The Black Allied Workers' Union (BAWU) was a national trade union group in South Africa. It was created on August 27, 1972, by the South African Students' Organisation. BAWU worked closely with the Black People's Convention and was part of the Black Consciousness Movement. It supported a trade union movement led only by Black workers. Because of this, BAWU did not cooperate with the Trade Union Council of South Africa, which was led by white workers and had sometimes removed Black worker unions. Some members of BAWU were connected to the South African Congress of Trade Unions, but BAWU’s leaders did not agree with its non-racial approach.

BAWU’s member numbers grew from 2,000 in 1974 to 6,000 in 1976. However, the group faced challenges when many of its leaders were banned in 1977. In 1978, members in Durban and East London left to form the South African Allied Workers’ Union. In 1980, members in Empangeni and Ladysmith left to create the National Federation of Workers, followed by members in the Transvaal region, who formed the General and Allied Workers’ Union.

Despite these splits, BAWU reported having 51,000 members in 1981, organized into fifteen groups. The federation later formed a loose partnership with the Inkatha Freedom Party. In 1986, BAWU was replaced by the United Workers’ Union of South Africa.