John Zikhali 17 - 04 - 06

 

John Zikhali

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU) mourn the tragic loss of one of its greatest heroes, John Zikhali, President of SACTWU, who died in a car accident at Pietermaritzburg over the Easter weekend. We send our deep condolences to his family, friends and union comrades.

He was returning from an Easter church service where he was ordained as a pastor of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Holy Spirit Church of Zion when the accident happened early on Sunday morning. He was with his wife and 3 other women members of the church, who were also injured in the accident

John Zikhali served the trade union movement for more than 30 years at all levels, from shop steward to union president. His contribution to the workers' movement and the national liberation struggle was massive. At the time of his death, he was employed at Cotton King, a Durban-based textile factory.

He was a descendent of the 1973 Durban strike wave and carried forward the great fighting traditions of those battles. He was the KwaZulu Natal Provincial Chairperson of COSATU from 1994 to 2000. He was the most dynamic of provincial chairpersons throughout that period, for much of which time the Provincial Secretary was incapacitated and John was running the office single-handedly.

He was a great mobiliser and played a leading role in all the ANC's election campaigns, particularly in the historic 1994 campaign, and never failed to deliver good results. He was also a renowned peacemaker, during a time of intense conflict between the ANC and IFP. The fact that today we see only isolated instances of political violence and relative peace in the province is thanks to a great extent to John Zikhali and others who worked with him.

As President of SACTWU, he faced huge challenges - the catastrophic loss of jobs, the flood of cheap imports from China, the WTO trade talks which threaten to cut protective tariffs even further. He made sure that the union responded so well. The Cape Town fashion festival, the latest of which was launched last week is an outstanding initiative by the trade union, to protect and promote the industry and the workers. It has involved a huge amount of collaboration with employers, designers, provincial and national government.

This initiative together with countless others is a testimony to the calibre of John Zikhali and those he served with in the SACTWU. It is an attempt by workers to maximise partnerships meant to save jobs in the clothing, textiles and footwear industry.

John Zikhali also served, at the time of his death, as a Vice-President of the Brussels-based International, Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation, as a member of the COSATU Central Executive Committee, as a member of the Cotton Board of South Africa and as a Trustee of the SACTWU Educational Trust.

Workers and the poor are certainly poorer without his wisdom, clarity and extensive organising and mobilising skills.

John Zikhali will never be forgotten by workers. For years to come he will remain an example for future generations to follow. He was a true servant of the movement, which will remain forever in his debt.

John leaves behind his wife and 4 children aged 22, 18, 16 and 12 years respectively.