Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 44 No. 9. May 4 1981

A Thorn in Botha's Side — Black Trade Unions in South Africa

A Thorn in Botha's Side

Black Trade Unions in South Africa

The Pretoria government only allows a legal status to unions which are registered with the Department of Labour. But it is the unregistered ones that are causing it trouble.

Following the report of the Wiehahn Commission into trade unions in 1979, the South African Government, for the first time, permitted the creation of legal African trade unions. But the form and content of a trade union has now become the key issue, with the Pretoria government and managements trying desperately to establish tame unions that are not controlled directly by workers. The workers, on the other hand, are determined the participate in democratic unions of their own choice.

The government only allows legal status to unions which are registered with the Department of Labour. But it is the unregistered unions which are proving to be a thorn in the government's flesh. The soaring growth in the membership of unregistered unions, and charges that their leaders are also involved in political activities, are two of the reasons for the government's unease.

Government Moves to Control

The first signs of tough action against independent unions came to light in November when the security police detained 22 high ranking trade unionists in the Eastern Cape, the focal point of this year's labour unrest. Now, the Pretoria government, in a draft Bill, advocates some stringent measures to control the emerging African trade unions.

The draft Bill also makes one or two concessions. A significant concession is that "non-racial" trade unions will be allowed to operate legally without any harassment from the authorities. But the prime objective of the Bill is clearly to exert greater control over the activities of the new unions.

The draft legislation seeks to give the government the power to close down unions; to prevent trade unions from having offices in the "bantustans"; to bar all donations to unions without the consent of the Ministry of Labour; to ban political activity by unions and to extend official control to unregistered unions.

Political Activity Outlawed

One of the more controversial aspects of the proposed legislation is the measure aimed at preventing unions from engaging in political activity. The clause prevents all unions from assisting any group or persons who have "political" aims, or who promote "socio-cultural interests" in such a manner that they may derive political benefit from their activities.

The legislation is aimed at the many African and multi-racial unions which have been propagating the idea that the problems of African workers are intrinsically tied up with the problem of apartheid. During the labour unrest last year, these unions succeeded in establishing informal ties with Black community organisations. The draft Bill intends to ban this and to prevent unions from involving themselves in community issues.

A wide range of unions has angrily rejected the draft Bill. These include the exclusively Black Council of Unions of South Africa (CUSA) and the multi-racial Federation of South African Trade Unions (FOSTAU). Although Labour Minister Fanie Botha has indicated that certain aspects of the draft Bill may be changed before it is presented to Parliament this year, it appears unlikely that the measures providing for greater control of the union movement will be substantially altered.

Background of Repression

Historically, the state and management have been hostile to any organisation of African workers. Trade union leaders have been banned and imprisoned, strikes have been broken up by police, and union officials are constant targets of management victimisation.

African workers live in poverty-stricken "bantustans" or in tightly controlled urban townships where they are frequently harassed by police in search of Pass Law offenders. When factories need them, they are recruited and paid low wages. And the Pretoria government sees the economic demands made by African workers as a threat to South Africa's economy, which is based on the maintenance of a cheap and controlled labour force which forms a pillar of the apartheid system.

African trade unionism is inherently political and could prove to be a key factor in the prolonged attack on the racist system that still hangs on tenaciously in South Africa.

reprinted from "New African" February 1981