Joseph Barnett was born in 1861(?) in Brynmawr, Wales as one of 6 children of Barnett and Ellen Isaacs. He came to Johannesburg around 1888/9, where he started a photographic business in 1895, later joined by his brother David. Both brothers obtained contracts with periodical publications like the illustrated London journal "Black & White". Joseph Barnett died while on holiday in Wales and was buried at his birthplace on the 23 July 1897.

His brother David not only continued with the business Barnett & Co., but also took over Joseph's appointment as special correspondent of "Black and White", taking the photographic work of the brothers further. In the years to follow he contributed many of his pictures of the South African War (1899-1902), published by 'Black and White', and later launched a series of postcards in about 1902.By the time he decided to sell his photographic business, he was approached by Mr C.D. Don, Editor of The Star from 1915 to 1938, persuading him to sell the collection to The Star, which he did in the 1920s. David Barnett died at the age of 90 in 1964.

The photographs of Joseph and David Barnett cover the early years of Johannesburg, its buildings and streets; gold mining, mainly on the Witwatersrand, but also as far as Barberton; events like the Jameson Raid in 1895, the Matabele Rebellion in 1896, the Queen Victoria Jubilee in 1897, and the South African War (Anglo Boer War) in 1899-1902; as well as personalities like Cecil Rhodes and Paul Kruger.

The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was formed at the "First National Conference of Women" as the inaugural conference was called, held in the Trades Hall, Johannesburg on 17 April 1954. This meeting was the culmination of months of planning, having been first suggested at a conference held in Port Elizabeth in April 1953, which was an informal meeting of women, trade unionists and African National Congress members to which Ray Alexander had been invited. She, from her home in Cape Town, assisted by Hilda Watts in Johannesburg, organised the inaugural conference. Both women had been members of the Communist Party of South Africa before its banning in 1950 and had widespread contacts amongst women of various organisations.

There were close on 150 delegates representing 230,500 women at the inaugural conference and they came from all over South Africa and from a wide cross-section of women of all colours, although mainly Black. They were drawn mostly from the Congress Alliance, made up of the African National Congress, South African Indian Congress, South African Congress of Democrats, South African Coloured Peoples Organisation and trade unions which left the Trade Union Congress of South Africa and formed the South African Congress of Trade Unions in 1955. The conference adopted a Women's Charter which included these words "We women have stood and will stand shoulder to shoulder with our menfolk in a common struggle against poverty, race and class discrimination". A draft constitution was drawn up stating the aims and objects of the Federation as being "To bring the women of South Africa together, to secure full equality of opportunity for all women, regardless of race, colour or creed; to remove social and legal and economic disabilities; to work for the protection of the women and children of our land". There was some debate as to whether the Federation should provide for individual membership but this point was settled in 1956 when the National Conference voted in favour of the Federation consisting only of affiliated organisations and no individual members.

By 1957 the following organisations had affiliated: African National Congress Women's League, South African Congress of Democrats, South African Coloured Peoples Organisation, Cape Housewives League, League of Non-European Women (Cape), Transvaal Indian Congress for Women and the Food and Canning Workers' Union. The Federation grew into a massive organisation which played its part in the national struggle for liberation and was involved in the convening of the Congress of the People by the Congress Alliance at Kliptown on June 25-26, 1955, at which the Freedom Charter was adopted. FEDSAW led the great protest against the extension of passes to African women in the 1950s, the most important event in this campaign being the mass gathering at Pretoria on 9 August 1956, thereafter observed as "Women's Day" during which 20,000 women stood in silence for 30 minutes after presenting their petition. It was on this occasion that they sang "Strijdom, you have tampered with the women/ you have struck a rock/ you have unleashed a boulder/ you will be crushed", later to be adopted as an anthem. This was followed by several demonstrations in 1957 and 1958. Other campaigns protested against Bantu education, beerhalls, Group Areas, discrimination in the nursing profession, rent increases and basic community problems. They supported the boycott of the Union Festival in 1960 and the stay away from the Republic celebrations in 1961. In 1962 they tried to draw up a Bill of Women's Rights.

From the very beginning the Federation suffered from the fact that, although as an organisation it was never banned, the leaders - Ray Alexander, Hilda Bernstein, Lilian Ngoyi, Frances Baard, Helen Joseph, Dorothy Nyembe, Amina Cachalia and Albertina Sisulu were and so were its affiliates, the African National Congress Women's League and the women's branch of the South African Congress of Democrats. The Federation was weakened by the Treason Trial of 1956-1961 and some members were detained during the state of emergency which followed Sharpeville in 1960. For a few years they struggled on under difficult circumstances but the last conference of any size took place in August 1962. Thereafter it went into rapid decline as more and more women were either banned, house-arrested or left the country. By the mid-1960s it had ceased to exist as a viable, mass-based organisation. It was never dissolved and, from time to time, the members attended historical funerals wearing their black and green uniforms.

In the early 1980s there was an attempt to revive the Federation. A 30th birthday celebration meeting was held in Mamelodi on 9 August 1984. On the 2 August 1986 a national assembly of women was held, followed a week later by a prayer service to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the march to Pretoria to protest against passes for women. Grassroots organisations were formed, including the Federation of South African Transvaal Women (FEDTRAW) in the Transvaal in December 1984, and others were formed in the Eastern and Western Cape, Natal and the Orange Free State.

In the Transvaal an interim committee was formed, an open day held on 1 June 1987 which included speakers from the old executive of FEDSAW and newsletters were published. In the Western Cape there was a regional launch in August 1987. Women demanded an end to conscription, a free equal educational system for all and the total abolition of apartheid. Further repression followed during the state of emergency and it was not until 1990 that women were free to demonstrate openly. In the intervening 30 years times had changed and many women had other loyalties than to FEDSAW. There had been a division in the ranks as not all women could subscribe to a total redistribution of wealth as demanded by some organisations. Many women preferred to join organisations like the African National Congress Women's League. As a national organisation FEDSAW has not been resurrected.

The Black Sash was a women's protest organisation and political pressure group, which originated in 1955. It was initially called the Women's Defense of the Constitution League, in response to the Senate Bill, a piece of Apartheid legislation, which was introduced into Parliament. This was seen as a violation of the legal provisions of the constitution, and as the breaking of a solemn pledge to the coloured people whose franchise rights had been entrenched in the South Africa Act of 1910.

The Black Sash women, so called from the black sash worn over the right shoulder, were conspicuous during vigils and silent poster demonstrations, standing up to protest in public places against unjust laws, often referred to by them as 'Sashing'. But the major part of the Sash work was behind the scenes, and consisted of informing the public by means of handouts, pamphlets, memos, letters, articles and statements to the press, and of delegations to government ministers

An important aspect of the Black Sash work was the Advice Offices which operated in various parts of the country. These were an attempt on the part of members to mitigate the effects of discriminatory legislation and to help black people find their way through the maze of the Pass Laws and enjoy at least those few rights to which they were entitled. Other problems handled by the Advice offices included employer/employee problems, workmen's compensation, unemployment insurance, and pensions

The SRC Resource Centre moved to new premises in late 1981 which were equipped with excellent reading, research and seminar facilities. The SRC decided to allocate R1000 to the Centre for the purchase of new books and other materials. It was also decided to provide further financial assistance support for the development of the Centre.

On the 14 May 1984 the SRC Resource Centre was completely destroyed in a fire which raged through the second floor of the Students' Union building.

Nothing remained of its vast collection of press clippings, magazines, books and posters, much of which was specific to student activity at Wits over the previous ten years. Arson was suspected and a police investigation later confirmed this

The Resource Centre began once again to collect material which dealt not only with Student affairs but also with material of a "consciousness raising" nature.

By 1990 every SRC on the affiliated NUSAS Campuses had developed a Resource Centre. The Wits Students' Resource Centre was forced to close down shortly after this period due to lack of funds

The EMPSA head office in Johannesburg closed its doors shortly after the 1994 General Elections (1994/27 April). The programme was launched in September 1992. International monitors working in successive teams monitored events up to and including the 1994 General elections

Sketch of the Ecumenical Monitoring

Programme in South Africa:

EMPSA was established as a result of a call by the South African Churches - the South African Council of Churches (SACC) and the South African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) to the international church community to send teams of monitors to address the question of violence.

The structure, policy and vision of the programme was agreed at a meeting with EMPSA's international partners in Geneva in August 1992. EMPSA was established with a three-fold mandate: to monitor violence, the political transitional process and elections

A group of eminent international church leaders, the Ecumenical Eminent Persons

Group (EEPG), launched the programme in September 1992.

The programme's international coordination was provided by the World Council of Churches in Geneva, in conjunction with the Vatican's Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace. Recruitment, screening and initial selection of monitors proposed from countries all over the world was done in consultation with the EMPSA national office.

Programme coordination within South Africa was done from the Johannesburg head office, which had both national and international staff, and was responsible to a National Coordinating Committee representing participating churches and church agencies in the regions, the World Conference on Religion and Peace, and national independent monitoring organisations

Participants in the EMPSA programme developed working structures in their own countries which represented interested church denominations and relevant non- governmental organisations. These committees/forums undertook a more systematic approach to recruiting, screening, selecting and proposing monitors, raising funds to cover fares, allowances, insurances etc., and lobbying and information work with returned monitors. More recent participating countries tended to have a weaker infrastructure in this regard and operated on the basis of a single church, organisation or even individual.

EMPSA monitors, deployed in successive teams to various priority areas, engaged in a wide range of activities, from monitoring marches and rallies to facilitating meetings between groups to resolve conflicts, to intervening with police and government officials. Victims of violence were visited and contact was established with the police, all the main political and community players, peace committees, local churches and businesses. EMPSA was at an advantage because it worked closely with church networks as well as non-governmental organisations. Monitors did experience problems with the length of their stay (approximately six weeks). They needed time to familiarise themselves with the situation in which they found themselves. They also needed to follow up on cases. However a good handover between successive teams and a growing network of local contacts was able to sustain a level of continuity.

Monitors worked under difficult conditions and frequently found themselves in dangerous situations. In one particular incident, EMPSA monitors Joyce Cashmore and Pieter van Reenen were detained by Bophuthatswana police sparking a local and international outcry. It is generally agreed that the presence of EMPSA monitors together with other monitoring structures contributed to a relatively peaceful electoral process

In the year 1955 the American Friends Service Committee held a conference at Haverford College, to examine the value of two-way exchanges between the Union (of South Africa) and the United States, to determine the most effective type of exchanges, and to explore the organisational and financial resources for carrying out such exchange programs. South African leaders were approached with the intention of finding people with a similar commitment to problem-solving by international contact. The South Africans were interested, and plans were made for the creation of an organisation that would co-operate in bringing together leaders from various ethnic and political groupings in the two countries by means of exchange visits. The organisation was founded in 1957 with the name USSALEP (United States-South Africa Leadership Exchange Program: later renamed the United States-South Africa Leader Development Program) and in December 1957, the African-American Institute agreed to add USSALEP to its existing projects. In 1960 USSALEP separated from the African-American Institute and became an independent organisation a private, voluntary, non-profit corporation. Over the next half-century large numbers of leaders and potential leaders from South Africa and the United States benefited from exchange visits, cultural contacts, conferences and training opportunities arranged by USSALEP. Exchangees were encouraged to travel and meet people who could assist them in gaining insight into their countrys problems and possible solutions. As well as the exchange visits, conferences were arranged and various training and empowerment projects were launched (See B: History of USSALEP)

The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR was established in 1989 under the name "Project for the study of violence". Initially affiliated to the Research division of the University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg until mid 1997, it became an independent NGO, registered as a Section 21 (not-for-profit) company. The CSVR was a multi-disciplinary organisation, engaging the services of sociologists, psychologists, criminologists, lawyers, educationalists, historians etc. The Centre attempted to engage with the full spectrum of forms of violence, including social, criminal, political, domestic and gender violence. It worked with a wide range of organisations, constituencies and stake-holders in both government and non-government sectors. These included community organisations, government departments, NGOs, schools, prisons, police, youth, political parties, business organisations and development agencies. The CSVR actively engaged with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and with relevant institutions beyond the life of the TRC, so as to ensure that human rights abuses do not occur again, that a sustainable human rights culture is built in South Africa, and that the victims of Apartheid abuses gain maximum benefit from their engagement with the TRC. The CSVR received its funding mainly through Donations, Project and Programme funding. Together with its various projects and programmes it offered a number of practical services such as Trauma counselling, in-house education, research and analysis, crime prevention consultancy amongst others. The CSVR was structured into various Units and programmes, namely: Criminal Justice Policy Unit, Gender Unit, Youth department, Education & Media Unit, Transition and Reconciliation Unit, Trauma Clinic and Africa programme & Refugee Desk.

The Southern African Centre for Survivors of Torture (SACST), formerly known as the Zimbabwe Torture Victims Project (ZTVP), was established in February 2005 and was managed by IDASA. The ZTVP's mandate was to provide medical, psychological and legal services to primary survivors of organized violence and torture (OVT) perpetrated in Zimbabwe from the year 2000 to date. In December 2006 the ZTVP became a partner project of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) until September 2007.

The SACST became an independent Section 21 Company in October 2007 and its founding objective was to facilitate access to a range of services that theoretically should be provided by the state to those seeking asylum from persecution. Its mandate has since expanded to respond to the needs of tortured asylum seekers and refugees in Southern Africa, including survivors of gross human rights violations.

Until 1975 the Industrial Aid Society (IAS) played a role similar to that of MAWU in Natal; in 1975 MAWU (Transvaal) was formed. The following year MAWU (Tvl) and the IAS consolidated their close working relationship by forming CIWW the Council of Industrial Workers of the Witwatersrand (CIWW).

From 1977 CIWW began to explore the possibility of wider unity, and for the next two years extensive discussions were held between the affiliates of CIWW and TUACC, the Natal-based Coordinating Council. Eventually in April 1979, FOSATU was formed (the Federation of South African Trade Unions).

The first successful attempt to organise workers in the clothing industry was the formation of the Witwatersrand Tailors Association in 1918. This period in the history of the union is characterised by its attempts to stamp out 'sweated labour' and the systems of contracting and piecework, and to improve working conditions. The union was divided into two sections, the bespoke and the factory. An attempt was also made to ensure that employers and manufacturers adhered to log prices and did not underpay workers in order to be competitive.

After the strike of 1922, the government introduced machinery to regulate relations between workers and employers. This was the beginning of an attempt at conciliation which was later much championed by the leaders of the Garment Workers Union. The Industrial Conciliation Act was passed in 1924 and the Garment Workers Union was one of the first to be registered. With the formation of the Industrial Council for the Bespoke Tailoring Industry in 1928 and then the Industrial Council for the Clothing Industry, the union became party to both councils

The union's membership was not confined to the Witwatersrand, but was extended to Bloemfontein where a branch was established by the Secretary, Cecil Frank Glass, in 1926. The members were mostly older males, many of them Jewish tailors who had emigrated from Eastern Europe to South Africa. During this period there were a number of individual strikes by workers against their 'rat employers'.

The Witwatersrand Tailors Association was active in promoting a trade union federation in South Africa, supporting first the South African Industrial Federation, and then, during its decline in 1922, the formation of ATUSA (Associated Trade Unions of South Africa) which later became SATUC (South African Trade Union Congress). The active leaders included M Baum, D Colraine, C F Glass, H Joseph and A F Tuffin.

The election of Emil Solomon 'Solly' Sachs as General Secretary on 14 November 1928 heralded a new era for the union. Sachs and his thinking dominated all its activities until 1952. He came to South Africa from Latvia at the end of 1913 or the beginning of 1914 (Sachs gives conflicting dates in various biographical accounts). He attended school until 1916, then worked in a bookshop and later in mine shops on the Witwatersrand. In 1919 he was active in the Reef Shop Assistants Union which agitated for shorter hours. According to Sachs' own testimony, he had to leave the trade as he was marked as an agitator, but he continued as Honorary Secretary of the union. In 1924 he enrolled at the University of the Witwatersrand for an engineering degree, but had to discontinue his studies because of insufficient means. He first came into contact with garment workers when he was elected Secretary of the Witwatersrand Middlemen Tailors Association on 31 March 1927. He subsequently became the General Secretary of the Witwatersrand Tailors Association.

In July 1929 a new constitution for the union was adopted, the name being changed to the Garment Workers Union, although the name was actually only adopted in 1930. There were 1750 members, two thirds of them factory workers

Sachs immediately tackled the problem of the violation of the agreements of both the Industrial Council for the Bespoke Tailoring Industry and the Industrial Council for the Clothing Industry (Transvaal). He started examining wage registers and prosecuting employers, many of whom were paying irregularly and forcing workers to sign for wages which they had not received. Sachs firmly believed in the law in South Africa and in the following years the Garment Workers Union made much use of the courts to bring employers and enemies of the union to justice.

The union suffered a severe setback in the early 1930s in its fight for better wages. In 1931 there use a general strike which ended inconclusively and left the workers whose earnings were meagre and inadequate in no better position. In 1932 there was another strike of garment workers as a result of demands by employers to reduce wages

Mr Oswald Pirow, then Minister of Justice, took a hard line and used the police force against the strikers. The workers were defeated although the employers achieved only a 10% reduction in wages, compared to their original demand for 25%. Sachs was served with a deportation order which was never enforced, although he was not allowed to live on the Witwatersrand for twelve months. Between 1928 and 1932 there were 100 strikes which to some extent helped to improve conditions or end grievances. In 1934 the bespoke section of the union was dissolved and the tailors formed the Tailoring Workers Industrial Union (Transvaal).

The 1930s and 1940s saw the blossoming of Afrikaner nationalism, and the National Party made a concerted effort to destroy the union which had attracted so many of their people. In 1935 a closed shop clause was included in the agreement. These were also the years which saw the rise and zenith of Fascism in Europe. Fascist groups such as the Greyshirts and Blackshirts used racist ideology to attack the union.

Anti-Semitism was also on the upswing and Sachs was repeatedly accused of being a 'Communist Jew'. It says much for Sachs and the personal loyalty of the workers: towards him, that the union did not succumb. He openly fought back and from 1939 he won a number of defamation cases against the Afrikaans press who were supported by the Nederduits Hervormde Kerk van Afrika. A very bitter struggle was waged in the Germiston branch where the National Party Member for Parliament, Johannes du Pisanie, was active in inciting the workers. The 1940's were a period of bitter struggles for fair wages as also of feuding between the Transvaal garment workers and Cape workers, led by Robert Stuart, who was bitterly opposed to national unity among garment workers

In 1948 the union obtained a forty hour week for the workers

The passing of the Suppression of Communism Act in 1950 caused another crisis in the history of the Union. Its leaders Anna Scheepers (President), Sachs (General Secretary) and Johanna Cornelius were listed as Communists. Sachs appealed on the grounds that he had been a member of the Communist Party from 1921 until August 1931 when he had been expelled from the party for political differences. Subsequently he supported the South African Labour Party. Sachs' banning meant that he could no longer hold his position as General Secretary of the Garment Workers Union, nor could he attend public gatherings

Sachs flagrantly disobeyed these orders by addressing a mass meeting of garment workers on 24 May 1952. He was supported by all the workers who again convened on 26 May after his arrest and condemned his listing as a Communist and his removal from the secretaryship of the Garment Workers Union.

Sachs' position eventually became so intolerable to him, that he left South Africa and settled in England. He died in London in 1976.

Over the years the composition of the union had changed. Whereas in 1938 Coloured workers were 22% of the total membership, by 1953 the union comprised 60% Coloured workers to 40% White. By law the union had had to establish parallel branches, No.1 branches being for Whites and No.2 branches for Coloureds. This has now been reversed and once again the Garment Workers Union is allowed to have combined branches

Johanna Catharina Cornelius Fellner succeeded Sachs as General Secretary and served in this capacity until her death on 21 June 1974. In the first few years of his exile Sachs attempted to continue his fight for the workers in South Africa but lack of support from the Garment Workers Union caused his efforts to peter out. In general this was a quiet period of co-operation and negotiation. It was influenced by the Botha Commission (Industrial Legislation Commission) set up in 1945, and the passing of the Natives (Settlements of Disputes) Act and the Industrial Conciliation Act of 1956. There was a split in the ranks of the union, as the White workers felt that the provisions of the Industrial Conciliation Act would make it impossible for racially mixed unions to operate. They thus formed the Garment Trade Union of European Employees (SA). Other problems to which the union paid attention were job reservation, workers in uncontrolled areas, and the establishment of a training college for garment workers

Another outstanding leader of the union was Anna Elizabeth Scheepers. Born on 18 March 1914 on the farm De la Rey near Krugersdorp, she attended Monument High School but was obliged to leave school in her matriculation year as her family had been severely affected by the depression. In 1933 she started work as a presser in a Johannesburg factory and began to be active in the activities of the Garment Workers Union. In August 1935 she was elected President of the union. Like other trade unionists of the time she visited Russia before the war and C R Swart attempted to list her as a Communist in 1952. She has distinguished herself, receiving a medal for voluntary services in World War II from Field Marshal J C Smuts. In November 1968 she was elected as the first and only woman on the General Council of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation. In April 1973 she was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of the Witwatersrand and in 1974 she was elected a Senator.

Besides the struggle for fair wages and a shorter working week, the union was able to obtain for the workers by 1949 three weeks' paid annual leave, whereas in 1928 there had been no such paid leave. In 1928 the only paid holidays were Christmas Day and May Day. In 1949 four other public holidays were added. By creating funds, two important social services were provided namely assistance to the sick and unemployed.

The Garment Workers Union struggled in order to obtain a better life for its members, relying almost entirely on its own strength and the moral support of fellow trade unionists. The union was respected by some employers and feared by others, but its members were treated with respect as they always had recourse to it if they were being mistreated.