Sakhela Buhlungu, PhD (2002), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, is Professor of Sociology at the University of Pretoria. He has published extensively on labour, including A Paradox of Victory: COSATU and the democratic transformation in South Africa (UKZN Press, 2010).Malehoko Tshoaedi, PhD (2008), University of Leiden, is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of South Africa. She has published widely on women and trade unions. Her recent publication is (En)gendering the Transition in South Africa: the Role of COSATU Women Activists, Transformation (2012).

• ContentsList of tables List of figuresAbbreviations and acronymsPreface 1 A contested legacy: organisational and political challenges facing COSATU Sakhela Buhlungu and Malehoko Tshoaedi2 The experience of conducting a longitudinal study: the COSATU Workers’ Survey, 2008Christine Bischoff and Malehoko Tshoaedi3 COSATU, oligarchy and the consolidation of democracy in an African context Johann Maree4 Making sense of unionised workers’ political attitudes: the (un)representation of women’s voices in COSATU Malehoko Tshoaedi5 The sociology of upward social mobility among COSATU shop stewardsThemba Masondo6 COSATU, the ‘2010 Class Project’ and the contest for ‘the soul’ of the ANC Ari Sitas7 ‘What would you do if the government fails to deliver?’: COSATU members’ attitudes towards service deliverySarah Mosoetsa8 COSATU’s influence on policy-making in post-apartheid South Africa: fact and fictionGrace Khunou9 COSATU members and strike violence: what we learn from quantitative and qualitative dataKarl von Holdt10 COSATU and internal migrant workers: old fault lines, new dilemmasNomkhosi Xulu11 COSATU’s attitudes and policies towards external migrants Mondli Hlatshwayo12 The trade union movement and the Tripartite Alliance: a tangled historySakhela Buhlungu and Stephen EllisAppendixTaking democracy seriously: COSATU Worker’s Survey data set 1994, 1998, 2004 and 2008Contributors