UFH History Lecturer presents her incredible research on the life of historic SA Trade Unionist, Vuyisile Mini, in Amsterdam

Ms Ncebakazi Makwetu, a Social Scientist and History Lecturer at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) recently returned from the prestigious Maritime Solidarities Conference in Amsterdam where she presented her research on the life of Vuyisile Mini, a South African trade unionist and MK veteran who was one of the first ANC members to be executed by the apartheid state.

The conference is organized by the International Institute of Social History (IISH), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam's interfaculty research institute CLUE+, and the History Department of the University of Pittsburgh. It brings together scholars, activists, and scholar-activists to discuss maritime solidarity in the past and present.

Born in Tsomo in the Eastern Cape (8 April 1920 – 6 November 1964) Mini’s life began as a dockworker who was active in labour and community struggles. He was the founder of the Port Elizabeth Stevedoring and Dockworkers Union in the 1950s and was one of the founding members of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU).

As a history scholar, Ms Makwetu’s interest lies in documenting the lives of key trade unionists in South Africa who struggled against segregation and apartheid. The paper she presented at the conference titled: “International Solidarity and Apartheid: Port Elizabeth’s Dockworkers,” forms part of her research work for her PhD in History. 

“This paper looks at the role that key leaders – Mini together with Caleb Mayekiso and Allven Bennie - played in organizing dockworkers in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape. It is largely due to Mini becoming a full-time organiser of the dockworkers in 1952, that the Port Elizabeth Stevedoring and Dock Workers Union affiliated with SACTU  in 1956, which was officially aligned to the ANC.”

“This paper investigates a SACTU campaign in 1957 by dockworkers that appealed for international unions to support their struggle against the use of convict labour on the docks. It explores how key unionists bridged workplace and local community struggles, whilst fostering international solidarity and an imagination of a globally connected working class united in their fight for freedom.”

“It highlights the ability of how trade unionists have the ability to foster solidarity at both local and international levels, in addition to working towards a globally connected working class. This study serves as a source of inspiration for contemporary labour movements and social justice advocates.”

“When I was in Amsterdam, I had a lengthy conversation with a Dutch Archivist and I learnt through the questions I was asking him that during apartheid he wrote SACTU pamphlets and the pamphlets would be shipped to South Africa in solidarity with SACTU. This inspires a sense of global connectedness in the fight for justice.

Ms Makwetu said presenting this crucial piece of South African history at the conference was a great privilege. “My paper was presented after my co-supervisor Prof Peter Cole. This is a big deal because Prof Cole is a Western Illinois University 2023 Distinguished Professor and one of his prize-winning books is “Dockworkers Power: Race and Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area”

Ms Makwetu is doing her doctoral study under the supervision of Prof Nicole Ulrich, UFH Senior History lecturer.

Ms Makwetu said the objective of her research is to shed light on a crucial chapter in South African history.  “We see the tireless efforts of key trade unionists like Vuyisile Mini, Caleb Mayekiso, and Allven Bennie. The role of uniting dockworkers at a local level and internationally was instrumental in shaping the labor movement and the broader struggle for justice.”