The workers were fired from the Volkswagen auto plant in the Eastern Cape province town in February 2000 after going on strike "illegally." A number of workers in the plant, which is organized by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), an affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, sharply opposed a deal that union officials had negotiated with the VW bosses for production of the company's A4 Golf model that gave up certain rights, including how leave time was scheduled.

Thirteen NUMSA shop stewards, accused of agitating against the agreement, were suspended by local union officials for "bringing the union into serious disrepute." In protest, a segment of workers walked off the job. NUMSA and COSATU officials called on them to return to work. When they did not, the company fired them.

In its surprise ruling, the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, a body established after South Africa's nonracial, democratic elections in 1994 to arbitrate labor disputes, ruled that Volkswagen must rehire all the fired workers by February 5.

It said the firing was "fair," but that the procedures followed by the company were not.

Volkswagen immediately demanded, and won, a reversal of the ruling. A Labor Court set aside the judgement on February 2, putting it into a review process that may take months. In the interim, the workers are not allowed to go back to work.

After they were fired, the workers linked up with the Oil, General, and Allied Workers' Union, which formed after a split from another COSATU union.

That the original ruling came as an unpleasant surprise to the employing class was made clear in a January 26 article in London's Financial Times. "Every company's worst nightmare became a reality for the German car manufacturer's South African subsidiary this week, when the government's arbitration body ordered the reinstatement of 1,300 workers who were dismissed last year for staging an illegal strike," wrote Nicol Degli Innocenti.

"The burden that labour laws and the country's notoriously militant trade unions put on employers is regarded by many as excessive. Even the government has pledged to introduce more flexibility in an effort to attract the foreign investment the country desperately needs. Foreign direct investment last year plunged to less than $2 billion from $4 billion in 1999," the article said. The Volkswagen events "go some way towards explaining the reasons behind investors' flight."

The article continued: "Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, surprised and delighted the business community last year when he referred to the VW strike in his state of the nation address. 'Illegal and unjustified strikes such as the one at Uitenhage cannot be tolerated,' he said."  
 
 
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