Popcru
Police in Bloemfontein

Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) welcome your visit to our website for workers organized under the Department of South African Police Services.

Prior to the establishment of POPCRU, institutional racism was entrenched within the Public Service and the three departments where we operate were the implementer of such atrocious practices. There was huge salary disparity among various racial groupings, Blacks being the least paid. Some Black correctional officials were eve housed in prison cells as the system failed to recognise them as normal workers. Founding Principles: When it was founded in 1989, POPCRU served as a voice for Black security services members who were compelled to enforce unjust laws of the apartheid regime. Black police officials were chased away from the communities they had to work for because they were serving an unjust system. POPCRU’s further founding belief was to integrate them back into the community. It struggled for the establishment of collective bargaining structures in order to improve the conditions of service in the departments within which POPCRU organization. This slogan has helped drive the ideological principle and operation of this movement to fight for justice for all workers security cluster from the time of its inception to date. Challenges: Due to the system which was governing South Africa at the time, the union had to operate in a hostile political environment. In fact, when it was established the National Commissioner of the then South African Police Force, vowed that there would never be a union in the police in his life time. As a result thereof, there could be no access to a subscription deduction facility. The police and prison services prior the democratic breakthrough were divided along racial lines. The union was hardly a year old when it embarked on its first national strike in 1990 which was followed by mass dismissals and suspensions of its members. There was frustration over the slow pace of transformation and resistance to change. When the police management noticed the inevitable reality that POPCRU was there to stay and grow, they sponsored and encouraged the formation of a rival union. The serious challenge was the non-acceptance of police and prison officials by communities, leading to the rise in police killings by the communities. There was internal organisational infighting propelled by the surrogates planted by the then management of the SAP, which somewhat led to the inter-departmental rivalry, especially between the police and corrections officials. POPCRU has nine Provincial offices across the country and one National Office in Auckland Park. International Projects: We have hosted three successful International Symposiums on Police Labour Relations since Such symposium had positive spin-offs because union movements were established out of such influence in Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana. There is active participation in these two formations by the movement. Conclusion: Our continued fight over the last 22 years has been inspired by the quest for justice for all and fairness. The essence of collective leadership has kept us going over the years. We shall continue to wage our struggles alongside community struggles.