Jayaseelan (Jay) Naidoo was born in Durban on 20 December 1954. He studied science at the University of Durban – Westville. He was elected General Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) at its formation in 1985, and held that position until September 1993, at which point he was elected by the workers to participate in the 1994 elections. He guided COSATU through some of the toughest battles in the history of the trade union movement in South Africa, and earned himself a reputation as the country’s top trade unionist and a shrewd political strategist. A major success of union pressure during his tenure at the helm of COSATU was the extension of worker rights to farm workers and domestic workers, and negotiations culminating in the formulation of the Labour Relations Act (LRA). Between 1993 and 1994 he was number 6 on the ANC’s national list of candidates. He was the driving force behind the Reconstruction and Development Plan (RDP) and held the position of Convenor of the Programme. In 1994 he was appointed Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Preident, and continued to spearhead the RDP. In 1996 he was appointed Minister for Post, Telecommunications and Broadcasting.