Barayi, Elijah (1930–1994)

South African trade unionist and the first president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). As a teenager he was one of the organizers of the Youth League of the African National Congress and was arrested and detained on several occasions. He became a mineworker in the 1970s, becoming involved in trade-union affairs. He helped establish the National Union of Miners in 1982 and became its vice-president. COSATU was founded as a multiracial organization in 1985.