Labour
Workers still count: reflections on the 2007 Tyre Industry Strike
by Stembiso Bhengu
The second half of 2007 saw an unprecedented wave strike actions across the country which almost brought the auto industry and its supply chain to a standstill between July and September. This paper will attempt to reflect on this wave of strikes, zoning specifically in on the strike at Dunlop Tyres factory in Durban. The strike in the Tyre sector coincided with the time when I was visiting the factory workers, introducing my research and making observation for my research on workers, wage income and livelihoods. I ended up spending the whole five weeks of strikes at Dunlop, attending meetings with workers and joining in their mass action demonstrations and various other activities during the strike action. As part of my observation, I continued to visit workers at Dunlop until end of October last year, making further observations on their collective consciousness in everyday life.
There are few critical areas I want to reflect on in this short paper from my observation during this massive strike action. First, the strike actions took place against the background of growing critique of trade unions, with some even beginning to argue that trade unions, especially COSATU affiliated trade unions represent labour aristocracy and that trade unions are out of touch with rank and file workers. There were also growing questions about trade unions' ability to mobilise workers for massive industrial action in light of increasing pressure on workers by flexibility and threats of casualization. In essence the strikes of 2007, one would further assert that even the outcome of Polokwane ANC Conference reflect the continuing power of trade unions and workers in general in shaping discourse in the workplace and politics in general in South Africa.
The strike wave began with the public sector, then the security sector, then to the broad umbrella of Metal Industry, starting with Metal sector, then to Engineering sector, then Tyre sector, then to Petrol and Chemical sector and lastly Motor component sector. The only sector within the Metal Industry that was able to avoid strike was the Auto Manufacturing sector. In essence this strike wave almost brought to a standstill the whole auto supply chain between July and end of August last year. I was impressed by the level of commitment and organisation that characterised these strike actions (with the exception of the security strike) across these sectors. The Tyre Industry strike lasted for five weeks, yet workers in this sector were still prepared to continue with the strike action (despite five weeks of not receiving wages) until employers were willing to make reasonable compromise offers in the bargaining council.
In my observation of the strike action at Dunlop Tyres, three points became clear.
First, workers were adamant that they were willing to strike for better wages and were not afraid to lose wages, even if it meant losing two months of wages. For workers, any sacrifice was necessary to ensure that they won this round of strike action against the employer. In their explanation, workers argued that they were already suffering from the poor wages, while the company continues to makes millions in profit. One worker remarked in one of the meetings during the strike, after hearing that the employer bargaining representative from Dunlop Tyres had rescinded from the verbal concession he had made with shop stewards during negotiations said, ''maqabane, labaqashi bacabanga ukuthi thina sizohlupheka ngalokhukungaholi bese siyabayeka nje bagcogcome emakhanda ethu. Kanti abazi ukuthi ukuhlupheka lokhu sesikujwayele. Siyahlupheka vele, yinike ezosivimba ukuthi siqhubeke singaholi aze umqashi lona asinike esikufunayo. Maqabane khona maduzane umqashi kuzomele aqale akhiqhize futhi amathayi lana, kanti thina sisengakwazi ukubamba futhi'' (comrades, these employers think that that we are going to suffer and starve because they are not paying us wages during these weeks of strikes. They think because we are suffering from not earning wages, then they can just do as they please in these negotiations. They must know that we are used to suffering, we are used to not having enough in fact, we don't mind continuing to suffer as long as in the end they give us what we want. You see comrades, after a while, they cannot afford to lose production, but we can still afford not to earn a wage). This remark was greeted with resounding applause by workers. Other workers added further that they had already spent four weeks in strike and were ready and prepared to do another four weeks to make employers take the wage negotiations seriously.
Second, it was clear that workers still view collective action as their primary weapon in their workplace struggle. Moreover, trade unions, especially COSATU affiliated trade unions are still viewed by vast majority of workers as the mobilising force for worker solidarity. In essence, from observations during the strike action, it became clear to me that it is primarily workers at the fore-front of collective worker consciousness.
At Dunlop Tyres worker militancy and collective consciousness is probably the most guarded thing. The older workers induct the younger, new workers into this militant collective worker consciousness. In the meetings a lot of statements were made along the lines of, ''umzabalazo wabasebenzi kade sawuqala thina lapha kwaDunlop. Futhi nje angeke siphinde sikuyeke ukuzabalaza. Nabafana bethu uma bafika lana, bangena kuwo wona lomzabalazo. Ofikayo, naye ufika athole afunde ukuthi impumelelo yomsebenzi ilele emzabalazweni nomfelandawonye wabasebenzi'' (Here at Dunlop Tyres, we have been in worker struggles for a long time. Even our sons and nephews who come to work here after us, they join the struggle. Even the new workers, they learn and grow to appreciate that the success of every individual worker depends on the collective struggle and consciousness of workers).
It almost seemed like workers are socialised and acculturated into militant collective worker consciousness and identity. Workers seem to be clear of the view that their destiny and their struggle for better life for their families are inextricably tied together and trade unions are the social formation through which they mobilise themselves and each other.
Thirdly, notwithstanding the militant collective worker consciousness and the centrality of trade unions in their mobilisation, trade unions have structural and organisational contradictions, mostly around balance of forces and the hegemony of variable political interests of union officials vis-à-vis rank and file. Furthermore, I was fascinated by observing that rank and file workers are aware of these contradictions in trade union structures and governance. While it is implausible to label trade unions as labour aristocracy, it is clear that there are contradictions in trade unions, contradictions of interests between interests of officials, interests of shop stewards and interests of rank and file workers. It is also clear that some times these interests converge towards a collective interest, but sometimes these interests and agendas result in disjuncture between the trade union, officials and workers. More importantly than this, I observed that ordinary workers are not impervious to these contradictions. It also came to my attention that sometimes management as well as trade unions officials make the mistake of underestimating the intellect of workers and their ability to gather information and to gauge situations in the workplace and in relation to the trade union.
During the strike these contradictions and apparent workers' discontent with particular regional leaders of the trade union came to light during the strike action. It became apparent that workers at Dunlop Tyre had serious problems with the regional leadership of NUMSA. These workers expressed disappointment with their trade union who failed to make a visit of support to Dunlop Tyre workers during the full five weeks of strikes. These Dunlop Tyre workers (and shop stewards) complained about what they regarded as a regional office out of sync with workers. Some workers during the strike meetings during the third week of the strike said, ''lamacomrades eNUMSA anomqondo engathi bangabaqashi, futhi haphethe lenyunyana engathi ibhizinisi labo lapha kumele khona benze iprofit. Ingathi bayakhohlwa ukuthi yithina masebenzi esibaqashile, futhi ukuthi ngaphandle kwethu abayilutho, manje sebefuna ukusitshela ukuthi senzeni. Izinto azenziwa kanjena, ngoba yithina abaqashi babo, njengoba behola ngemali yethu esiyikhipha njalo ngesonto'' (these NUMSA people have a CEO mentality and are running NUMSA like it is their business to make cut costs and profit. They forget that they are actually our employees as workers, without us they are nothing, but they want to tell us what we should do. This is not how things should happen, we are the bosses and they are our employees because we are the ones that make weekly contributions to their salaries).
Some of these contradictions and tensions reflect systemic and organisational dynamics of trade unions in the country. What was my observation through Dunlop Tyre is that the disjuncture between Dunlop tyre workers and the regional office of NUMSA reflects the dynamics of balance of forces in the trade union power base. The current executive of NUMSA come predominantly from the Auto sector as opposed to Tyre sector, as a result Dunlop Tyre workers who constitute a powerful historical and current worker base feel that the current political leadership of the region does not give the attention they deserve. These tensions permeate from local to regional and national levels of the trade union. They are also very present and apparent in the general political discourse of South Africa within the ANC and its alliance partners.
On a closing note, workers remain the central force in South Africa. Workers still identify with the power of worker collective and COSATU affiliated trade unions continue to wield massive support because workers utilise them to exert their most reliable source of strength. Workers and trade unions with all their limitations and contradictions remain active agents in the unfolding of labour process and relation in production in the workplace, as well as in the configuration of balance of forces within trade union movement. Large worker bases like Dunlop Tyre workers will always contest direction of their trade union even if on a local scale because of both their history of struggle and because of their large militant membership base.
Stembiso Bhengu is a lecturer at the Industrial Organizational & Labour Studies Department, UKZN
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