This is a clear and well-driven piece of writing that explains the development of trade unions in South Africa to come out of apartheid. The essay is 9 pages long and it is well referenced using published journals and articles.
This thorough dissertation will aim to critically outline the different positions taken by
the ANC and COSATU both during the political and economic transition of apartheid
going moving to a post-apartheid government. There will be discussion about when
and how both parties came into a tripartite alliance with the SACP to fight in the
political and socio-economic struggle against a racist state. It will then analyse the
models executed throughout the apartheid transition and democratic era. The
following part will explain how these strategies have influenced and are currently
affecting the development of public policies. The last section will describe the role of
COSATU in the development of such policies and the consequential labour
movement.
The South African labour movement can be seen to have really had its significant
berth during what is known as the “Mineral Revolution” which was the period
whereby diamonds were discovered in Kimberly in 1867 and gold in Witwatersrand
in 1885 (Freund, 2007). This brough about a large amount of foreign investment and
an extremely lucrative mining industry that proved to be the backbone of the
economy for decades to come. A lot of the labour force was not made up of South
Africans as the majority was initially migrants from Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia
and Zimbabwe (Bramble, 2003). These miners faced terrible working conditions and
their lives were endangered daily let alone the lifetime health issues that the poor
equipment and technology. This was aggravated by a lack of consideration for the
safety of black workers in the labour relations principles at the time. Durban grew as
a city because of the harbour and the international access it had due to its location
on the coast it was used for exports and imports (Seekings, 2004). This was
supplemented with the sugar cane industry which brought about Indian slaves during
the nineteenth century. Industrialisation in South Africa was happening although it
was still at the beginning therefore even the labour relations had primitive ideologies
and procedures which were largely disorganised in many markets including the
biggest ones at the time such as farming, mining and domestic labour (Buhlungu,
2006). There was no form of legal representation or organisation that was allowed to
African workers. This brought about bad working conditions and subsequently
performance that could not compete in the global market which was essential in a
globalised era. Black workers were uneducated and unskilled therefore businesses
were not as profitable, and wages were low due to here being no minimum wage or
, financial benefits (Maree, 1993). This resulted in poor living conditions due to the
racist state that kept black workers oppressed and living in poverty as they were
viewed as being just as merely operational as any other factor of production that they
owned such as land or equipment. This created a need for African workers to have a
struggle to fight against this socio-economic inequality and there were numerous
illegal organisations that worked to get that freedom (Buhlungu, 2006).
Trade Unions that organized blacks did not get official acknowledgement and black
workforces were not allowed to strike as the apartheid government even had Pass
laws to regulate the movement of Africans in their own country (von Holdt, 1985).
Despite this, African workers had frequent strikes that were aimed at getting wage
increases, labour rights such as being upskilled and collective bargaining rights
(Seekings, 2004). The main industrial zones grew to be Cape Town, Joburg and
Durban. In all three areas there was an increasing presence of radicals who
dominated the now underground SACP which is important to consider when noting
that they then formed SACTU for the purpose of organising political and economic
demands from the ground level (Webster, 2004). There was tension with the ANC as
they were focussed on growing and an alliance with a banned and confrontational
party that was working towards becoming a nationalist organisation prepared to
resist white rule came with opportunities and threats. One of the biggest issues was
prioritizing the principles of the ANC ahead of its own. The apartheid state felt
threatened by the ANC therefore there was a lot of focus by the state to keep them
suppressed with illegality and persecution (Buhlungu, 2006). This led to the ANC
eventually exiling itself before having to be exiled by the government. In the mid-
1960s the country faced significant economic growth due to mining exports. The
state then decided to construct large scale housing projects for Africans on the
outskirts of industrial cities to complement this growth. Due to not being allowed to
have trade unions, workers often recruited and organised themselves with work
committees or quasi-traditional leadership (Seekings, 2004). As there was an
increased understanding in business systems and functions, businesses realised
that labour productivity was crucial to profitability therefore there was more motive to
train, upskill and empower all workers to motivate them and increase productivity to
compete on a capitalist level (Friedman, 1987). It is largely believed that the breaking
point at which the state conceded to allowing black workers organisation was the
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