Lucy Mvubelo

Lucy Buyaphi Mvubelo (1920 – 30 October 2000) was a South African trade unionist.

Born Lucy Twala in Johannesburg, she was educated at the Inanda Seminary School before becoming a teacher. She married McKenzie Mvubelo, but in 1942 left teaching to earn higher pay in a clothing factory. She joined the Garment Workers' Union of African Women and soon became its general secretary. In 1947, she was a convener of the Federation of South African Women, and she was a founder of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU), serving as its vice president from 1955.

Mvubelo objected to SACTU's decision to affiliate to the African National Congress. The Garment Workers' Union disaffiliated in 1956, and in 1959 she instead became president of the Federation of Free African Trade Unions (FOFATUSA). In 1962, the Garment Workers' Union merged into the new National Union of Clothing Workers (NUCW), with Mvubelo continuing as general secretary. She decided to dissolve FOFATUSA in 1966, as it had few remaining affiliates. Instead, the NUCW joined the Trade Union Council of South Africa (TUCSA), and Mvubelo became one of the first black women to serve on its executive.