The union was founded in 1905, as the Locomotive Engineers' Mutual Aid Society.
[1] It affiliated to the Federal Consultative Council of South African Railways and Harbours Staff Associations (FCC), and by 1962 it had 9,896 members.
In 1975, the other FCC members affiliated to the South African Confederation of Labour, but SAFSA decided against joining.
[2][3] In 1976, SAFSA formed the South African Central Labour Organisation with the Amalgamated Engineering Union of South Africa, but it proved unsuccessful, and in 1982 the union instead joined the Trade Union Council of South Africa (TUCSA).
[3] In 1984, SAFSA resigned from TUCSA,[4] later joining the Federation of South African Labour Unions,[5] and then its successor, the Federation of Unions of South Africa.