NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #19/NN_1992_19.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/6139

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From: [e-mail] (Rich Winkel)
Subject: SOUTH AFRICA POLITICAL UPDATE  August 28, 1992
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/** reg.safrica: 201.0 **/
** Topic: SA Political Update August 28 **
** Written 12:12 pm  Aug 28, 1992 by sapp in cdp:reg.safrica **
From: Southern Africa Partnership Project <sapp>
Subject: SA Political Update August 28

SOUTH AFRICA POLITICAL UPDATE  August 28, 1992

by Chris Benner
Global Exchange/US SA Sister Community Project
PO Box 5328
Johannesburg 2000
[phone]  fax: [phone]  Email:sapp@igc


1.  METALWORKERS STRIKE CALLED OFF

     The largest strike in the engineering industry in South
Africa's history was called off this week after 24 days of worker
stay-aways.  The recommendation to return to work, make by the
strike committee of NUMSA, the National Union of Metalworkers of
South Africa, came after a court decision this week which de-
clared the strike illegal on narrow technical grounds.  NUMSA has
condemned the decision, but was forced to recommended that its
members return to work to avoid massive dismissals by employers.

          Strike Over Wages and Workers' Rights

     NUMSA went on strike on August 3, after five months of
unproductive negotiations with the employers organization SEIFSA
(Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa).
NUMSA originally demanded a living wage increase of R2 per hour,
protection against retrenchments (lay-offs), and protection of
worker's rights, especially the right to strike without fearing
dismissal.  NUMSA reduced it's original demands, first down to R1
per hour, then to a 16 percent increase (76 cents for the lowest
paid).  (The cost of living increase is the past year was about
16 percent, while food prices went up 29 percent.)  SEIFSA
refused to budge from their original offer of an 8.6 percent wage
increase.  The NUMSA strike included more than 100,000 workers in
the industry, making it the largest strike in South Africa since
the massive mineworkers strike in 1986.

          SEIFSA Pursued Legal Action to Break Strike

     SEIFSA tried to have the strike declared illegal from the
very beginning.  An early court decision ruled in favor of NUMSA,
but SEIFSA appealed the ruling.  This week a judge ruled that
NUMSA had not followed certain requirements under the labour
relations act, and therefore declared the strike illegal.  This
gave employers the power of mass dismissal with little recourse
on the workers part.  The ruling supported SEIFSA's contention
that NUMSA did not comply with requirements for a free and fair
ballot of it's membership.

     The ruling is a major defeat for NUMSA, and has infuriated
unionists, who say that it threatens the entire collective
bargaining process.  "We spend five months bargaining with SEIFSA
and in the end they set out to crush us with technicalities.
What then is the point of collective bargaining?" said NUMSA
spokesperson Bernie Fanaroff.  The strike is estimated to have
cost employers close to R800 million ($300 million) in produc-
tion, while workers have sacrificed an average of R1,000 each
($350).   Already at least 1,600 workers have been dismissed by
employers, most of them affiliates of the giant Anglo-American
Corporation.


2.  DE KLERK ANNOUNCES FEDERALISM CONFERENCE

     President FW De Klerk last week called for a multi-party
conference to discuss models of Federalism in a future South
Africa.  The Nationalist Party (NP) has been a strong proponent
of Federalism, which it sees as the only way of safeguarding
'minority' rights from future 'tyrannical' rule by an ANC-domi-
nated central government.  The ANC and other organizations have
criticized a Federal system, fearing that it will block central
government efforts at restructuring the country and redistribut-
ing wealth, thereby preserving wealth in the hand of the privi-
leged white population.

     The ANC has said that it is not opposed to the conference
going ahead, which will be held in early September and include
the NP and it's major allies.  The ANC has, however expressed
fear that the government intends to turn recommendations that
come out of the conference into legislation to be passed during
the scheduled October special session of Parliament.

     The conference itself is seen as an attempt by De Klerk to
consolidate his support before returning to negotiations with the
ANC.  It has also been criticized as an effort to entrench white
minority rights as much as possible before an interim government
is put into place.

          Rumors of Restart of Negotiations Abound

     Meanwhile, there continues to be on-going speculation about
when negotiations might get back on track.  A series of meetings
have been held between ANC Secretary-General Cyril Ramaphosa and
the Government's Constitutional Development Minster Roelf Meyer,
aimed at breaking the deadlock.  According to an ANC statement,
the two met "for discussions with the view to the removal of
obstacles towards the resumption of negotiation", recalling
language that was used before CODESA even began.  No concrete
progress has been reported so far.

     It was also revealed that controversial Military Intelli-
gence chief General Van der Westhuizen held secret meetings with
ANC intelligence chiefs two weeks ago.  Van der Westhuizen has
been linked with the murder of UDF activist Matthew Goniwe, and
his comrades in 1987.  Van Der Westhuizen reportedly told ANC
officials that the "intelligence community" had to facilitate the
negotiations process, and that he was aware of who the "third
force" is and that MI and the ANC should together hunt this
force.  The ANC has made no comment about the meeting, other than
to confirm that it did take place.


3.  INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE ON THE INCREASE AGAIN

     Violence has been on the increase again in recent weeks,
since the departure of UN monitors.  In the past two weeks 126
people have died and at least 140 were injured in political
violence.

     Since August 1, more than 25 people have been killed in the
township of Esikhaweni outside of Empangeni in Northern Natal
alone.  The attacks have been systematic, carried out at night by
a small group of heavily armed men wearing balaclavas, which
points to the existence of a hit squad operating in the area.  In
many cases, witnesses have reported seeing vehicles of the
KwaZulu Police in the area before and after attacks.  All of the
victims have been ANC members or supporters.  In the most recent
incident 8 people were killed on Wednesday night, including the
chairperson of the ANC Empangeni Branch Sam Nyawo.

          Train Attacks Increasing

     There have also been an increasing number of attacks on
trains in the Johannesburg area in the past two weeks, claiming
at least 20 lives.  Over the same period, more than 100 people
have sustained serious injuries either by being shot, hacked,
stabbed, thrown out of moving trains or as a result of jumping
out of trains in panic.  An ANC spokesperson blamed the increase
in killings on the fact that agreements for security arrangements
on trains that had been agreed to in May have not yet been imple-
mented.

          Inkatha Leader Slain

     Another particularly brutal killing that happened this week
involved the slaying of Inkatha leader Fana Nzimande and his
family in Mkhobeni, just outside of Richmond in Natal.  Five men
in South African Defense Force (SADF) uniforms went to his house,
ordered him and his family to line up against an inside wall, and
then raked the victims with heavy fire from their AK47s and R4
rifles.  Inkatha spokespeople have accused ANC members of dress-
ing up in SADF apparel and killing Inkatha members.  The ANC has
strongly denied these allegations, and has supported calls for
the Goldstone Commission to investigate the matter.

     According to the Joint Working Committee on Violence, there
have been a number of incidents in recent weeks in which eyewit-
nesses accuse police in Natal of planting police uniforms in the
homes of people who were killed.  The police then later release
statements accusing the dead person of having killed other people
in the area while dressed in the police uniform.

SHORTS

1.  EX-SADF COLONEL DIVULGES 'THIRD FORCE' ACTIVITY

     Former Military Intelligence (MI) officer Colonel Gert Hugo
spoke out this week to support allegations that 'third force'
elements within the security forces are stoking the violence.
According to Hugo's allegations:  the SADF has a contingency plan
for a military takeover if the current government should lose
control of the country; 'Third Force' practitioners are promoting
violence because they see it as a way of weakening the ANC's
bargaining position in negotiations; during the 'total onslaught'
era of the 1980s, Military Intelligence officers exaggerated the
security threat posed by the ANC in order to give MI a free hand,
which has allowed for the current situation whereby groups are
"out of control"; and senior officers have become politically
'untouchable' because they know about 'dirty tricks' authorized
by major political figures.  The allegations have all been denied
by General AJ Liebenberg, Chief of the South African Defense
Forces, who claims that the allegations are merely aimed at
discrediting the defence force.


2.  SHAKE-UP IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE

     The government has announced a major restructuring of the
South African police force.  The plan would "regionalize" the
entire police force, with an aim to keep and recruit policemen in
areas in which they live, in an effort to make police more
community based.  As part of the changes at least 13 generals in
the police force will be 'retired' and accelerated promotion of
black officers to higher ranks will be implemented.  The ANC has
dismissed the restructuring as merely a 'facelift' which will not
fundamentally change the nature of the current force.


3.  ECONOMIC NEGOTIATING FORUM FORMALLY LAUNCHED

     The National Economic Forum was launched last week, bringing
together labor, business and government representatives to
discuss economic issues facing the country.  The Congress of
South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has made the creation of such
a forum one of their central demands.  However, COSATU Assistant
General Secretary Sam Shilowa stresses that until there is a
democratically elected government, there can be no agreement on
fundamental restructuring of the economy. It is hoped, however,
that the forum will diffuse confrontation on immediate issues,
while laying the groundwork for more fundamental discussions once
an interim government is in place.


4.  TEACHER'S STRIKE AVERTED

     A major strike by teachers throughout the country was
averted this week when the Department of Education and Training
(DET) finally bowed to pressure and agreed to formally recognize
the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU).  SADTU had
threatened a nation-wide strike if their recognition was refused.
The DET has also undertaken to discuss with the union the posi-
tions of teachers who have been suspended or expelled in various
part of the country for alleged misconduct related to their
taking part in the union's activities.


5.  NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE ON HEALTH WORKERS STRIKE

     In recent weeks COSATU (the Congress of South African Trade
Unions) has taken up the issue of striking health care workers,
saying that they will treat it with top priority.  This has led
to negotiations with NEHAWU, COSATU and the Transvaal Provincial
Administration (TPA) about the reinstatement of over 7,000
striking workers who were dismissed.  While no agreement has been
reached yet, the TPA has agreed to put a freeze on hiring re-
placement workers, and there is hope for a resolution in the next
week or two.


6.  LAND TRANSFER TO HOMELANDS RAISES WIDE OPPOSITION

      A government plan to transfer land to the homelands has
raised criticism from many quarters.  The plan if implemented
would transfer more than one million hectares of South African
Development Trust land over to the homelands--600,000 hectares of
it to KwaZulu.  The National Land Committee has called on the
government to abandon its plans, claiming that the planned land
transfer is calculated to preempt the new government implementing
a coherent and carefully planned process of allocating state
land.

END OF FILE
** End of text from cdp:reg.safrica **