THE ROLE OF TRADE UNIONS IN THE STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION IN SOUTH AFRICA: THE CASE OF SOUTH AFRICAN CONGRESS ---

THE ROLE OF TRADE UNIONS IN THE STRUGGLE FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION IN SOUTH AFRICA: THE CASE OF SOUTH AFRICAN CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONS





BY



MA’AZU MOHAMMED YUSIF
Department of Political Science
Bayero University, Kano







Paper Presented at SACTU Day, 5th March, 1987 at NLC Secretariat, Kano State - Nigeria



Introduction
The history of the working class in South Africa includes the history of continual struggle to expand trade unions among African workers. Since 1919 when Industrial and Commercial Workers Union was established trade unionism flourished among African Workers. Since the beginning of the seventies there has been a rapid growth of Black Trade Union Movements in South Africa. The right to unionise, although still hedged in by a number of political constraints imposed by the state, (and the use of sophisticated methods of repression and attempts by the white supremacist regime to divide the workers along ethnic and racial lines), has been effectively utilised against the apartheid state. Black working-class now formed the largest number of unionised workers. The number of strikes is increasing. And there is increasing attempt to forge solidarity between and among established and emerging unions giving impetus to the class struggle and consolidating a most decisive force in the struggle for national and social emancipation. Yet this development posed many problems of a revolutionary strategy, especially in terms of the role of the trade unions and their relations with the ANC – led liberation alliance. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the experience of South African Congress of Trade Union, of a strategy of struggle against both apartheid and capitalism.
The Emergence of SACTU
On 5th March 1955, exactly 34 years ago, the first non-racial trade union coordinating body was formed – the SACTU. Originally, it is an amalgam of unregistered African Trade Unions affiliated to Congress of Non-European Trade Unions and 14 registered unions that refused to join the opportunistic Trade Union Congress of South Africa. SACTU emerged in the mid – 50’s, a formidable force in economic and political struggle against racial capitalism. In those early years SACTU bridged the gap between two generations of Progressive Trade Unionists: On the one hand, the many Trade Union leaders banned under the suppression of communism Act in the early 1950’s continued to assist the new organization with their combined expertise and commitment. On the other hand, a new generation of black, predominantly African Trade Union surfaced to give SACTU its roots in the oppressed masses. This latter group became the SACTU leaders, organizers and activists in the difficult years of open struggle between 1955 and 1964.

The historic task assumed by SACTU in 1955 was nothing less than the effective organization of Black workers into disciplined, democratic and militant trade unions unwilling to compromise with state and employers. With this most formidable task and most essential goal, SACTU initiated its policies of non-racial and political trade unionism. The policy of non-racial trade unionism threatens the entire basis of the system of labour exploitation in that it confronts the racial wage structure of monopoly capital and the racial divide-and-rule policy of the state. on the policy of political trade unionism SACTU stated that insofar as the over-whelming majority of the South African working-class are oppressed as a nation, and insofar as this same majority constitute the Black working-class, it follows that any Black trade unionism that eliminates the struggle for national liberation from its programme is, in the final analysis, incapable of representing the real interest of its members. SACTU’S off-quoted declaration on the subject of political struggle and trade unionism remains as valid today as when it was drafted in the 1950’s:
“SACTU is conscious of the fact that the organising of the mass of workers for higher wages… is inextricably bound up with a determined struggle for political rights and liberation from all oppressive laws and practices. It follows that a mere struggle for economic rights of all, the workers without participation in the general struggle for political emancipation would condemn the trade union movement to uselessness and to betrayal of the interests of the workers” SACTU, 1956)

Furthermore, this commitment to a simultaneous struggle both on the economic and political fronts reflected SACTU’s fundamental understanding of the relationship between racism and capitalism. From the statement of SACTU:

“Capitalism thrives on profits derived from the workers… it rejects everything that stands in the way of profits and uses its power mercilessly to crush its opposition…. It is the nature of capitalism to use many devices to camouflage its naked exploitation of the workers. In South Africa, the device used to create super profits is racial discrimination” (SACTU, 1956).

Armed with these principles, SACTU embarked in 1955 on a task that will be realised only with the total liberation of the people from the double chains of national oppression and class exploitation. It joined the congress alliance immediately after its formation and has since then in political struggle alongside other members of the ANC-led revolutionary alliance.

SACTU and the Problem of Working-Class Strategy
In revolutionary theory, trade unionism is important in creating conditions for revolutionary advance, but numerous Trade Unionists and revolutionary theorists think otherwise. In the recent history of South Africa, Joe Foster, the Secretary-General of Federation of South African Trade Union (FOSATU) raised some issues with a wider implications for working-class strategy in South African Revolution. It is a broader aspect of political action by Trade Unions which forms the main thrust of the issues Joe Foster raised while addressing the 1982 conference of the union. There are two main issues in Foster’s speech. (1) The ANC – The major force now challenging the South African state – arose as a populist movement against oppression when capital was still not fully developed and could thus hide itself behind the front of race oppression. Its popular appeal at home and its wider acceptance abroad limit its effectiveness; it has to advance its popularity by claiming credit for all forms of internal resistance with a tendency to… “Encourage undirected opportunist activity”. (2) “Most Unions and their leadership lack confidence” to act as a real workers leadership. They see their role as part of a wider struggle… Energy is spent establishing unity across a wide front. Such a position is clearly a great strategic error”. Popular mass movements aiming at the overthrow of the regime cannot deal with the particular problems of workers”. It is therefore essential that workers must strive to build their own powerful and effective organisation even whilst they are part of the wider political struggle… and ensure that the popular movement is not hijacked by elements that will in the end have no option but to turn against their worker supporters”.

At best Fosters’ approach is sectarian, economicstic and opportunistic. His programme is reduced to so-called “pure working-class politics – confrontation between workers and capital from which the remaining sectors of South Africa society are excluded. This is wrong; and being wrong it provides a wrong basis for the political programme of National and Social Revolution in South Africa.

Fosters’ and other sectarian tendencies are common among South African trade union movements and in all trade union movements world-over. SACTU wage ideological battles against these tendencies. In fact in 1979 a dispute broke out between a small faction in SACTU and the leadership which led to the suspension of the dissidents from the ranks of SACTU and ANC in London. The dispute started with a publication of a pamphlet “The Workers’ Movement and SACTU”. In it the dissidents analysed the role of trade union movement in the South African Revolutionary struggle. The analysis represents an attempt to apply economistic and “Workerist” approach to the South African Revolution. Implicity in, and underlying the entire pamphlet is the conception that the political struggle grows directly out of the immediate struggles at the point of production. This implies that the political struggle is separated from the economic demands and that SACTU because of its alliance with ANC cannot be conceived of as incorporating the whole of the workers’ struggle into itself. Secondly, the authors of the document underestimated the importance of class alliances in the struggle.

SACTU uphold the long established tradition of ANC-SACP-SACTU Alliance and the political line of the Alliance on the relationship between trade unionism and the liberation Movement. This line stressed the Leninist position that revolutionary waves of mass strike depends on the closest connection between political and economic demands as the most unorganised sections can be aroused only by the most extraordinary accentuation of the “Movement” and by economic demands. Secondly, political demands can only be sustained when backed by economic demands and that the movement as a whole can only be developed by drawing in the most unorganised workers through economic demands which can make possible development into revolutionary advance. Thirdly, Lenin stressed that a small compact, propaganda group could perform the functions of a trade union organisation. He said:
“A small, compact core of the most reliable, experienced and hardened workers, with responsible representatives in the principal districts and connected by all the rules of strict secrecy with the organisation of revolutionary, can with the widest support of the masses and without any formal organisation, perform all the functions of a trade union organization…” (Lenin, CW Vol.16)

The Consolidation of ANC-SACTU Alliance
The ANC, the leading Liberation Front advanced its relationship to working-class demands through the adoption of the Freedom Charter which calls for the nationalisation of monopoly capital, mines and banks. This relationship has been developed systematically through the adoption by SACTU of the Freedom Charter and through its participation in the Congress Alliance which organised resistance to apartheid during the phase of legal and parliamentary opposition in South Africa. Accordingly, the movement of national resistance came to relate to organised workers both programmatically and organisationally through the trade unions made up of SACTU. By the late 1950’s there was already a slogan that the ANC was the ‘spear’ of the African people while SACTU was the ‘shield’. Members of each organisation were encouraged to become members of trade unions and the political organisations which made up the Congress Alliance. When the organisations were prohibited in the early 1960’s the links between them became cemented underground. SACTU joined in the formulation and adoption of the ANC strategy and tactics which form the basis of the Liberation Movement. Now SACTU is an equal partner in the Liberation Alliance led by the ANC.

Conclusion
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has a responsibility of enriching its practice from the theoretical and practical experience of SACTU. The emerging tradition of NLC to ally with all progressive forces in the country should be maintained. Thus the 1986 Labour Amendment Act which disallowed the affliation of certain unions with NLC should be persistently resisted. Trade Union Movements should not see progressive intellectuals and groups as encroaching into their trade union empires. All reactionary and ‘Workerist’ tendencies should be combated with vigour. On their own, revolutionary intellectuals should not propagate theories that will create division between Trade Union Movements and all progressive groups and individuals.
LONG LIVE THE UNITY OF ALL DEMOCRATIC FORCES:

Bibliography
1. Joe Foster, “The Workers’ Struggle – where does FOSATU stand”? Review of African Political Economy, No.24, 1982
2. Lenin, Collected Works Vol.16, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1960.
3. Petersen, et al, Workers Movement and SACTU, London, 1979.
4. SACTU, Statement of Policy submitted to the First Annual Conference of SACTU, Cape Town. March 1956.