Mass Democratic Movement, instigated the National Defiance Campaign, in which facilities reserved for whites were invaded, and organisation that had been banned by the state declared themselves 'unbanned'. Post apartheid activities The COSATU congress decided in 2012 to affiliate with the class-struggle oriented World Federation of Trade Unions, while maintaining its membership within the International Trade Union Confederation. During the 2016 congress that was held in Durban, Michael Mzwandile Makwayiba, president of COSATU affiliate NEHAWU Michael Mzwandile Makwayiba was elected President of the World Federation of Trade Unions. Cosatu experienced a large drop in membership after 2012, although it remained the largest trade union federation. Affiliates Current affiliates The following unions were listed by COSATU as their affiliates: Former affiliates Expulsion of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa On 8 November 2014, Irvin Jim, the general secretary of the largest COSATU affiliate, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), announced that the union had been expelled from the COSATU after a vote at a special central executive committee had been convened resulting in a 33–24 vote in favour of the expulsion. NUMSA was charged with violating the constitution of COSATU On 6 November 2014, an urgent legal application by NUMSA to prevent the special central executive committee from being convened was postponed by South Gauteng High Court, thus allowing the meeting to take place. On 10 November 2014, 7 unions announced they were voluntarily suspending their participation in COSATU's decision-making bodies due to the expulsion of NUMSA and called for a special national congress to be convened. Irvin Jim described the expulsion as "a dark day for workers". Government COSATU is part of an alliance with the ANC and the South African Communist Party, called the Tripartite Alliance. COSATU's role in the alliance has been the subject of debate, since the organisation has been critical of some of the ANC government's policies. While some affiliates have argued for greater independence from the ruling political party, others have argued that the arrangement gives COSATU a political influence beneficial to its members." Labour and social movements South Africa has one of the largest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the world, with a 2005 estimate of 5.5-million people living with HIV – 12.4% of the population. In 2020, around 20.6-million people in eastern and southern Africa were living with HIV. The trade union movement has taken a role in combating