The majority of workers in South Africa are to be excluded by law from membership of a trade union. This is the effect of the new Industrial Conciliation Amendment Act, passed by Parliament in June.
According to the White Paper (W.P.S. - 79) issued in response to the Wiehahn Commission, the government, while "fully agreeing with the principle of freedom of association" as the basis of trade union membership is "not inclined to admit large numbers of temporary workers to the trade union movement"
'Temporary' in this context are the permanent contract workers who form the majority of the African labour force. They are mainly migrants: recruited through the segregated African labour bureaux, distributed to factories, farms and mines as required, housed in 'bachelor' hostels and allowed home once a year to see their families. Also excluded are those living in townships that have been incorporated in Bantustans.
South Africa has been under attack from labour organisations for many years because in law white workers enjoyed trade union bargaining rights while African workers did not. The new Act makes a minor move away from this position by allowing the relatively small number of Africans not on migrant contracts but possessing the coveted urban work and residence rights to form their own unions and register for recognition. It does not give them the right, it appears, to join or form 'mixed' or non-racial unions.
Speaking in the Third Reading debate on the Act, the Minister of Labour stated categorically: "I am not prepared to introduce legislation aiming towards total integration in the field of labour" and closed the debate by saying that an "integrated labour policy is something the government will never adopt as long as we are in power"
The registration and recognition of black trade unions has been presented as a step forward but many trade unionists believe that, to the contrary, it represents the government's determination to control and suppress the growing black union movement. African trade unions have, since the upsurge in labour protest of the 1973 strikes, increased their membership from around 40,000 in 1970 to 100,000 in 1978 and the Wiehahn Commission was appointed in response to this.
Registration of African unions gives the state the opportunity to control their activities. As the Wiehahn Report pointed out "Black trade unions are subject neither to the protective and stabilising elements of the system nor to its essential discipline and control; they in fact enjoy much greater freedom than registered unions, to the extent that they are free if they so wished to participate in politics and to utilise their funds for whatever purposes they see fit"
Under South African law, in exchange for statutory recognition, registered trade unions are prohibited from 'political activities'. This prohibition is to remain.
The White Paper recommended that to overcome the problem of unregistered uncontrolled unions, "all labour organisations should be registered and recognition or negotiation with unregistered organisations should, if not prohibited, at least be very strongly discouraged". It appears that the new legislation does not prohibit the formation of unregistered unions, but it is clear that Africans excluded from registered unions will not be able to use unofficial unions to represent them. Contract workers will thus be without any effective organisations.
This represents a curtailment of labour rights because up till now African unions have been legal — though not registered or encouraged — and several have been functioning successfully towards establishing unofficial but working relationships with employers. These unions are faced with the choice of registering and submitting to state control or continuing in the knowledge that they will be firmly prevented from ever obtaining recognition or negotiating rights.
