Trade Unions Archives - Commonwealth Oral History Project

Interview with Billie Miller

by nicholaszuniga | May 4, 2017 | Barbados, CARICOM, Civil Society, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Education, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Gender, Human Rights, Jamaica, Judiciary, Law, Reflections, Small States, Trade and Investment, Trade Unions, Trinidad and Tobago

Download the transcript (12 Jan 2015) Biography – Dame Billie Miller was educated at Queen’s College in Barbados, King’s College, Durham University and the Council of Legal Education in England. She was the coordinator of CARICOM ministerial spokespersons with...

Interview with Carl Wright

by rcraggs | Sep 11, 2013 | Angola, Apartheid, Cold War, Constitutional Change, Democracy, Development, Elections, Good Governance, Kenya, Maldives, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Trade Unions, Uganda, United Kingdom, Zambia, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript: Part One (31 January 2013); Part Two (12 March 2013). Biography: Wright, Carl. European Commission, advisor, 1973-1974. International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Secretary, 1974-1980. Commonwealth Trade Union Council, founding...

Definitioner

DFID (Department for International Development)

The Department for International Development (DFID) is the British government department in charge of administering overseas aid, defining its object as the elimination of world poverty and the promotion of sustainable development.

Number 10

‘Number 10’ refers to 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister in London and the headquarters of the British Government.

Moses Anafu

Moses Anafu is a Ghanian diplomat who joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1979 as Research Officer in the International Affairs Division. He was appointed Chief Research Officer in 1987 and served as Assistant Director, Political Affairs Department from 1990 to 2000. He was the Secretary General's Special Envoy to South Africa from 1991 to 1994. Anafu has also advised the UNDP on questions of governance in Africa.

ZAPU

Zimbabwe African People’s Union. A militant political organisation founded in 1961 that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia. Merged with ZANU in 1987 to form ZANU-PF.

ZANU

Zimbabwe African National Union. A militant political organisation founded in 1963 to campaign against white minority rule in Rhodesia. It won power in 1980, and in 1987 merged with ZAPU to form ZANU-PF.

Wits University

The University of the Witwatersrand. A South African university in Johannesburg, founded in 1896.

Wilton House

A British country house.

Whitehall

London street. Site of many government buildings, the term ‘Whitehall’ is often used to refer to the bureaucracy of the British government.

Frank Walcott

Frank Walcott (1916-1999). Barbadian trade unionist, diplomat and politician.

United Nations. Major international organisation, founded in 1945.

UDM

United Democratic Movement. A South African political party, founded in 1997.

UDF

United Democratic Front. A South African anti-aparthied organisation, founded in 1983.

TUC

Trade Union Council. A federation of British trade unions, founded in 1868.

Trade Union Council (TUC)

Trade Union Council. A federation of British trade unions, founded in 1868.

Tamils

The Tamils are an ethnic group indigenous to parts of India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Oliver Tambo

Oliver Tambo (1917-1993). South African politician and anti-apartheid campaigner.

SWAPO

South West Africa People’s Organisation. A Namibian political party founded in 1960 to campaign for independence; it has governed Namibia since 1990.

SWANU

South West Africa National Union. A Namibian socialist political party, founded in 1959.

Ken Saro-Wiwa

Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-1995). Nigerian writer and political and environmental activist. An outspoken critic of the regime of General Sani Abacha, and Royal Dutch Shell’s environmental pollution in Ogoniland in the Niger Delta, Saro Wiwa was executed on 10 November 1995. Eight other MOSOP activists were hanged.

Salim Salim

Salim Ahmed Salim (b. 1942). Tanzanian diplomat and politician, Prime Minister (1984-1985), Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity (1989-2001).

SADC

Southern African Development Community (SADC). An international organisation founded in 1992, and a successor to the Southern African Development Coordination Conference, founded in 1980. Goal to encourage socio-economic cooperation and integration among southern African states.

SACTU

South African Congress of Trade Unions. A federation of South African trade unions opposed to apartheid, founded in 1955.

SACP

South African Communist party, founded in 1921.

Report on Post-Apartheid Human Resource Development

Human Resource Development for a Post-Apartheid South Africa. A Commonwealth report published in 1991.

Robin Renwick

Lord Renwick of Clifton (b. 1937). British diplomat. Head of Chancery, British Embassy, Washington, 1981-84; Assistant Under-Secretary of State, FCO, 1984-87; British Ambassador to South Africa, 1987-91, and to the United States, 1991-95. Author of 'Unconventional Diplomacy in Southern Africa' (Palgrave, 1997).

RDP

Reconstruction and Development Programme. South African reform measures introduced in 1994 by the government of Nelson Mandela.

Sonny Ramphal (Shridath Ramphal)

Shridath Surendranath 'Sonny' Ramphal (b. 1928). Guyanese politician, second Commonwealth Secretary-General (1975-1990).

Cyril Ramaphosa

Cyril Ramaphosa (b. 1952). South African politician and trade union leader.

Jonathan Powell

Jonathan Powell (b.1956). British diplomat and political advisor, Downing Chief of Staff (1997-2007).

Penguin

British publishers, founded in 1935

PAC (Pan-Africanist Congress)

The Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) is a left-wing Black Nationalist political movement in South Africa, founded by ex-African National Congress activist Robert Sobukwe in 1959. During the anti-apartheid struggle, the PAC represented a radical perspective focused on black power as against than the ANC’s multi-racial openness.

Operation Murambatsvina

‘Operation Drive Out Rubbish’. A Zimbabwean slum clearance programme, that started in 2005.

One World Action

A British charity that promotes social justice and democracy, founded in 1989.

ODA

Overseas Development Administration. A department of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office with responsibility for overseas aid from 1970 to 1974 and from 1979 to 1997.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. A military alliance formed in 1949, originally to defend Western Europe from the Soviet Union.

Nakuru

A city in the west of Kenya.

Jay Naidoo

Jay Naidoo (b.1954). South African trade unionist and politician. Served as Secretary-General of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (1985-1993), in ministerial positions (1994-1999), and as Chairperson of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (2001-2010).

Sydney Mufamadi

Sydney Mufamadi (b.1959). South African politician, who served as a minister in the governments of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki (1994-2008).

Mozambique Fund

The Special Commonwealth Fund for Mozambique, established in 1987.

MDC

Movement for Democratic Change. The leading Zimbabwean opposition party, founded in 1999.

Patrick Moberley

Patrick Moberley (b. 1928). British diplomat, served as Ambassador to South Africa from 1984 to 1987.

Abdul Minty

Abdul Minty (b. 1939). South African diplomat.

Rolf Meyer (Roelf Meyer)

Roelf Meyer (b. 1947). South African politician. Served as a minister in the governments of F.W. De Klerk and Nelson Mandela (1991-1996).

Mells Park

A country house in Britain used as a venue for negotiations between the African National Congress and National Party about the future of South Africa between 1987 and 1990.

Bob Marley

Bob Marley (1945-1981). Jamaican musician.

Dennis MacShane

Dennis MacShane (b. 1948). British politician, Minister for Europe from 2002 to 2005.

Latimer House Guidelines (Latimer House Principles)

Commonwealth principles on the relationship between the three branches of government that seek to promote good governance. Drafted in 1998 and endorsed by Commonwealth Heads of Government in 2003.

Kisumu

A city in the west of Kenya.

Neil Kinnock

Neil Kinnock (b. 1942). British politician, Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992.

Glenys Kinnock

Glenys Kinnock (b. 1944). British politician, served as a minister from 2009 to 2010.

Kampala Agenda

Principles intended to promote democratic local government in Africa, agreed in 2006 under the auspices of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum.

Jan Smuts Airport

An airport in Johannesburg, now known as O.R. Tambo International Airport.

Jaffna

A city of northern Sri Lanka.

International Solidarity Movement

Governments and associations outside of South Africa that campaigned for the end of apartheid.

ILO

International Labour Organisation. The United Nations agency for issues connected with labour rights, originally founded in 1919

International Labour Organisation (ILO)

International Labour Organisation. The United Nations agency for issues connected with labour rights, originally founded in 1919

International Donors’ Conference

A 1994 conference, held in Cape Town, jointly organised by the Commonwealth and the United Nations to generate international aid for post-apartheid South Africa.

ICFTU

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. An international orgainisation that linked the trade unions of non-communist countries during the Cold War. It existed from 1949 to 2006.

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. An international orgainisation that linked the trade unions of non-communist countries during the Cold War. It existed from 1949 to 2006.

Derek Ingram

Derek Ingram (b. 1925). British journalist and writer with a particular interest in Commonwealth issues.

IGO

Intergovernmental organisation. Organisations whose members are mostly sovereign states

Geoffrey Howe

Geoffrey Howe (b. 1926). Lord Howe of Aberavon. British politician, held various Cabinet positions in Margaret Thatcher’s government including Foreign Secretary (1983-1989).

Bob Hawke

Bob Hawke (b. 1929). Australian Prime Minister (1983-1991).

Front Line States

A group of southern African states formed in 1970, which campaigned for democratic majority rule in South Africa.

Michael Foot

Michael Foot (1913-2010). British politician, Leader of the Labour Party from 1980 to 1983.

EPG

Eminent Persons Group. A group of well-known individuals chosen by the Commonwealth to research a specific issue. The 1985 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting appointed an EPG to report on apartheid in South Africa, published in 1986 as Mission to South Africa. A second EPG was appointed in 2009 and tasked to produce a report on Commonwealth reform for 2011.

Anthony Eden

Anthony Eden (1897-1977). British politician, served as Foreign Secretary (1935-1938, 1940-1945, 1951-1955) and Prime Minister (1955-1957).

ECOWAS

Economic Community of West African States. An international organisation founded in 1975.

East African Community

The East African Community (EAC) was founded in 1967 to strengthen ties between five countries in the African Great Lakes region - Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda - via a common market, a common customs tariff and a range of public services. Disagreements among the members caused the group to dissolve in 1977, but the EAC was reformed in 2000. A new customs union was established in 2005.

EAC (East African Community)

Coolum CHOGM

The 2002 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Colum, Queensland, Australia.

Congress House

The London building housing the offices of the Trades Union Congress.

Commonwealth Trade Union Council

The Commonwealth Trade Union Council (CTUC) was established in 1979 to coordinate activities between trade unions in Commonwealth countries. In 2004, it was renamed the Commonwealth Trade Union Group (CTUG) and in 2007 boasted a combined membership of 30 million.

CTUC (Commonwealth Trade Union Council)

Commonwealth Secretariat

The Commonwealth Secretariat is the principal inter-governmental body of the Commonwealth, responsible for promoting cooperation between members. Founded in 1965.

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

A Commonwealth organisation that promotes good governance. Founded in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association, and renamed in 1948.

Commonwealth of Learning

The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an international organisation promoting and developing learning and distance education resources in association with Commonwealth member states. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, the COL was founded at the 1987 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. It has since become one of the world leaders in distance education provision. .

CMAG

Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group. Established by Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1995, the CMAG upholds the terms of the Harare Declaration.

CLGF

Commonwealth Local Government Forum. A Commonwealth quasi-governmental organisation composed of members involved in local government in Commonwealth countries.

Commonwealth Foundation

The Commonwealth Foundation is a Commonwealth organisation founded in 1965 to promote the growth of professional organisations and exchange of skills, and now pursuing a broader developmental agenda.

CFTC (Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation)

The Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) is an organisation administered by the Commonwealth Secretariat that delivers technical assistance to Commonwealth member countries. A mutual and voluntary fund, it was established in 1971.

Commonwealth Associated Organisation

Quasi-governmental Commonwealth organisations, a category of Commonwealth organisation created in 2002.

Cold War

A period of ideological tension from around 1945 to 1991 between capitalist nations led by the USA and communist nations led by the USSR.

CODESA

The Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) is the name for a series of multi-party negotiations on the ending of apartheid in South Africa, hosted in 1991 and 1992. CODESA I took place in December 1991, nearly two years after the unbanning of political parties and the release of Nelson Mandela. CODESA II began in May 1992, though negotiations collapsed following the Boipatong massacre in June.

CHOGM

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Every two years Commonwealth heads of government meet to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, with the aim of promoting common initiatives.

Commonwealth Charter

The Commonwealth Charter was agreed in December 2012. The Charter sets out the principal values and aspiration of the modern Commonwealth. Click here to read the document in full.

Canadian Labour Congress

A organisation that links Canadian unions , founded in 1956.

CA/B

Commonwealth Advisory Bureau. An independent think tank and advisory service for the Commonwealth.

The Council of Churches

The South African Council of Churches. A South African ecumenical organisation founded in 1968 that campaigned against apartheid.

COSATU

The Congress of South African Trade Unions. A South African federation of trade unions, founded in 1985.

Linda Chaulker

Linda Chaulker (b. 1942). British politician, served as Minister for Overseas Development and Africa from 1989 to 1997.

Black Consciousness Movement

A South African anti-apartheid movement informed by Christianity, that emerged in the 1960s.

Association of Commonwealth Universities

Association of Commonwealth Universities. An organisation that links universities in Commonwealth counties. Originally founded in 1913, the current name was adopted in 1963.

Apartheid

A system of legally enforced racial segregation implemented and upheld by the National Party in South Africa from 1948 – 1994

Emeka Anyaoku

Emeka Anyaoku (b. 1933). Nigerian diplomat. Served as Head of the Commonwealth International Affairs Division (1973-1977), Assistant Secretary General (1977-1979); Deputy Secretary General (1979-1991); Secretary General (1991-2001).

Anti-Apartheid News

Newsletter of the British-based Anti-Apartheid Movement.

ANC

African National Congress. A South African political party, founded in 1912, that opposed apartheid and has been South Africa’s governing party since 1994.

Aberdeen Principles

Commonwealth principles on good practice for local democracy and good governance, agreed in 2005.

Aberdeen Agenda (Aberdeen Principles)

Commonwealth principles on good practice for local democracy and good governance, agreed in 2005.

Aberdeen (Aberdeen Principles)

Commonwealth principles on good practice for local democracy and good governance, agreed in 2005.

ABC countries

Within the Commonwealth, Australia, Britain and Canada.

Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM)

The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), originally known as the Boycott Movement, was a British activist organisation founded in 1959 to oppose white minority rule in South Africa. It continued to run until 1994, supporting economic and academic sanctions of South Africa and cooperating with other international organisations like the UN.

Mrs Thatcher (Margaret Thatcher)

Margaret Thatcher (1926-2013). British politician and Prime Minister (1979-1990).

Interview with Billie Miller

Interview with Carl Wright

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