Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Metal and Allied Workers' Union (MAWU)
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
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).