‘Selective Amnesia’ and trade union exclusionary strategies in contemporary South Africa

Abstract

In this article, I examine union responses and attitudes towards vulnerable migrant and precarious workers in post-apartheid South Africa. Furthermore, the paper provides an analysis of contemporary politics of union exclusionary organising strategies and attitude towards migrant workers within the historical context of the regulated and contract migrant labour system and the unregulated post-migrant labour regime. Historically, South Africa’s industrial relations was developed on a bedrock of apartheid labour practices of exclusion in which African workers (both from homelands and other countries in the region) were regarded as migrants and thus, excluded from joining unions. Migrants played a very fundamental role in introducing trade unionism in the country particularly the British miners (see Nel and van Rooney (1993)) while the first trade union for Black workers was led by a Malawian, Clement Kadalie. Yet, it seems there is somewhat erasure of this history of trade unionism in the country or could this be as a result of selective amnesia? This is because the contemporary trade union movement is somehow detached from this reality as unions are still very ambivalent to organise and embrace migrants into their rank and file (Munakamwe, 2018). I argue here that union responses to migrant labour today are a manifestation of amnesia in which the fundamental role played by migrants in the democratisation of South Africa has been forgotten. Moreover, migrants equally fought alongside their local counterparts to ensure Black workers could organise and form trade unions, a fundamental right that they were deprived on racial grounds. What we witness today is not a racial but nationalist-class struggle in which local and migrant workers are in constant conflict jostling for jobs with xenophobic violence as the ultimate outcome. Essentially, unions lack a clear position and polices in place to respond to specific issues related to migrant workers such as xenophobia. Unlike during apartheid, today we witness fragmented solidarity among the working class and this to some extent shapes union responses. Unions are caught up within the contradictions and at times conflicting views of how to respond to migrant labour and this is further compounded by workplace restructuring, labour market flexibility and deregulation. On the one hand is the desire to preserve jobs for natives and to enforce immigration laws that are crafted by proponents of neoliberalism while on the other hand, the aim is to seek legitimacy by responding to the dictates and principles of international solidarity (see Fine, 2014). Labour flexibility has escalated and employers rely on labour brokers and out-sourcing while recruitment of migrants to the mines has dwindled over the years. Yet, this is the time in which union protection is required more than before to advance the rights of all workers. Restrictive migration laws are in constant conflict with labour laws and thus, preclude full enjoyment of labour rights. State-crafted migration laws and policies in relation to union responses Organised labour has existed for a long time in South Africa, stretching back to the industrialisation period (Parsley and Everatt, 2009: 4) although Black workers were denied the right to organise. Despite political challenges, Black workers were militant and defied some of these restrictive and oppressive laws against unionisation. The first Black union linked to the hospitality sector, the Industrial and Commercial Union (ICU) which later became the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) was established in 1919 under the leadership of a Malawian national, Clement Kadalie (Allan, 1992). In 1930, the first black union for mine workers was formed under the leadership of T.W. Thibedi who was also the secretary1. According to Nel and Rooyen, (1993: 49), during the apartheid era, industrial relations with trade unions involved, “worker representation from outside the enterprise, through trade unions and committee/ works council representation (that is, worker representation within the enterprise)”. Despite the recognition of unions by workers of Black origin, White unions dominated the body of the collective bargaining. Only in 1979, based on findings from the Wieham Commission is when Black workers except cross-border migrants were allowed to form their own unions. Subsequently, on 5 December 1982, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was established under the leadership of Cyril Ramaphosa as the first General...