Abstract
ABSTRACTWe present the life histories of two environmentally engaged unionists in South Africa, who were decisive for formulating the environmental programmes of their respective trade unions. Their experiences of participating in the resistance against apartheid in universities and factories taught them the necessity to connect different struggles and equipped them with the knowledge and ability to connect the fight for workers’ rights with the fight against environmental degradation. Both activists experienced the difficulty of integrating ‘the environment’ politically and practically into a trade union agenda. The labour movement has traditionally experienced nature as a place outside of work to be enjoyed for recreation. While nature constitutes an indispensable condition for labour, it has been privately appropriated by Capital. For environmental policies to form an integral part of union agendas, nature needs to be wrestled away from its appropriation by Capital and understood as an inseparable ally of labour.
Highlights
In a recent paper, Death stated that at present there ‘is no clearly identifiable, relatively unified and broadly popular environmental movement in South Africa’ (2014, p. 1216)
We believe that labour initiatives have a considerable potential for both creating an environmental movement in South Africa and reviving a fragmented labour movement (Cock, 2007)
Since our question is the relationship between life histories and organizational change, we only address the way in which our protagonists contributed to the formulation of environmental politics in their unions
Summary
Death stated that at present there ‘is no clearly identifiable, relatively unified and broadly popular environmental movement in South Africa’ (2014, p. 1216). It is in Jane’s and Isaac’s similar approach to the challenges of creating environmental union policies that we can recognize a common practice that has marked their life trajectories: their trust in people’s transformative practices from below and the will and ability to connect seemingly disparate issues and movements: students’, women’s, and workers’ struggles; workplace struggles and township struggles; the struggle against apartheid and the workers’ struggles against capitalism They emphasize different dimensions of their perspectives: while Jane stresses the need to build on local movements that already exist, Isaac stresses the need for education, supporting people in understanding the causes of their troubles, so they are able to act . A more just society will only be realized if nature can be wrestled away from privatization, from the destructive exploitation by Capital
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