23 research outputs found
Democratising the workplace: worker perspectives on industrial democracy.
Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: Democracy, Popular Precedents, Practice and Culture, 13-15 July, 1994.The central theme of the transition under way in South Africa is
democralisation of all spheres of life. One such sphere is the workplace
where millions of workers spend most of their adult lives working for a
living. For many years workers and their trade unions have been in the
forefront of struggles for better wages and working conditions at the
workplace. In many cases these struggles have also been about control at
the workplace, or what Goodrich has termed "the demand not to be
controlled disagreeably". This paper draws on interviews with workers and
shop stewards at two factories in the Transvaal and seeks to establish the
extent to which their notion of industrial democracy and worker
participation constitutes what Goodrich has called "ii;.: demand to take a
hand in controlling". What emerges is not a homogenous understanding of
workplace democracy, but a range of views and opinions. The paper also
analyses a number of powerful factors which influence or shape the views
of workers on the subject of industrial democracy. The conclusion of this
discussion is that democracy is part of the consciousness of unionised
workers as it is the guiding principle in all union structures. It is therefore
inevitable that the demand for democracy at the workplace will become
part of organised workers' notion of justice and fairness on the shop floor
Work reorganisation and technological change: limits of trade union strategy and action at ArcelorMittal, Vanderbijlpark
The black South African trade unions were known globally for challenging apartheid in the workplace and low wages. In fact, they played a significant role in the broad liberation movement which ushered in democracy in 1994. However, little is known about the unionsâ ability to respond to production issues such as technological changes at the âpoint of productionâ. Using a case study of the Vanderbijlpark Plant currently owned by the global steel corporation ArcelorMittal International, this article shows that the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) - the biggest trade union in South Africa - adopted a bargaining strategy which consistently ignored production issues at the plant while focusing on wages and working conditions. This article suggests that this unidimensional strategy meant that building the unionâs capacity was neglected, reducing its ability to respond proactively to technological innovation and work reorganisation. While it does not present union capacity as a panacea, the article presents international examples that indicate that unions with more developed research and education capabilities were able to save some jobs by engaging union members and proposing alternatives.Keywords: education, research, technology, union capacity, union strateg
Enclave Rustenburg : platinum mining and the post-apartheid social order
In the absence of a levelling out of income and resources, as well as arbitrary violence in
everyday life, the post-apartheid social order is characterised by the formation of various
enclaves. In the platinum mining town of Rustenburg, these enclaves are constructed on
the foundations of the apartheid categories âsuburbâ, âcompoundâ, âtownshipâ and
âhomelandâ. Such enclaves include security villages, converted compounds with
access control, and informal settlements with distinctive gender, linguistic and class
formations. The article draws on David Harveyâs formulation of absolute, relative and
relational space and the case of Rustenburg to elaborate the concept of enclave further.[Lâenclave Rustenburg : la mine de platine et lâordre social post-apartheid.] En lâabsence
dâun nivellement des revenus et ressources, en plus dâune violence arbitraire dans la vie
de tous les jours, lâordre social post-apartheid est caracteÂŽriseÂŽ par la formation de
diffeÂŽrentes enclaves. Dans la ville des mines de platine de Rustenburg, ces enclaves
sont construites sur les fondations des cateÂŽgories de lâapartheid « suburb » (ou
banlieue), « compound » (habitations dans un enclos), « township » (bidonville) et «
homeland » (bantoustans ou foyers nationaux). Ces enclaves comprennent des
villages seÂŽcuriseÂŽs, des compounds convertis avec un controËle dâacce`s, et des
implantations informelles avec des formations distinctives de genre, de langue et de
classe. Lâarticle se base sur la formulation de David Harvey de lâespace absolu, relatif
et relationnel et sur le cas de Rustenburg pour deÂŽtailler davantage le concept de lâenclave.http://tandfonline.com/loi/crea202016-12-31hb2016Sociolog
The Struggle for Legitimacy: South Africaâs Divided Labour Movement and International Labour Organisations, 1919â2019
Who could be considered a legitimate representative of South Africaâs working class, and even who constituted this class, was bitterly contested during the twentieth century. This chapter examines the struggles for international recognition by the rival constituents of South Africaâs labour movement, which was sharply divided along racial and ideological lines. Initially, the International Labour Organization and other similar bodies formed links with the white-dominated labour movement, which regarded itself as the legitimate representative of all workers in South Africa. This position was successfully contested by emerging black African trade unions who themselves, in the face of fierce repression, competed for financial support made available by various sections of the international labour movement
The limits of transnational solidarity: the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the Swaziland and Zimbabwean crises
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the main union federation in South Africa, was instrumental in ending apartheid. This paper evaluates COSATU's post-apartheid role in working for democracy elsewhere in Southern Africa through deepening transnational solidarity, focusing on its role in Zimbabwe and Swaziland. Although the federation successfully mobilised trade union members to oppose the contravention of human and labor rights, its ability to affect lasting change was limited by contradictory messages and actions by the South African government, the dualistic nature of institutional formation in these countries, strategic miscalculations and structural limitations on union power
Revisiting the democratic traditions in the South African trade union movement
Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: Forging the links between historical research and the policy process, 18-19 September 1999.The Democratic traditions within South African trade unions have altered since 1994. They have become more oligarchic. The traditions of member participation, worker control and leadership accountability are discussed and how they have changed. The democratic tradition persists but is a matter of contestation
Trade union responses to participatory management: a case study
This thesis is an investigation of trade union responses to participatory management in South Africa. In examining the above question, it seeks to establish whether Weber's notion of bureaucracy and Michels' "iron law of oligarchy" provide a useful theoretical framework for understanding these responses by unions. The thesis also explores the possibilities of worker participation in which unions (and their members) benefit without losing the ability to represent worker's collective interests. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version]MT201