a research affiliate at the Institut des Mondes Africains (IMAF, Aix-en-Provence). A graduate of Le Fresnoy – Studio National des Arts Contemporains (Tourcoing, France), he is also involved in filmmaking.