The School of Social Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) is the home to GLU South Africa.  

Since 2007, it has offered postgraduate degrees and short courses to trade unionists, labour activists and labour researchers. Students come from all over the world.  Many are drawn from Africa.  

GLU is the only programme of its kind in Africa and is open to all unionists and labour activists regardless of their affiliations.

Organisational Structure

GLU is run by a committee of Wits academics and administered by the Committee Chairperson, the Administrative Coordinator and the Programme Coordinator.

Degree Programmes  

• Honours in the field of Labour Policy and Globalisation by coursework  
• Master (MA)  in the field of Labour Policy and Globalisation by coursework and research report.

Short Courses 

• Since 2013, GLU has offered the very popular Engage short course – a certificate course for international trade unionists and activists – to provide University-level academic training to activists. 
• In 2017, GLU created the Social Theory for South African Trade Unionists short course designed for South African based trade unionists and labour activists (this course came out of requests for such a course from trade unions in South Africa). 

Course Objectives 

To equip workers and organised labour with the tools to actively engage in internal trade union rebuilding and revitalisation and national and international socio-economic policy debate and formulation.