BY GREG ROSENBERG
"You have to negotiate in good faith, which is lacking in the business community," said John Gomomo, president of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), at a mass march June 19 in Cape Town, South Africa. "We are prepared as a union to build the economy but not at the expense of our people. We demand the Labour Relations Act be passed in parliament this session."
Hundreds of thousands of workers joined marches across South Africa June 19 to demand passage of the legislation, which will wipe out apartheid-era labor law. COSATU estimated that nearly 500,000 workers joined marches in 27 cities and towns across the country, culminating a two-week mass action campaign. "This massive turnout of workers in support of labour's negotiating position-should make employers realise that the majority of workers will not be intimidated by their bellicose statements and threats," a COSATU statement said.
A South African Chamber of Business official said the impact on business of the half-day protest, for which many workers left their jobs, was "substantial." In a telephone interview from Johannesburg, COSATU spokesperson Neil Coleman reported that some 70,000 marched in Pretoria, 70,000 in Port Elizabeth, and up to 60,000 in the Indian Ocean port city of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal province.
Apartheid labor law codified the superexploitation of African labor by capital, drastically limiting workers' rights. Through expanding working-class struggle in the past two decades, however, workers have carved out new space to organize politically, and much of this was recognized in the interim constitution adopted just prior to last year's first- ever nonracial elections.
The working class is seeking to put its stamp on a new constitution - and the new labor law. Progress in doing so will mark a step forward in the formation of a South African nation and the forging of a working class unburdened with the divisions and restrictions imposed under white rule - including the eradication of giant disparities in wages and living conditions between blacks and whites.
COSATU president Gomomo pointed out at a recent forum in Johannesburg that "the recently published Human Development Index revealed that taken alone, the white population of South Africa ranks 19th in the world. The black population, however, ranks 119th, on par with some of the world's poorest nations."
A labor bill introduced by Minister of Labor Tito Mboweni of the African National Congress is currently under negotiation between the trade unions, business, and government. A reshaped bill is then to be introduced to parliament. But the employers have remained intransigent in the face of labor's demands. These include the right to strike, and preventing the employers from having the right to lock out; centralized bargaining; barring the use of scabs; and protection of union rights.
ANC members in government, among others, addressed the
marches.
A memorandum addressed to all ANC members of parliament
was presented to Trade and Industry Minister Trevor Manuel
at the Cape Town march. It stated in part, "As members of
parliament and as alliance partners, the role that you play
in the negotiations process will be crucial to the success
of labor in securing a worker-friendly Labour Relations
Act."
"You know it is our intention to ensure legislation goes through before September 15," Manuel told the marchers.
Employers complain about protests
South African deputy president F.W. de Klerk bitterly
complained that ANC president Nelson Mandela's appearance at
an earlier mass march in Johannesburg June 6 had cast a
"dark cloud" over the labor negotiations. "The president
pitches up at a mass demonstration by COSATU and associates
himself with their action," he fumed. "With one TV
appearance he apparently draws a line through what the
Cabinet had decided, places a question mark on the
facilitation role that the Government of National Unity
[GNU] ought to play, and creates the impression that the GNU
has chosen sides."
The Inkatha Freedom Party opposed the COSATU actions.The liberal Democratic Party said the mass actions were "destroying the prospects of job creation for the millions of unemployed."
Some employers threw down the gauntlet over the protests. "Mass action is treason - it can be neutralized," declared Lawrence McCrystal, chairman of the Confederation of Employers of Southern Africa (COFESA). "The expression `I demand' is outdated and a thing of the past," declared McCrystal, who postulated, "the damage and uncertainty caused by mass action is in direct conflict with the objectives of the Reconstruction and Development Program," the package of proposals to rebuild South Africa put forward by the ANC and subsequently adopted by the Government of National Unity. COFESA said it was ready to mobilize scabs. "There are more than 6 million unemployed workers in South Africa who are more than willing to resume production," the bosses' association said.
Miners face fight for jobs
Mapalo Tsatsimpe, coordinator of the National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM) in the Carletonville region, reported in a
June 21 telephone interview that most miners did not
participate in the June 19 marches since they were
underground. "We had a buildup," she said. "There were two
marches the week before, and 12,000 miners marched for the
COSATU demands."
Tsatsimpe had just learned that nearby Anglo-American Corp.-owned mines planned to retrench 5,000 miners over the next couple of months. The giant mining house may lay off up to 32,000 miners throughout the country. The South African economy is reeling from the impact of the world economic depression, which is putting pressure on profit rates in the lucrative mining industry.
"The NUM and others, including the white miners' union, are coming together against this," Tsatsimpe reported. "We're realizing that we have common interests to avoid retrenchments. We are now negotiating for a retrenchment package to include training and benefits" for those affected, she said.
"The bosses are saying they will be keeping `whoever is contributing to the economic viability of the company.' What does that mean? They want to identify people they don't like - people who make noise about affirmative action and so on.
"We say hell no, man. It's not your right to get rid of whoever you want. Even if they use seniority, most of our guys will be out." A seniority plan that includes affirmative action would be necessary, she indicated.
"The new Labour Relations Act will reduce many of these problems," Tsatsimpe continued. "It will require more full disclosure by management. A lot of retrenchments may be reduced.
"The struggle continues," she concluded.