Teachers' perceptions of union leadership in Limpopo Province

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate concerns raised by some union members that SADTU leadership is not reporting the progress or non progress in policy formulation forums. These concerns are in contrary to the national union leadership claim that its ability to organise about 255 000 members is an indication that their members have confidence in the leadership of the union. The argument raised in the study is that SADTU as an associate of ANC may be speaking or diverging from its members interests in the ELRC and PSCBC. In an effort to understand whether the relationship between the union leaders and their members was of individualism or collectivism; a qualitative case study was undertaken with teachers who belonged to SADTU in Limpopo Province. An overwhelming number of participants perceived the leadership as entrenching a culture of individualism. The poor attendance on union activities organised by the branch leadership seems as a sign of discouragement by the union members on their leadership. The participants perceive the alliance with the ANC as the underlying cause of their union leadership not to promote the interests of its members.