The forgotten story of South Africa’s radical trade union

The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) was a radical trade union formed on the docks of Cape Town in South Africa during the times of apartheid and segregation.

September 17, 2019 by Peoples Dispatch

However, its revolutionary history does not find a place in the narratives of struggle today. We take a brief look at the rise and fall of the ICU.

For more, read dossier no. 20 by Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research –

A Brief History of South Africa’s Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (1919-1931)