The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) mourns the passing of the founding General Secretary of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU), comrade Randall Van Der Heever. We share our condolences with his family, friends and comrades, as well as SADTU and the African National Congress (ANC).
Cde. Randall was a humble person whose only ambition was to empower his learners and serve the public. He was a teacher at heart and left an indelible mark on generations of learners and teachers at Spes Bona High School in Athlone on the Cape Flats where he taught and served as Principal for many years.
His leadership qualities were recognised by many and saw him elected at the Cape Teachers’ Professional Association and later as the founding General Secretary of SADTU. The latter election alongside that of the recently deceased founding President of SADTU, cde. Membathisi Shepherd Mdladlana, was not an accident. Their election sought to unite teachers’ unions who had been split across many unions and the nation’s geographic and racial divides imposed by the apartheid regime. Their leadership gave birth to the giant that is SADTU today with nearly 300 000 members up from its initial 30 000.
In 1994, cde. Randall was elected to serve in the 1st democratic Parliament as part of COSATU’s contingent under the banner of the ANC. He served with distinction for three terms helping craft our progressive labour laws that today benefit millions of workers.
Whilst some have sought to view deployment as a life right, cde. Randall was happy to retire at the end of his tour of duty to the quiet Karoo. The passing of the generation of Van Der Heever and Mdladlana is a painful loss not only to their families, the Federation and the liberation movement but the nation as a whole.
We owe it to these founding fathers of our hard-won non-racial, non-sexist constitutional democracy, to pick up their spear and continue to strive to deliver a Better Life for All.
Hamba kahle uMkhonto. Qhawe lama qhawe. Rus in vrede kameraad.
Issued by COSATU
Matthew Parks(COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator)
Cell: 082 785 0687
Email: matthew@cosatu.org.za