Kuse ni dlamini biography of christopher

South African trade unionist

Christopher Ndodebandla Dlamini (born 10 October 1944 – 19 November 2009) was a South African trade union leader.

Dlamini grew up in Benoni and Springs. He became aware of the African National Congress at an early age, and saw himself as a supporter of the organisation, although he did not join. He was expelled from school in 1963, and began working in the stores at Sanbra Engineering. In 1973, he joined the new Engineering and Allied Workers' Union, and at the end of the year took part in a short strike which achieved an increased Christmas bonus.^[1][2]

In 1974, Dlamini moved to work for Rank Xerox, and sat on the company liaison committee, but found it was far less effective than a trade union. When he moved to work for Kellogg's in 1977, he joined the Sweet, Food and Allied Workers' Union (SFAWU), and helped recruit other workers at the factory. He became a shop steward in 1979. Many of the union's memb