Born Veli Ntshalintshali, he was given the name "Bheki" by an official, when he first applied for identity documents.
He undertook some training as a librarian and teacher, but had to quit to support his family, moving to Johannesburg, where after several deportations, he found work driving a taxi for his uncle.
As the charge had prevented him from studying, he instead found work at Sasol, where he joined the Chemical Workers' Industrial Union (CWIU).
[1] In 1994, Ntshalintshali was elected as deputy general secretary of the CWIU, but stood down the following year, to study in England.
He returned to South Africa in 1996, and took part in the talks which merged the CWIU into the new Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers' Union.