On 20 December a total of 24 employees from the Ford motor assembly works in Port Elizabeth appeared in court charged under the Riotous Assemblies Act. Bail was set at R50 on condition they did not enter Ford premises and the case was postponed to 29 January. The case takes place against a background of worker unrest in Port Elizabeth.
Held under the 14-day General Law Amendment Act, most of the accused were detained on 5 December following a mass meeting of Ford workers when, police allege, some workers who had returned to work were threatened. Others were detained later, and some were released, leaving 24 to face charges.
The arrests followed a month of difficulties at the Ford plants, indicative of black worker militancy and the formation of a black Civic Organisation (PEBCO) in Port Elizabeth's African townships. The trouble began at the end of October when Mr Thozamile Botha, a trainee draftsman at Ford's Struandale plant, was told to choose between his job and his position as chairman of PEBCO, and resigned. The rest of the 738 black employees promptly walked out in protest at what they regarded as victimization, although Fords denied this and quickly agreed to reinstate Mr Botha unconditionally.
A white worker 'backlash' then began. On 10 November, over 200 white workers from all four of Ford's PE plants threatened to strike against the racial integration of the plant and what they regarded as favoured treatment of the black labour force. Fords agreed to a full-scale investigation into the grievances.
On 13 November black workers at Struandale staged another walk-out, demanding equal hours for all workers rather than some on overtime and some on short time. They also demanded the implementation of the company's stated policy of equal pay for equal work, complaining that white workers were favoured. They also objected to segregationist attitudes among white workers.
The men returned to work the next day following management agreement to talks, but decided to boycott the canteen because of white criticism of black 'abuse' of integrated facilities. They were joined by the 300 workers from the adjacent engine plant.
(Fords, one of the largest US companies, has attempted to improve its image as an employer of black labour by adhering to the "Sullivan Code" which guides US investors' employment policies. To this end it is training and promoting more black employees and integrating canteens and toilets).
To this walkout the company responded by announcing that those who had left or refused to do reasonable overtime would be regarded as having resigned. The police riot squad was called and workers told to work or get out. After the final ultimatum the workers "stood up en masse and surged through the gates shouting 'we're sacked!' and raising their hands in the black power salute". They then decided to form a committee, affiliated to PEBCO, to negotiate their reinstatement with the company.
Other strikes took place at the General Tire plant (owned by General Motors) where black workers were searched on leaving the canteen lest they steal the spoons. In response to the strike on 19 November, the workforce of 625 at General Tire was sacked on 22 November.
That evening a joint mass meeting of over 1000 Ford and General Tire workers was held in New Brighton, chaired by Thozamile Botha. The meeting agreed that the workers of both factories would only return if all were reinstated. On 13 December it was reported that General Tire had agreed to reinstate all their former employees, though this was contradicted by other reports suggesting that a minority of workers, presumably identified as 'agitators' would not be re-employed.
On 5 December the Ford workers decided they would return only if reinstated in their old positions and paid the bonuses due to them. It was this date on which the first 20 of those arrested were detained by police on the grounds that they were 'intimidating' other workers. Management refused to pay the bonuses and the remaining workers reaffirmed their demand and decided to stay out until January. The company therefore started its annual Christmas shutdown on 14 December with the dispute still unresolved.
The arrests appear to have been partly directed against PEBCO (see also under Bannings). The organisation stated that the security police who conducted the raids which led to the detentions demanded and confiscated PEBCO membership cards.
On 10 January it was announced that Fords had agreed to reinstate all workers.
