Inqaba ya basebenzi Number 2 April 1981 - DISA

10 had replaced the army lops and
reorganised the army- Now the
military, as well as businessmen,
have a say in almost all inter
departmental government committees,
This was crowned last year with
the appointment of said general lo
the cabinet.
The rejection of Botha's reforms,
the inability to carry out many of
them and the reorganisation of the
army and civil service have one
clear meaning. If 'parliamentary
democracy* is not serving the
interests of the bosses, then the
military will have to be brought in to
see that those interests are served.
The election has been called by
Botha in an attempt to buy time to
continue this process. Taking advantage
of the temporary economic
upswing, the relative pause in the
mass struggle and the ascent of a
reactionary ally to the US
Presidency, Botha is beating the
drum of a 'total onslaught* to try and
win a massive mandate for himself.
As to his policies, he is forced to ask
for a "blank cheque 1 .
After the elections
There can be no doubt that the
Nationalist Party will remain the
ruling party after the elections. But
this will not mean a massive mandate
for Botha's leadership. Already it is
Business International is a journal which advises the bosses of
the multi-nationals on what tactics they should use to protect
their profits. Recently, they gave some advice to the bosses in
South Africa, which shows how they have been taken unawares
by the rising movement of the workers. This is what they said:
"The latest wave of labor unrest points out why firms should
resist the temptation to promote hand-picked black 'spokesmen*
that lack credibility with the rank and file, and should instead
accept strong, effective unions* First, black workers are
increasingly in a position to enforce sanctions against companies
refusing to acknowledge their leaders. Second, unless factory
leaders are seen to be getting a better deal for their constituents,
the way will be open for more militant political activists to take
over."
On Monday morning, lb February,
188 Greyhound bus drivers
came out on strike in Johannesburg.
By the afternoon, 176 had pleaded
guilty and been sentenced to 18
months imprisonment. (12 who
stood trial were later acquitted).
Those sentenced had their prison
term suspended for five years
provided they returned to work. If
they take any form of action in this
period (go-slows, refusing to obey
orders or strikes) they will be hurled
into prison.
Once again the Botha government's
promises of a "new dispensation**
are proved to be lies. Instead
we can see what the regime's plans
for industrial peace consist of.
clear that the bid of Botha and the
ruling class to remove the obstacle of
the verkramptes through the elections
will fail—just as his promises of
'reforms' have come to nothing.
But it is unlikely that the HNP and
the CNP will win more than a few
Seats at most. This is despite the
disillusionment of many of the white
workers with the Nationalist Party
leadership.
Disillusionment has been shown,
even in earlier elections, in apathy at
the polls. Faced with unprecedented
uncertainties, the white workers and
now at a loss what to do. Inside and
outside the Nationalist Party, the
white middle class right-wing and a
small section of the ruling class is
NEW DISPENSATION
Workers must accept the bosses'
terms and trust the racist officials to
settle their grievances—or be thrown
into jail.
What the government has in store
is shown by the refusal to register
unions because their constitutions
were "non-racial", and by the press
leaks concerning new industrial
legislation.
These leaks showed the regime
was looking for ways to give the
Industrial Registrar absolute powers
over mil trade unions—unregistered
as well as registered—and that it was
considering;
•banning unions in the Bantustans;
•prohibiting unions from working
with township organisations;
•bringing unregistered unions under
state control.
•no donations to unions to be
allowed;
The regime also wants to ban all
independent trade union education
and clamp down further on migrant
workers talcing strike action.
Yet at the same time the big
employers are forced to recognise
that they have to negotiate with the
trade unions—and with trade unions
which have the support of the
workers. While the regime continues
mechanically with the well-tried
methods of repression, big business
is looking for new ways to drug the
struggle on the shop-floor.
What this means is that the
Wiehahn strategy of the ruling class
U In Utters, and that the ruling class
Is divided on how to respond.
I his is the direct result of the
explosive struggles of the workers
over the recent period. These
struggles were a decisive rejection of
the Wiehahn strategy to chain the
growing trade union movement.
In the process, there have been
huge advances in the strength and
confidence of the trade union
movement. Among the achievements
have been:
•wage increases of up to 70% at
Ford in June 1980;