Staffrider Vol.6 No.2 1985 - DISA

meeting we — the LiteMaster workers — approachedmanagement to ask for an agreement, to see if they wouldwork with MAWU. The management was still working withthe liaison committee. We asked the question: 'Who electsthe shop stewards and the liaison committee?' We also havethe right to remove them. We asked the liaison committee:'What good have you done for workers?'They answered: 'We have persuaded management to buildgood toilets. We have asked them to build a canteen wherewe can have meals with the white workers. We have askedthem to make good gardens around the factory.' I answered:'We have toilets in the location or you can answer the call inthe veld. We are here to work, not to eat — we eat in thelocation. We are not here to relax in green gardens and lookat beautiful flowers. What have you done for workers?'A union member makes a point at a meeting.the Stores. We worked hard in that department — with barehands and wearing only dustcoats.There was a misunderstanding over bonuses. I refused R7because I was working hard. This was increased to R21. Itwas coming only to me — not to the others. They tried tokeep me quiet. At this time they were moving me arounddepartments to work on sorting. This was 1977. I wasconnected with some black consciousness guys and theyshowed me how to secure the position for blacks.JOINING OUR UNIONI had read about the Natal Metal union joining our union inthe newspaper Ilanga. There was a guy from Salcast inBenoni and he took me to the Bree Street offices of theFOSATU Project. (The FOSATU Project was set up torecruit members before extending industrial affiliates in theEast Rand). There I met an organiser, Aaron Mati, whoexplained how the employers rob the workers and abouttrade unions. Andreas and I joined. When we got back to thefactory we recruited five guys and took them to the officesin Johannesburg. They also joined. After that we spread it toall the workers. I was called in to see the foreman, MrLampke. He told me that if I was not satisfied with the jobI must go and find another. I replied that if he was not happyhe should look for another job as well.This was 1979. With so many guys joining we withdrewfrom the FOSATU Project to join MAWU. It was difficultto speak to workers about the union. But at this timemanagement tried to bring in its own union and this gave usa chance, a platform to explain what a union was.From 1979 secret meetings were held outside the factoryat lunchtime with Moses Mayekiso of MAWU. We wereformulating ways of organising the workers inside thefactory. On Saturdays we would visit the MAWU offices toask what is a union, what will it do for the workers. Asmembership grew we met on alternate Saturdays inJohannesburg and in the locations — at Kwesime Hostel andthen Intokoza Higher Primary School.By this time management knew what was going on andsome people were speaking evil to them about me.One day at Kwesime Hostel in Katlehong we wereconfronted by the police. They gave us fifteen minutes toget out. Our membership was very high there. At thefollowing meeting in Johannesburg we elected shop stewardsand met with shop stewards from Scaw Metals, NationalSprings and Henred Fruehauf. In 1980 the office wasopened at Morena near Katlehong and after that we startedto hold local shop steward council meetings.At this time Moses Mayekiso and I planned a meeting atthe Hall in the location and sent out pamphlets. The purposewas to organise all the workers of Germiston. After theTHEY TRIED TO CONFUSE THE WORKERSWhen management tried to get us to work with the liaisoncommittee we refused. There they tried to confuse workers.Gerald Mamabolo, the personnel officer, was sent to askworkers if they knew about MAWU and to tell them therewas already a union and it was the same thing. In the endthere was a vote of workers. Out of 300 workers only 19voted for the liaison committee. The rest voted for the shopstewards. From then on we met with management, This wasin 1981.At the first meeting with management we demanded aminimum of R2.00 per hour and an increase of twenty centsper hour across the board. The company told us they hadno money. We fought vigorously. We knew production wasgoing well. At the second meeting they said they would givefive cents — not more. We reported back to members to takethe mandate after each meeting. At the third meeting theyoffered eight cents and then it was deadlock. The next daythe Technical Manager, Paul Derer, asked to meet with onlytwo of the shop stewards — myself and Gibson Xala. It wasnot easy. We pressed hard. In the end we were offered tencents.When we reported back to the workers we were mandatedto tell management that we were not satisfied and to ask theTechnical Manager to come and address the workers. Whenhe came he was asked many questions, but he could notanswer and left us standing without solutions. The workerscalled him back to explain. He then ordered us back to work,but no one moved. The shop stewards tried to speak to himagain. Paul Derer said T can fire twenty workers now andhave twenty at the gate and pay them more than you get.' Healso said we were not using our brains in asking for aminimum of R2.00 per hour. Then he said we were alldismissed.When we reported back he followed us, We told him to goback to the office and arrange our payments immediately.Then the workers all agreed to go back to work. All thishappened before 3 o'clock tea time, so it did not take long.When Paul Derer returned he pretended to be surprised tosee us working, and said he had prepared our pay packets. Hetold us that there were some elements who should be fired.At 5.00 p.m. the paymaster and the managers were waitingat the gate with the pay trolley to pay everyone out. Theworkers refused to accept this and Samson Dlamini and Iopened the gates to let workers out. Next morning —Thursday — we started work as normal but there were noclock cards. Nothing happened that day, but the foremanrecorded that we were working.SILENCE BETWEEN MANAGERS AND WORKERSOn Friday the clock cards were returned. Now there was14 STAFFRIDER, VOL. 6 NO. 2, 1985