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- Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
- Path: sparky!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!wupost!mont!pencil.cs.missouri.edu!daemon
- From: harelb@math.cornell.edu (Harel Barzilai)
- Subject: SPOTLIGHT ON SOUTH AFRICA
- Message-ID: <1992Sep7.231254.9572@mont.cs.missouri.edu>
- Followup-To: alt.activism.d
- Originator: daemon@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Sender: news@mont.cs.missouri.edu
- Nntp-Posting-Host: pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Organization: ?
- Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 23:12:54 GMT
- Approved: map@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Lines: 60
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- S P O T L I G H T O N S O U T H A F R I C A
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- N R 3 0 / 9 2 - S E P T E M B E R 3 1 9 9 2
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-
- Spotlight on South Africa is a weekly service by the ICFTU INFO
- Division focusing on the struggle of the independent black trade union
- movement in South Africa.
-
- THE NATIONAL UNION OF METALWORKERS of South Africa (Numsa) has been
- forced to call off from Monday August 31 its four-week-old strike in
- the engineering industry after the Supreme Court last week declared
- the strike unlawful on the grounds of ballotting irregularities.
- Union organising secretary Bernie Fanaroff reported on August 31 that
- a number of firms have implemented mass dismissals of workers
- returning to work. He said it appeared certain employers were
- attempting to weaken or smash the union. Earlier, Fanaroff said the
- court ruling laid down extremely onerous conditions for the conduct of
- ballots, and these could effectively lead to a situation where it was
- impossible for unions to conduct a lawful strike.
-
- THE CABINET ON WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2 announced its acceptance of plans
- for the restructuring of the National Manpower Commission - the
- statutory advisory body to the Minister of Manpower. The
- restructuring has been delayed for at least a year, in part due to a
- turnover of four ministers in the period. The restructured NMC - with
- labour, management, and the minister each nominating a third of its
- members - will be far more representative than its predecessor from
- which Cosatu withdrew its co-operation nearly a year ago. Cosatu has
- cautiously welcomed the announcement pending a more detailed
- discussion on whether the changes go far enough. One shortcoming from
- the union point of view is that the body would remain purely advisory,
- whereas Cosatu has proposed that any agreements between management and
- labour should be made binding on the Ministry.
-
- THE FOOD AND ALLIED WORKERS' UNION has linked inter-union rivalry to
- the fatal shooting of a Fawu shopsteward east of Johannesburg on
- Monday August 23. Julia Sgudla was shot and killed while going to
- work, Fawu general secretary Mandla Gxanyana said on Tuesday August
- 24. He said there were many unanswered questions about the killing
- given the presence at the plant of the Inkatha-aligned United Workers'
- Union of South Africa.
-
- THE CHEMICAL WORKERS' INDUSTRIAL UNION (CWIU) last week convened a
- meeting with 64 companies to begin discussions on the union's demand
- for the establishment of centralised bargaining in the sector.
- However, CWIU acting general secretary Muzi Buthelezi said the union
- was concerned that several major companies, including oil
- multinationals Shell, BP and Caltex had not attended. Talks are due
- to continue during September.
-
- END
-
-