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Largest Strike In South Africa's Auto Industn40ccur SATURDAY, SOTEXrO1 11 1H2-TKS U&2UXA TiSIS-tJ AN The rising wave of labor unrest in S " Africa, which earliej :vear hit , the metal in- adust ries and mines in the jTransvaal -J Province', j IllfO .1 In 197ffrFord became? ;the firt U.S. company. in1 'South Africa . ; to recognize a black uniqn,; the "United Auto' Workers' Union : (the; gave in the last month-, predecessor of Naawu).. ieen beating against the i 'In November 1979, some .strategic automobile in dustry of eastern Cape Province. ' ' z Auto workers- are arnong the best organiz-. ed of South' Africa's .black workers, and the, current disputes are con-; sidered a critical test of Ihe . black ' unions' I Strength at a time when j employers- are resisting ! wage hikes and announc ing lay-offs because of a recession, y : -In the last two weeks ,. of July, over 10,000 auto; workers were on strike at Ford, . General Motors, and Volkswagen- plants in Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage. And though . work ' was Resumed in early August a series of. walkouts prompted Ford Motor Company to close., its four plants on August 10 for a ten-day period. The action f by Ford, which serves as the infor mal leader of the com panies in the 'industrial council' (an umbrella body for negotiations), came after the breakdown of talks with -Jhe National Automobile and Allied Workers' Union (NAAWU). r - Week v before last, Ford's industrial rela tions director, Fred Fer teira, also' announced' that 4 the company was laying off 507 produc tion workers, approx-' imately one-tenth of the total, because of ex-' pected decline in demand for new cars. : Sales of cars and com mercial vehicles were upi some 10 in June over the previous year, con siderably higher than earlier predictions. But industry analysts still ex pect substantial declines in sales later in the year. The auto, industry has been the scene of black labor activism on a rising - , - , . . S i-: ' m&- it- 700 ' workers went on strike at Ford after the company dismissed Thosamile Botha, a leader of " the Port Elizabeth .' Civic Organization. In 1980, a strike of more than 3,000 workers at Volkswagen was call- - ed over wages, resulting in a 25 increase in the t minimum wage paid. In 198K some 1,000 auto workers walked out in ' sympathy with : employees dismissed at a ' Firestone tire plant. And this year a number of walkouts preceded the Presentingthe Mindfire award td Edison Lara, center, president and general major' action in July. - manager of Westside Distributors, Los Angeles, are Bill Jones, left, area The July 15 Na'awuT manaRer for Anheuser-Busch, and Vincent Bryson, area development strike, whicK hit Ford, : GM and Volkswagen . simultaneously, came over union demands for "an increase in the basic wage for. unskilled workers from $1 .75 'an hour to $3.06 an hour: The employers were of fering a far smaller raise, to $1.88 an hour, and they broke off further negotiations until workers resumed pro duction. Talks did resume briefly after strikers returned to their jobs a week later. Fred Sauls, the Naagwu general secretary, said that the union had offered a compromise of $2.20 an hour, with a commit ment to attain the $3.06 target within 18 months. But when management refused to budge, the walkouts began again, and Ford closed its plants. Some 3,000 members of the rival Motor Assembly and Compo nent Workers' Union (Macwusa) refused to support the strike. Government Zini, Mac- wusa : 'S.J, organizing pver the proper stance to take toward such government -created labor relations institu tions as the industrial council system, which imposes industry-wide negotiations within an official framework. In early July, some 1 1 black, and non-racial trade unions and union federa-. tions met in Port' .Elizabeth for the third in a series of unity "sum mits, "but no agreement was reached. Observers said two camps were apparent . within the ga'.hering. One includes the Federa tion of South African Trade Unions (Fosatu), which includes Naawu, the General Workers Union and the Food and Canning Workers Union. These groups , support taking advan tage of what options there may be in new labor regulations, , but. they have also frequently been militant in suppor ting wildcat strikes. The other grouping, which at the Port Elizabeth meeting included Mac- insistence on rigid prin ciples has little support among ordinary workers, and that it is more important to focus on workplace organizing than on confronting the. South African state directly. Whatever viewpoint wins out, there is little, doubt that the black trade movement, as well as the incidence of strikes, will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. According to South Africa's National Manpower Commission; the number, of strikes grew from 101 in 1979 to 207 in 1980 to 342 last year, with the pace this year making Jikely an even higher total. The' "number of workers in volved increased from some 15,000 in 1979 to; '56,000 in 1980 and 84,000 in 1981. One potentially ex plosive dispute, also in the eastern Cape, is bet ween the General Workers' Union and the South African Transport Services (SATS), a divi- r sion of the state-owned !',. U.S. Liberia Doe Stresses Business WASHINGTON AN On his first official visit to the United States,' Liberian head of state Chairman Samuel Doe is mounting what amounts to a full-court presli for increased private invest ment in his country. After starting his two week visit in New York AugusJ 14, he met with President Reagan on August 17 in Washington, Their ses sion opened on an awkward note, as Reagan referred to the Liberian as "Chairman Moe" during a picture taking session with reporters. But later both leaders spoke positively of the close relations bet ween their nations. "Clearly, a firm bond unites . Liberians and Americans," Reagan declared. And Doe said he had been assured of "America's understan ding and support for the manager for the United Negro College Fund. The award is presented to the Anheuser-Busch wholesaler in each region for outstanding effort in conjunc tion with the Lou Rawls Parade of Stars. on his absence from the OAU summit, he refus ed. The bulk of the discus sion was carried on by fulfillment of the objec tives of our revolution." Speaking the next day, at a colloquium at the Georgetown 'Center for Strategic and Interna tional Studies, Doe cited' U.S. investments of Vi billion and said that Liberia "needs a greater contribution to the rehabilitation and train ing of our people." And at the same time, he declared, "American in vestors can reap greater profits." Liberia "has one of the most liberal investment policies in Africa. While the government would like Liberian businessmen to have a 25 participation in in vestment projects, Doe pointed out that this is "not a strict rule." Doe spoke briefly, and he limited the discussion to economic and development. issues. When asked to comment developing Liberia as a base for economic ac tivities throughout west Africa. An "export free zone" has been Planning and Economic r established, and coun Affairs Minister Em- tries are beine invited to manuel O. Gardiner, and by Dew Tuan Wrch Mayson, chairman of Liberia's National In vestment Commission. Both men were part of the high-level delegation accompanying Doe, which included Foreign Minister H. Boina Fahnbulleh, and finance Minister G. Alvin Jones. According . to Gar diner, Liberia "has not had new investment for two years." One ex planation, Mayson said, was global recession and inflation, but it was clear that an equal or greater part of the problem was, as Gardiner put it, a "drop in investor con fidence" after the May 1980 coup which install ed Chairman Doe. According to Gar diner, Liberia has now embarked on a "deliberate strategy" of manufacture and export- throughout west Africa. The aim, according to Gardiner, is to get around "the smallness of the logal market, which is a major constraint on investors." This month, a com plete development plan will be published. Several corporate representatives said they agreed with Firestone representative Bernard Frazier, who remarked that his company is "fairly comfortable with "the political scene" in Liberia and intends to stay. Doe left the meeting early for a session with Pentagon officials. The remaining Liberian of ficials said they plan to hold an investment seminar in the United States in early October. afcfof -sevH Though the concessions made by management have fallen far short of union demands, Ford and other companies have gained a reputation for enlightened labor practices because of (heir acceptance of the necessity to deal with black unions. not support any action which involved I accep tance of the industrial council as a framework for negotiations. The disagreement bet ween Macwusa and Naawu highlights divergent views within the black trade union movement as a whole African Allied Workers' Union (Saawu), has at tacked all alliances with unions that accept government registration or membership in in dustrial councils. The first camp, which has affiliated as many as 120,000 workers, believes that its critics' Hay Your beautiful family prosper! Providing for a family today requires a variety of resources. Among those resources is a sound banking institution. Services such as .trust funds, savings accounts, savings certificates and a c variety of loan plans could keep your family's financial picture a happy dnel Atk fcs about Xhzzt services ... FARMERS BANK MECHANICS 6 UFiyittoOltttft t 111 Wnt PirrtsN Stmt Mil LCbiptllUI Stmt 71 and Harbours. The GWU has already won recognition from stevedoring companies at the four major South African ports Cape Town, Durban, Port .Elizabeth and East Lon don and has also been recruiting black railway workers' within the docks. The GWU says it represents some 1,100 SATS employees at the Port Elizabeth and Fast London ,- docks, but SATS refuses to talk with the union, main taining that its black workers are represented only by the "in company" union, the Black Staff Association. A failure to recognize the union could lead to action by the well organized stevedores and to support overseas in the form of a boycott by the International Transport Workers Federation against South African shipping. And a ports shutdown would have serious conse quences for other in dustries as well. In fact, Ford's Ferreira in June commented publicly on the dispute, which he, termed one of national i importance, urging , SATS to show flexibility and attempt to reach an accommodation with the GWU. The GWU has, in ad dition to its demand for recognition, called for a stop to harassment of its organizers , by railway police. The union also filed a court case to change a SATS regula tion that classed all black workers as "casual," . and thus subject to firing on 24 hours notice. In June, SATS decreed a new classification of "regular workers" for some 84,000 of the 155.000 black employees, requiring longer notice and grounds for dismissal. Contract workers, who generally do not have ur ban resident rights,, would not be eligible for the new classification, and no blaks would yet be able to become "per manent workers" on the i same basis as whites. ' 5RM 'I H. - IBHHHBF iiiiiiiaiir' ?-llllIfflliiliiiiiif iBiiiiiiiiiiiiii ; - . : - V ' i' vVv ;: : Yfy, i ... - v.- v5- i mm ii v i : Like to double your chances for success after college? Enroll in Army ROTC today. You'll receive leadership and management training. Financial assistance. And scholarship opportunities. 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The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Sept. 11, 1982, edition 1
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