Industrial Relations in South Africa: Some Evidence for a Future Scenario¶
Lawrence Schlemmer; Penny Geerdts; Loretta van Schalkwyk (1983). Industrial Relations in South Africa: Some Evidence for a Future Scenario. Indicator Project South Africa, Issue Focus. Centre for Applied Social Sciences, University of Natal, Durban.
| Type | report |
| Scope | Economics and economic history of apartheid |
| Method | survey fieldwork |
| Period studied | 1972–1983 |
| Regions | Durban, Natal, South Africa |
| Themes | unions strikes, labour markets wages, politics ideology elections, resistance social movements, education human capital, manufacturing industrial policy |
| Citation key | schlemmer1983 |
Argument¶
Drawing on a 1983 survey of about 500 black industrial workers in Durban, the paper argues that black worker consciousness is pragmatic, economic and instrumental rather than politicised or ideological. Unionised workers are slightly more favourable to management than non-unionised migrants. Strikes reflect material needs and group solidarity, not political aims, and a labour-surplus economy inhibits radicalisation. The authors expect a toughening industrial climate, driven by poor race relations, institutional distrust and a rising educational level among workers, and they warn that without credible political outlets this could spill into the workplace.
Evidence and method¶
Interviews with 532 black workers in Durban manufacturing firms (five major companies plus a control sample of 80 from about 50 firms), conducted by trained black university personnel. About 65% were union members or exposed to union activity, and most had taken part in the 1981-82 'pensions' disturbances. Comparisons are made with a 1982 national sample of over 600 migrant workers, a rural Natal worker sample and a service-industry sample.
Place in the debates¶
- Political vs economic character of black worker consciousness and strikes (the political unionism question) (see Worker consciousness, strikes and conflict on the mines and shop floor). Argues strikes are instrumental and economic, not political or ideological, and that political consciousness has not invaded the workplace. Allows that political factors can indirectly raise the intensity of action.
- Does unionisation radicalise workers? (see Worker consciousness, strikes and conflict on the mines and shop floor). Finds union members only marginally different from others, and slightly more favourable to management than non-unionised migrants. Future radicalisation is more likely to come from rising education than from unions.
Findings¶
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Roughly one-third of workers would support a political leader's strike call, and union members barely differ from non-members. (p. 6)
These results show that a minority, albeit a large one, of some one-third give a response sympathetic to political activism in the black workforce.
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Workers join unions for practical reasons, chiefly grievance negotiation and protection in discipline, and 'workers' rights' ranks far below these. (p. 6)
These results show that the motivation for trade union association is dominantly practical and strategic.
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Workers rank freedom to seek work, education and training above political resources and strong unions, showing a job-advancement orientation. (p. 7)
Here even more clearly the essentially pragmatic, job-advancement oriented consciousness shows itself.
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Political or community issues are almost absent as reasons for a possible future strike. (p. 8)
There can be little doubt from these results that political or ideological motivations are largely absent in this group.
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Wage dissatisfaction is the dominant grievance, and unionised Durban workers' wage aspirations are closer to their actual wages than those of non-unionised migrants. (p. 8)
It is very surprising that in a group of highly unionised workers like those in the Durban study, who have experience of labour action, the psychological wage standards are closer to their actual wages
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Money circumstances cause more frustration than the political situation. (p. 9)
These results show that the financial circumstances of workers generate more intense frustration than even the political situation.
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The Durban unionised sample does not show a higher profile of job discontent than non-unionised comparison groups. (p. 11)
The results, however, show that the Durban sample does not have a generally higher profile of discontent.
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Management in general is seen as part of a hostile establishment, though less so by the Durban and union samples than by migrants. (p. 13)
Clearly from these results the image of management in general is that it is part of a hostile establishment.
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About 60% of Durban respondents felt discriminated against at work, excluding those who attributed it to lack of education or training. (p. 14)
some 60 percent of those interviewed in the Durban sample felt that they were discriminated against in the workplace.
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Strikes are instrumental rather than 'control strikes', and solidarity should not be mistaken for radical consciousness. (p. 15)
Put very bluntly, the strikes that take place among bllack workers are generally what are termed instrumental or economic.
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Rising school-leaver education is expected to change worker consciousness and could link workers with student activists. (p. 17)
Their political consciousness will be very different from that which has been typical of production workers up to now.
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The authors forecast tougher industrial action, especially when the labour surplus shrinks in prosperous periods. (p. 18)
a toughening climate of industrial action does seem probable, particularly in periods of economic prosperity when the labour surplus is reduced.
Evidence ledger¶
Sources used¶
| Source | Kind | Period | How used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durban study of black industrial workers, 1983 (guided interview schedule survey, 532 respondents, Natal firms incl. control sample of 80 from 50 companies) | author survey or fieldwork | 1983 (study of the 1981-82 'Pensions' disturbances) | Main evidence for attitudes, union motivations, grievances, image of management, trust in institutions and willingness to strike among black industrial workers. |
| Nationwide survey of over 600 migrant workers, 1982 | author survey or fieldwork | 1982 | Comparison sample of largely non-unionised migrants for strike-call predictions, wage standards and image of management. |
| Rural worker sample in Natal (non-unionised, 856 respondents) | author survey or fieldwork | Not stated | Comparison group of non-unionised, paternalistically managed workers for job dissatisfaction in Table VII. |
| Nationwide sample of workers in a service industry (n=600) | author survey or fieldwork | Not stated | Second comparison labour force for job dissatisfaction in Table VII. |
| Other surveys of urban middle/lower-middle class blacks | author survey or fieldwork | Not stated | Invoked as a benchmark showing the Durban workers have lower political consciousness. |
| Schlemmer, The Socio-political Function of Trade Unions (1982) — earlier papers | secondary literature compilation | 1982 | Earlier argument and findings that black labour consciousness is not markedly adversarial or ideological. |
| Official reports on Eastern Cape strikes | commission or official report | Not stated (1970s-early 1980s) | Cited to show that official reports list economic or work-related causes for strikes, supporting the instrumental-strike claim. |
New data¶
Interview survey of 532 black industrial workers in five major Natal firms plus an 80-person control sample from 50 firms, with a guided interview schedule on the 1981-82 'Pensions' disturbances; compared with earlier migrant (600+), rural Natal (856) and service-industry (600) samples.
Inference¶
Quantification: Descriptive tables.
Descriptive cross-tabulations of survey responses (all respondents, union members, dispute-experienced) compared with non-unionised migrant, rural and service-industry samples, interpreted to infer worker consciousness. Forecasting is explicitly tentative and combines survey evidence with informed intuition, reasoning about the labour surplus and rising education, and historical analogy (1976, Zimbabwe).
Key claims¶
| Claim | Basis | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Unionised Durban workers show no politicised or ideological consciousness; motivation for union membership is practical and strategic. (p. 6) | Durban survey, Tables II and III rank-ordered reasons for union membership and valued resources. | Partial data |
| Only about one-third of workers would support a political leader's call for a stay-away, little different between unionised urban workers and non-unionised migrants. (p. 6) | Table I comparing the Durban 1983 sample with the 1982 national migrant sample. | Partial data |
| Anticipated future strikes are driven mainly by wages and workplace issues, with political or community issues almost absent. (p. 8) | Table IV, reasons for possible future strike in the Durban survey. | Partial data |
| Unionised Durban workers are no more discontented, and slightly more favourable to management, than non-unionised rural or migrant workers. (p. 11) | Tables VII and IX comparing the Durban sample with rural, service and migrant samples. | Partial data |
| Black workers hold a hostile image of management in general and have low trust in white institutions, and about 60 percent felt discriminated against; this is a danger sign for industrial relations. (p. 13) | Tables IX and X and a reported discrimination item in the Durban survey. | Partial data |
| Strikes are instrumental or economic rather than political, and strike activity follows the economic cycle. (p. 15) | Survey results plus general observation of 1976 and Zimbabwe, official strike reports and cycle patterns, without data presented. | Illustrative or anecdotal |
| Rising education among black school-leavers entering production work will introduce a new, more political consciousness in the workplace, and a toughening industrial climate is probable in prosperity. (p. 17) | Reasoning from the average Std. 4 education in the sample and the observed increase in school-leavers; no systematic education or labour-market data presented. | Asserted |
The author's caveats¶
The author notes that scenario-building is of limited predictive value, that labour activity is highly cyclical and the recession suppresses conflict, and that the forecasting offered is very tentative. Findings on company commitment may reflect the recession and shortage of jobs. The study is still being written up. Projective questioning is described as tested to elicit frank answers.
Gaps in the evidence¶
The argument rests on a single-city, manufacturing, mostly large-firm survey with no sampling frame described, so generalisation nationally and to Eastern Cape or other political hotspots is untested. Strike-count and dispute data (e.g. official strike statistics), management and union records, and longitudinal or repeat surveys would test claims about instrumental strikes and trends in consciousness. The education-driven forecast needs school-leaver and employment data and later panel evidence, which existed then in official education statistics and exist now as retrospective studies. Comparison samples are poorly described, with differing dates, questions and populations.
Replicability: Data poorly documented.