FAWU Wage Information System: research for bargaining support
- Food and Allied Workers' Union
- Authors: Food and Allied Workers' Union
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , pamphlet
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/105774 , vital:32567
- Description: Please read schedule 1 carefully together with the proposal for a wage information system for the FAWU Research Training Programme. I have established from FAWU that they do not have an adequate wage information system in place and therefore propose to assist them. There are two phases to WIS which I hope to cover together with the trainee, Thandi Yoli.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 19--?
- Authors: Food and Allied Workers' Union
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , pamphlet
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/105774 , vital:32567
- Description: Please read schedule 1 carefully together with the proposal for a wage information system for the FAWU Research Training Programme. I have established from FAWU that they do not have an adequate wage information system in place and therefore propose to assist them. There are two phases to WIS which I hope to cover together with the trainee, Thandi Yoli.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 19--?
NUMSA’s bargaining process
- National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa
- Authors: National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: eng
- Type: text , pamphlet
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/104517 , vital:32394
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 19--?
- Authors: National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: eng
- Type: text , pamphlet
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/104517 , vital:32394
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 19--?
Regional educators’ workshop on trade union history in South Africa
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Labour unions -- South Africa -- History , Labour movement -- South Africa -- History
- Language: English
- Type: text , pamphlet
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/112014 , vital:33538
- Description: The sun is beginning to rise on the workers. Fears of intimidation and victimisation are being dried up by this rising sun of workers strength. I tell this story to remind you of your life. I tell you this story so you will remember your struggle and the story of the struggle we fight. AMANDLA! I came to the urban areas with someone from home. I found the city a strange and ugly place. Finding work was not an easy task. But I found work at the foundry called Rely Precision Castings and I worked there for over seven years until May 1980 when Management fired all of us because of a strike. The work in the foundry was hard and dangerous and the hours were long. But I stuck out the tough and unsafe working conditions because there was no other place to go. We were the only people who could do this kind of work, and this was well known to our employers. Many of them knew migrant workers were the best workers. We were also prepared to do the heaviest of work. But they still treated us badly and still didn’t treat us like human beings but like animals. They knew that as soon as they expelled us we would lose a place of residence, because we would not be able to pay the hostel fees without the money we earned. Then the pass office would be indifferent and instruct us to go back where we came from. That is very painful. But what is more painful is this. It is clear that profits mean more to the bosses than our lives. Our children could die in the countryside but they would still fire us. Our work was tough, especially after the new machine was bought by the bosses in the foundry. But we were not afraid of hard work. We did not complain about the work. The grievances were about those things that prevented us from doing our work. The bad and unsafe working conditions were dangerous to our health and lives. These things are important. But most of our grievances at Rely were about the bad treatment we received from the indunas and foremen. The indunas did not support us when the struggle for better wages and working conditions began. They were only concerned with organising things in the foundry which made their own lives easier. The indunas at Rely were supposed to be the workers’ voice but we have seen that this was not true. So we had no voice. We could not make our complaints heard. That makes a person very angry. And so my fellow workers and I decided to do something about this. We began to stand together and build workers’ strength and unity in the foundry. Our combined strength would be a very loud and confident voice. One day one of us suddenly said: "There is a place that can help us." This worker had been to the Union with his brother-in-law who works at another factory. We wanted to know what that could be. We said we knew a union called ‘Let-us-bury-each-other’. This is a union that cheats people. They say when you have given a lot of money to them then they will build you a big house or buy you a car. The guy said, ‘No. that’s not what I mean.’ ‘It’s a place to go as we are not being treated well in the firm. When we all join they will represent us. They will speak to the employers.’ At first many of the workers at Rely were scared about joining the Union. Others were cautious. We first started joining in twos and threes until we were thirty. The meetings we had with the Union organiser were important. We talked and discussed problems for a long time on Saturday afternoons. Inside the foundry there was even more talk and discussion. During lunchtimes meetings were held over the road from the foundry under the shade of a tree. At these meetings everybody had a chance to speak. Some people wanted to move quickly, while others were more cautious. Some people were afraid for their families and others did not want to lose their jobs in the foundry. Many workers had worked at Rely for a long time and had good service records and so we were hesitant. The discussion was often long and serious. Slowly the fear began to get less as people learned more about the Union from friends and relatives in other factories. Some of these factories were already organised. But it was the meetings among ourselves which helped the most. In the evenings also, at the hostels, people discussed Union business and one thing began to become very clear. Everyone had to stand together and speak with one voice if we were going to be strong inside Rely. After many meetings and much talking we decided there would never be safe conditions if everyone did not join the Union. Wages would never rise without the force of all the workers. But when the indunas saw unity among the workers they were afraid. We even told them that through this unity their postions would soon end. Our unity had already begun to change things in the foundry. The bosses and their children, the impimpis and indunas, were not so sure of their position and began to fear workers. This was happening all over the East Rand where the Metal and Allied Workers Union was building workers’ unity. (In May 1979, the workers went on strike.) We stopped work to ask Management why they fired Zondiwe. Our bosses did not know what to do when 55 workers stood in front of them to protect Zondiwe. They called the Employers’ Association. They called the Department of Labour. They called the police. We were a small group of people. They tried to crush us. But we fought them all in different ways. We were unemployed. And when you are out of a job, you realise that the boss and the government have the power to condemn you to death. If they send you back home, and back home now there’s a drought, and you can’t get any new job, it’s a death sentence. The countryside is pushing you into the cities to stay alive; the cities are pushing you into the countryside to die. You get scared. It’s a fear that you come to know after a week without any food. After six weeks we all went to court. The court found us all guilty of striking illegally. We were all fined. But the Union paid the fines from the subscriptions. We had been fired from our jobs. We had been beaten by the SAP and now we were guilty of striking. We were very sad but we were not defeated. We continued our struggle. Our struggle at Rely was important. We are not afraid to say it. We showed how even a small group for workers can stand up against the bosses. And it was important in another way as well. Our strike was the first in our big strike wave which hit the East Rand. From 1980 and 1981 many, many thousands of us metal workers went on strike. We were not alone in our struggle. It was not just 55 of us at Rely. Our struggle was in May 1980. By the end of that year there were 12 000 in our Union, the Metal and Allied Workers Union. The next year was the year of strikes. From July until the end of 1981 many of our fellow metal workers went on strike. There were 50 strikes. There were 25 000 of us on strike. Next time we will be united. At Rely our struggle started when we united. But in the factory it ended when we were not united to our brothers in other factories. But we have learned. And you too. You must not make the same mistake. The big factories must help the small one. If you are organised in a trade union when you go on strike, unite with those who are not organised. Together call the communities to our side. Then we will be united. And we know that when we make our unity, the sun shall rise for the workers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 19--?
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Labour unions -- South Africa -- History , Labour movement -- South Africa -- History
- Language: English
- Type: text , pamphlet
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/112014 , vital:33538
- Description: The sun is beginning to rise on the workers. Fears of intimidation and victimisation are being dried up by this rising sun of workers strength. I tell this story to remind you of your life. I tell you this story so you will remember your struggle and the story of the struggle we fight. AMANDLA! I came to the urban areas with someone from home. I found the city a strange and ugly place. Finding work was not an easy task. But I found work at the foundry called Rely Precision Castings and I worked there for over seven years until May 1980 when Management fired all of us because of a strike. The work in the foundry was hard and dangerous and the hours were long. But I stuck out the tough and unsafe working conditions because there was no other place to go. We were the only people who could do this kind of work, and this was well known to our employers. Many of them knew migrant workers were the best workers. We were also prepared to do the heaviest of work. But they still treated us badly and still didn’t treat us like human beings but like animals. They knew that as soon as they expelled us we would lose a place of residence, because we would not be able to pay the hostel fees without the money we earned. Then the pass office would be indifferent and instruct us to go back where we came from. That is very painful. But what is more painful is this. It is clear that profits mean more to the bosses than our lives. Our children could die in the countryside but they would still fire us. Our work was tough, especially after the new machine was bought by the bosses in the foundry. But we were not afraid of hard work. We did not complain about the work. The grievances were about those things that prevented us from doing our work. The bad and unsafe working conditions were dangerous to our health and lives. These things are important. But most of our grievances at Rely were about the bad treatment we received from the indunas and foremen. The indunas did not support us when the struggle for better wages and working conditions began. They were only concerned with organising things in the foundry which made their own lives easier. The indunas at Rely were supposed to be the workers’ voice but we have seen that this was not true. So we had no voice. We could not make our complaints heard. That makes a person very angry. And so my fellow workers and I decided to do something about this. We began to stand together and build workers’ strength and unity in the foundry. Our combined strength would be a very loud and confident voice. One day one of us suddenly said: "There is a place that can help us." This worker had been to the Union with his brother-in-law who works at another factory. We wanted to know what that could be. We said we knew a union called ‘Let-us-bury-each-other’. This is a union that cheats people. They say when you have given a lot of money to them then they will build you a big house or buy you a car. The guy said, ‘No. that’s not what I mean.’ ‘It’s a place to go as we are not being treated well in the firm. When we all join they will represent us. They will speak to the employers.’ At first many of the workers at Rely were scared about joining the Union. Others were cautious. We first started joining in twos and threes until we were thirty. The meetings we had with the Union organiser were important. We talked and discussed problems for a long time on Saturday afternoons. Inside the foundry there was even more talk and discussion. During lunchtimes meetings were held over the road from the foundry under the shade of a tree. At these meetings everybody had a chance to speak. Some people wanted to move quickly, while others were more cautious. Some people were afraid for their families and others did not want to lose their jobs in the foundry. Many workers had worked at Rely for a long time and had good service records and so we were hesitant. The discussion was often long and serious. Slowly the fear began to get less as people learned more about the Union from friends and relatives in other factories. Some of these factories were already organised. But it was the meetings among ourselves which helped the most. In the evenings also, at the hostels, people discussed Union business and one thing began to become very clear. Everyone had to stand together and speak with one voice if we were going to be strong inside Rely. After many meetings and much talking we decided there would never be safe conditions if everyone did not join the Union. Wages would never rise without the force of all the workers. But when the indunas saw unity among the workers they were afraid. We even told them that through this unity their postions would soon end. Our unity had already begun to change things in the foundry. The bosses and their children, the impimpis and indunas, were not so sure of their position and began to fear workers. This was happening all over the East Rand where the Metal and Allied Workers Union was building workers’ unity. (In May 1979, the workers went on strike.) We stopped work to ask Management why they fired Zondiwe. Our bosses did not know what to do when 55 workers stood in front of them to protect Zondiwe. They called the Employers’ Association. They called the Department of Labour. They called the police. We were a small group of people. They tried to crush us. But we fought them all in different ways. We were unemployed. And when you are out of a job, you realise that the boss and the government have the power to condemn you to death. If they send you back home, and back home now there’s a drought, and you can’t get any new job, it’s a death sentence. The countryside is pushing you into the cities to stay alive; the cities are pushing you into the countryside to die. You get scared. It’s a fear that you come to know after a week without any food. After six weeks we all went to court. The court found us all guilty of striking illegally. We were all fined. But the Union paid the fines from the subscriptions. We had been fired from our jobs. We had been beaten by the SAP and now we were guilty of striking. We were very sad but we were not defeated. We continued our struggle. Our struggle at Rely was important. We are not afraid to say it. We showed how even a small group for workers can stand up against the bosses. And it was important in another way as well. Our strike was the first in our big strike wave which hit the East Rand. From 1980 and 1981 many, many thousands of us metal workers went on strike. We were not alone in our struggle. It was not just 55 of us at Rely. Our struggle was in May 1980. By the end of that year there were 12 000 in our Union, the Metal and Allied Workers Union. The next year was the year of strikes. From July until the end of 1981 many of our fellow metal workers went on strike. There were 50 strikes. There were 25 000 of us on strike. Next time we will be united. At Rely our struggle started when we united. But in the factory it ended when we were not united to our brothers in other factories. But we have learned. And you too. You must not make the same mistake. The big factories must help the small one. If you are organised in a trade union when you go on strike, unite with those who are not organised. Together call the communities to our side. Then we will be united. And we know that when we make our unity, the sun shall rise for the workers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 19--?
The role of the educator
- National Union of MetalWorkers of South Africa
- Authors: National Union of MetalWorkers of South Africa
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Capitalism and education , Black people -- Education -- South Africa , Teachers, Black -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: text , pamphlet
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/110914 , vital:33350
- Description: In South Africa, like all other capitalist societies, workers are forced to work for wages to buy the things they need to survive. The land, factories, mines, etc are privately owned by the capitalists. Because the capitalists own the land, factories and mines they control the wealth that is produced. With this wealth, as well as with the ownership of several newspapers and investment in radio and television stations, the capitalists can try and influence how people think. The capitalists also use the political rights and the wealth they have to influence how the government behaves. In South Africa, black workers have no political rights, because of apartheid. So they cannot influence the government in the same way as the capitalists. Workers standing on their own are also weak against their employers because the employers do not need any one particular worker. But the employers cannot do without all their workers. Machines without workers are useless. So if all workers can organise themselves to act together, to act collectively as it is called, then the balance of power changes. Capitalism needs the labour of workers to survive. So organised workers can be the most powerful weapon against capitalism. But the capitalists in South Africa are very powerful. They have a good friend in the apartheid state. Workers need to be well organised to challenge the power of the capitalists. But to build this strength, we need unity. We also need discipline and clear direction. The first step in making a union strong is for the union to have a very large membership. But the members cannot be sleeping members. They must understand the broader aims and objectives of the union and how the union fits into the wider struggle in South Africa. They must also have the skills and knowledge to be able to participate actively in all the activities of the union. Democratic practices increase the strength of workers' organisations and make them more effective. Democratic organisations are also necessary for building democratic societies because they make it possible for the masses of the people to participate in decisions about their lives.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 19--?
- Authors: National Union of MetalWorkers of South Africa
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Capitalism and education , Black people -- Education -- South Africa , Teachers, Black -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: text , pamphlet
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/110914 , vital:33350
- Description: In South Africa, like all other capitalist societies, workers are forced to work for wages to buy the things they need to survive. The land, factories, mines, etc are privately owned by the capitalists. Because the capitalists own the land, factories and mines they control the wealth that is produced. With this wealth, as well as with the ownership of several newspapers and investment in radio and television stations, the capitalists can try and influence how people think. The capitalists also use the political rights and the wealth they have to influence how the government behaves. In South Africa, black workers have no political rights, because of apartheid. So they cannot influence the government in the same way as the capitalists. Workers standing on their own are also weak against their employers because the employers do not need any one particular worker. But the employers cannot do without all their workers. Machines without workers are useless. So if all workers can organise themselves to act together, to act collectively as it is called, then the balance of power changes. Capitalism needs the labour of workers to survive. So organised workers can be the most powerful weapon against capitalism. But the capitalists in South Africa are very powerful. They have a good friend in the apartheid state. Workers need to be well organised to challenge the power of the capitalists. But to build this strength, we need unity. We also need discipline and clear direction. The first step in making a union strong is for the union to have a very large membership. But the members cannot be sleeping members. They must understand the broader aims and objectives of the union and how the union fits into the wider struggle in South Africa. They must also have the skills and knowledge to be able to participate actively in all the activities of the union. Democratic practices increase the strength of workers' organisations and make them more effective. Democratic organisations are also necessary for building democratic societies because they make it possible for the masses of the people to participate in decisions about their lives.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 19--?
Three important principles for trade unionism: unity, independence and democratic methods
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Labour unions -- South Africa , Quality of work life
- Language: English
- Type: text , pamphlet
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/111235 , vital:33418
- Description: The first principle of trade unionism is unity: the unity of workers, or put another way, solidarity, “one for all, all for one. With solid unity, many things can be achieved by the workers. Without unity, nothing of significance can be achieved by an individual worker. What this means in practice is: the organizational objective of a union is 100 percent membership.The strength and influence of a trade union in its relationship to employers depend on the extent the employees of the company concerned are unionized. The higher the proportion of unionized workers to non-unionized workers, the greater the strength. Apart from numbers, strength also come from organizing the key, skilled workers in the enterprise. Depending on what the basis of organization of the union is—whether it be craft occupation, a specific industry, an undertaking, a common employer or general labor —all workers should be united into one union, irrespective of race, religion, creed, sex, skill, etc. All are equal in the eyes of the organization. Trade unions should also operate nationally because local or regional unions cannot develop sufficient bargaining power or competence over a whole range of issues to adequately safeguard the interest of workers. Trade unions should not be considered as closed societies. They should not be an instrument of privileged or elite workers, jealously guarding member’s privileges against nonmember workers who receive lower wages and are unorganized. They should be open to all workers, otherwise, these same underprivileged workers could be used as scabs against organized workers in the event of a serious conflict. If an organization is to serve the needs of its members, it must be controlled by the members themselves, for who but they themselves can best define and guard their own interests? If a union intends to truly achieve the principles and objectives upon which it was founded, it should not allow itself to be dominated or controlled by external interests, be it government, employers, political parties, religious, communal or fraternal organizations, or individual persons. A government may or may not be well disposed to trade unions, but in general, it is very responsive to the interests of the powerful groups in society, usually the employers. Moreover, if a government can control the operation and policies of a trade union, it becomes an instrument of the government rather than of the workers for whom it was originally set up. There are cases where a so-called “union” is organized by the employer for the employees. This kind of union is a “yellow union” (company dominated union). It is dominated by the management or its stooges. It is usually a local union (or a one-shop union), which means that only employees of that undertaking are allowed to join it. Needless to say, this kind of union is totally useless because its basic purpose is not to promote the workers’ interest but to prevent them from setting up a genuine one. When management starts to pressure employees to join a local union, the signals are clear: it is a yellow union. Equally, the union should resist any attempt by any political party to control and dominate it. The interests of the political party are not necessarily the same as those of the union. Even if there are some areas of shared interests, the ultimate aim of a trade union is to serve its members. This aim may be distorted under the domination of a political party whose basic aim is to obtain support from all sectors to secure power.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 19--?
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Labour unions -- South Africa , Quality of work life
- Language: English
- Type: text , pamphlet
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/111235 , vital:33418
- Description: The first principle of trade unionism is unity: the unity of workers, or put another way, solidarity, “one for all, all for one. With solid unity, many things can be achieved by the workers. Without unity, nothing of significance can be achieved by an individual worker. What this means in practice is: the organizational objective of a union is 100 percent membership.The strength and influence of a trade union in its relationship to employers depend on the extent the employees of the company concerned are unionized. The higher the proportion of unionized workers to non-unionized workers, the greater the strength. Apart from numbers, strength also come from organizing the key, skilled workers in the enterprise. Depending on what the basis of organization of the union is—whether it be craft occupation, a specific industry, an undertaking, a common employer or general labor —all workers should be united into one union, irrespective of race, religion, creed, sex, skill, etc. All are equal in the eyes of the organization. Trade unions should also operate nationally because local or regional unions cannot develop sufficient bargaining power or competence over a whole range of issues to adequately safeguard the interest of workers. Trade unions should not be considered as closed societies. They should not be an instrument of privileged or elite workers, jealously guarding member’s privileges against nonmember workers who receive lower wages and are unorganized. They should be open to all workers, otherwise, these same underprivileged workers could be used as scabs against organized workers in the event of a serious conflict. If an organization is to serve the needs of its members, it must be controlled by the members themselves, for who but they themselves can best define and guard their own interests? If a union intends to truly achieve the principles and objectives upon which it was founded, it should not allow itself to be dominated or controlled by external interests, be it government, employers, political parties, religious, communal or fraternal organizations, or individual persons. A government may or may not be well disposed to trade unions, but in general, it is very responsive to the interests of the powerful groups in society, usually the employers. Moreover, if a government can control the operation and policies of a trade union, it becomes an instrument of the government rather than of the workers for whom it was originally set up. There are cases where a so-called “union” is organized by the employer for the employees. This kind of union is a “yellow union” (company dominated union). It is dominated by the management or its stooges. It is usually a local union (or a one-shop union), which means that only employees of that undertaking are allowed to join it. Needless to say, this kind of union is totally useless because its basic purpose is not to promote the workers’ interest but to prevent them from setting up a genuine one. When management starts to pressure employees to join a local union, the signals are clear: it is a yellow union. Equally, the union should resist any attempt by any political party to control and dominate it. The interests of the political party are not necessarily the same as those of the union. Even if there are some areas of shared interests, the ultimate aim of a trade union is to serve its members. This aim may be distorted under the domination of a political party whose basic aim is to obtain support from all sectors to secure power.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 19--?
Wage negotiations workbook
- Authors: Workers' Education Project
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Labour unions -- South Africa , Wages , Employee fringe benefits -- South Africa , Collective bargaining -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , pamphlet
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/111129 , vital:33388
- Description: A house that is built on a weak foundation cannot stand. The same is true of a union that is entering the negotiations. A union's foundations for effective and successful bargaining must be built a long time before the negotiations with the employer begins. Many unions fight hard to gain recognition with employers; and then fail miserably in negotiations because they did not make even the simplest basic preparations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 19--?
- Authors: Workers' Education Project
- Date: 19--?
- Subjects: Labour unions -- South Africa , Wages , Employee fringe benefits -- South Africa , Collective bargaining -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , pamphlet
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/111129 , vital:33388
- Description: A house that is built on a weak foundation cannot stand. The same is true of a union that is entering the negotiations. A union's foundations for effective and successful bargaining must be built a long time before the negotiations with the employer begins. Many unions fight hard to gain recognition with employers; and then fail miserably in negotiations because they did not make even the simplest basic preparations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 19--?
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