Just as FOCUS went to press the South African Minister of Manpower Utilisation announced that migrant workers would after all be allowed to join registered black trade unions.
Details of this concession are not yet clear, but it seems that the government is intending to use administrative powers to exempt certain workers from the provisions of the law, and union membership will not be a legal right for these workers. It remains to be seen how many African workers will be exempted and which unions they will be allowed to join.
