Gender

1. National

National Gender Co- Ordinator
- Patricia Nyman
National Office Bearers Designate
- Mduduzi Mbongwe – Dg Sectretary
- Angie Phethle – 1st Deputy President
National Gender Office Bearers
- Emelia Maphakela – Chairperson
- Thomas Radebe – Deputy Chairperson
- Virginia Nonyane – Secretary
- Pauline Timothy – Treasurer
National Administrator
- Boitumelo Mauco

2. Introduction To SACCAWU Constitution

The name of the Union shall be the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU), with its colours of identity being Black, White and Red.

The official emblem shall be a square box, with a black background and red border. Inside the square box, a picture depicting eight front-facing protesters (in white colour), the one on the extreme right raising a clenched fist and the one on the extreme left facing leftwards carrying a red banner inscribed SACCAWU (in black colour) tied to two sticks/wooden holders (in white colour).

3. Aims And Objectives

Driven by SACCAWU’s Gender Policy, the department strives to build a union and society free from oppression based on class, sex, gender, and race. The core strategies include:

Empowering women’s leadership and activism from shop floor to national level.
Creating a gender-sensitive environment within the union to foster leadership and activism.
Eradicating sexual harassment and dismantling the gendered division of labour.
Organising especially young women workers for greater inclusion.
Campaigning for workplace equality – equal pay, parental rights, safer working conditions, health services, and bargaining teams.
Solidarity with vulnerable groups – domestic and sex workers, and broader struggles such as human trafficking, xenophobia, climate change and GBV. SACCAWU’s strategy involves empowering women, mainstreaming gender through various programs, organising women workers, and addressing issues like gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) and the gender division of labour in the workplace and the union itself.

4. Organisational Activities & Structures

To implement its mandate effectively, SACCAWU has a layered structure with the following frequency of meetings:

Local Gender Committees: Monthly.
Regional Gender Committees: Twice annually.
National Gender Committee: Twice monthly.
National Gender Conference: Every two years.
Company-based Gender Coordination.
Situated at shopfloor/local level; Coordinated upward through the structures to drive gender-related programs.

5. Impact Through Feminist Organisation

SACCAWU’s gender and strategy centres on creating a separate space for women and has seen notable successes.
Since the early 1990s, the union has used programs like the Gender Empowerment Programme (GEP) to build women’s skills and leadership.

Women members report that this separate space has helped raise their self-esteem and leadership capabilities.
However, systemic patriarchy stays a barrier to the redistribution of power and full equality. SACCAWU has taken part in the Gender at Work action learning process (e.g., partnering with factories to establish a safe space where women from different workplaces (e.g., shopping malls) can meet, share experiences and strategies—moving from formal training to deeper systemic transformation).

6. Gender Equity and Collective Bargaining

SACCAWU’s gender policy influences the bargaining council by promoting gender equality, advocating for the rights of women workers, building women’s leadership within the union and the workplace, and leading campaigns for improved wages and
working conditions specifically for women. The union actively works to eliminate sexism, build an inclusive environment, organise women workers, and ensure gender-specific collective bargaining issues like maternity rights and sexual harassment are addressed in agreements with employers.

7. Key Aspects of SACCAWU’s Gender and Collective Bargaining Approach

Comprehensive Gender Policy:
SACCAWU has a detailed policy that aims to create a society free from all forms of oppression based on sex, gender, race, and class, with SACCAWU serving as a home for all women workers.
Collective Bargaining as a Tool:
Collective bargaining is used to secure better wages and working conditions, and SACCAWU leverages this tool to advocate for gender equity in the workplace.
Gender-Sensitive Environment:
The goal is to create a union environment that encourages and facilitates women’s leadership and activism.
Versatile Strategy:
This strategy includes building women’s leadership, representation, and activism at all levels of the union.
Worker-led campaigns:
The union actively campaigns for improvements in wages and working conditions, focusing on issues relevant to women and gender equality, such as combating GBVH.
Empowerment and Participation:
Through programs in partnership with organisations like the Labour Research Service (LRS), SACCAWU empowers women and other marginalised workers to share their experiences of GBVH and participate in decision-making to create more inclusive workplaces.
Union and Workplace Focus:
Efforts extend beyond the workplace to address gender issues within the union’s own structures and leadership, recognising the need to transform power dynamics and ensure inclusive participation.