Jayendra Naidoo
Jayendra Naidoo is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of the J&J Group. As a youth he was active in local student and community organizations and mass protests in South Africa in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, after which he became part of the emerging democratic trade union movement as a full time organizer from 1981. During the 1980’s he led several large strikes in the country’s retail and hotel sector around issues such as trade union recognition and a living wage.
"In the early 1990’s, as a national Trade Union leader, he led the Alliance delegation of ANC, COSATU and SACP which negotiated the National Peace Accord in 1991, the forerunner of the country’s constitutional negotiating process. Thereafter, he was a member of the multi-party National Peace Secretariat (comprising the ANC, the National Party and other major political parties) which established the formal network of Peace committees throughout the country.
"As COSATU Negotiations Co-ordinator, he was central to the establishment of the National Economic Forum (“NEF”) in 1992, the country’s first-ever tripartite forum for socio economic matters, and led the work of the trade unions’ in that body.
"Subsequently, after 1994, he was at the forefront of the establishment by the new Parliament of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) which represented a new framework for social and economic dialogue and negotiation in South Africa. He became the first executive Director of this body in 1995, a position he held until the end of 1998.
"In 1999 he was deployed as Chief Negotiator, representing the Presidency, to oversee work undertaken between several Government departments, and lead negotiations with several multinational bidders, in connection with the largest government procurement to be undertaken (at that time).
"He has participated in several government and political initiatives, including serving on the selection panel appointed by President Mandela in 1995 to interview and shortlist candidates to South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission to be appointed by President Mandela.
"In 2000, he co-founded the J&J Group, which is a diversified investment company." [1]
Affiliations
- Director: Business Leadership South Africa
