Labour Unrest in Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage

LABOUR UNREST IN PORT ELIZABETH AND UITENHAGE by M. Roux Modern Capitalist society is characterized by an apparent According to Webster there was in the course of the 50's separation of the economic and the political. The effect a general drop in wages. This gave rise to a range of popu of this is that it has made possible the fragmentation of class lar resistance, but SACTU was not organised enough to conflict into industrial and political conflict. Giddens argues channel or direct the resistance apart from utilizing its that the institutional separation of class conflict in the limited factory organisation during stayaways. The stay- industrial and political spheres is the form which class con away was used as a key tactic, focussing around political flict takes in Capitalist Society. He says 'The separation of issues with the emphasis on general rather than industrial, industrial and political conflict once the incorporation of disabilities.4 However, the clampdown on political resis the working class has proceeded a considerable way, is tance which came in the early 60's changed the direction of merely symptomatic of the generic character of Capitalist the struggle. Society as predicated upon a fundamental separation of From 1972 onwards there was a rapid rise in the rate of economy and polity".1 It is only when the separation of inflation, resulting in a drop in real wages and the rate of the economic and the political has therefore become recog growth of employment in manufacturing declined. This nized not merely as a formal principle, but as an institu gave an impetus to what was now commonly called the tional reality that class conflict takes this form. However, struggle at both the economic and political levels. In in a society in which the active incorporation of the work February 1973 in Durban between 60,000 and 100,000 ing class within the citizenship state is resisted, worker black workers went on strike. Bonner and Webster point organisations will be closely integrated with a political out that "as a sign of their growing political maturity black movement. workers chose, instead of a boycott, to strike at their work In South Africa the black trade union movement has struggled place, winning wage increases and suffering hardly any for over 60 years for existence against employers and dismissals or prosecutions."5 the state. In a recent publication based on a project under taken by four Wits, students2 it is suggested that the It is argued that this strike gave rise to a new wave of movement has involved three major thrusts of activity: African trade unionism out of which five distinct trade the Industrial Commercial Workers' Union which in its union groups emerged. However, with less than 100,000 peak in the late 20's had 100,000 members; the Congress of members, many of whom belong to non-militant parallel non-European Trade Unions which by 1944 had a member unions, Nicol claims that both in terms of numbers and ship of 158,000 in 119 trade unions; and in the late 50's and organisation the African Trade Union movement is weak. early 60's the South African Congress of Trade Unions and According to him "the militant struggle of the dominated the Federation of Free African Trade Unions with a com classes since 1973 have in each case been characterised by bined total of approximately 90,000 members. However, spontaneity. Leadership of these struggles has not been legislation which sought to exclude black workers from the taken up by the workers and their representative organisa 6 collective bargaining process and suppress the activities of tions, but by the black petty bourgeoisie". black unionists prevented each of these movements from crystallising into permanent organisations. Repressive To a large extent African Trade Unionism has during this legislation had the effect of "leaving black workers voice period seen itself largely in economistic terms, thereby less and with no means of protecting what limited rights giving recognition to the economic and political as separate they had/'13 Under these conditions it was inevitable that areas of bargaining encounters. In part this may be accounted eventually there would be widespread support for black for in terms of the close security surveillance under which national movements. black trade union organisations are kept. Some trade union officials in Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage contend that it is Against a background of industrial development the 50's only possible for black trade unions to survive in South Africa and early 60's was a period of intense African National if they stay away from political issues. "This is the lesson activity. The issues that were given prominence by the black trade unionists have learnt from the experiences of Congress Alliance were political rather than economic. their predecessors", said one of them. The struggle was perceived in racial or national terms and with black trade unions weak, any attempt to emphasize On the whole union officials in the Port Elizabeth area showed the class content was doomed to be a failure. an orientation towards economism. They were of the opinion 5 that trade unions should focus on the industrial disabilities are aimed at these groups. One of the objectives of legislation to which black workers are subjected. They must address is to divide the working class, and if successful will also themselves to the bargaining process and as far as possible exclude alliances and contact with other classes, thereby attempt to redress the imbalance in market power between restricting working-class conflict to the industrial sphere workers and employers. Few, however, mentioned that this and preventing it from spreading to other sectors in the would not be possible without changing the subordinate community. The new approach attempts to prevent future position of black workers. To achieve this involves not only class struggles under the hegemony of the manual working an economic but also a political struggle. class; hence the necessity of creating new skills and ideolo gical symbols. Nevertheless, the bulk of industrial conflict during this period has been confined to economism, thereby obscuring Secondly, the State through institutionalizing industrial the connections between political power as such and the conflict among the permanent black working-class seeks tc broader political subordination of the working class within narrow down conflict to economism, thereby reinforcing the economic order. the economic, political dichotomy. In this period when black consciousness grew there was little In recent months the State has speeded up the process of connection between the two movements. This clearly reflected the registration of black unions and has even urged negotia the separation of the economic and the political. The 1976 tions with some unions before registration has been gazetted. revolt was political rather than economic. The target of mass The Minister of Manpower Utilization warned employers action was seen to be the State and the institutions represent against refusing to deal with representative unions. "Manage ing it, such as Bantu Education and the Bantu Affairs Admin ment should deal with whatever leadership group holds istration Boards. One of the possible reasons why it failed credibility among the workers. To impose a group favoured was-lack of economic anchorage among the proletariat. by management but not by those they are supposed to 8 The last two years have seen interesting changes in the represent will lead to disaster". In this way the State direction which struggles have taken. There has been a wants to defuse industrial confrontation with its possible tendency among the working-class to perceive a tie-up extension to the political sphere especially in the prevailing between the work-place and the community. Work-place atmosphere of mistrust. issues are no longer seen in isolation but as part of a larger It is against this background that the Port Elizabeth—Uiten- pattern. This trend was evidenced in the recent Fattis and hage workers struggles should be reviewed. Moni's, Ford and Meat workers' disputes. If it continues it will present a serious threat to the institutional separation of economic and political conflict. PORT ELIZABETH AND UITENHAGE: THE INDUSTRIAL Research in Port Elizabeth suggests that divisions within the SETTING trade union movement reflect the differences in ideology between workers who no longer accept the economic, As one of the major industrial complexes in South Africa political dichotomy and the leadership who continues to and an important centre for the motor manufacturing, define the role of trade unions in narrowly economistic wool, textile and footwear industries, the Port Elizabeth — terms. During the Ford dispute the black union leadership Uitenhage region is today an essential part of the manu was challenged by the highly politicised workers on strike, facturing sector in this country. The rapid growth in the Attempts to replace the executive with persons of their region since the 50's is attributable mainly to the motor own choice have failed and the rift continues. The feeling manufacturing and allied industries. Not only has the among certain workers is that these leaders have abdicated motor manufacturing industry attracted component manu any role in 'the struggle'. facturers, but traditional industries such as tanneries and textile firms also provide many of the materials required Nicoi is probably correct when he argues that the State is for the finishing of vehicles, thereby resulting in their further not concerned about the African Trade Union movement expansion. However, the Port Elizabeth — Uitenhage area as it has existed throughout most of the 70's. He points out is dominated by multi-national secondary industries and as that the task of the Wiehahn legislation is to forestall the such it sets the pattern for industrial development in South development of a democratic trade union movement which Africa.

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