A view from the unions for this type of organisation in South Africa. But we still insist that they bear no similarity in their structure or organisational practice to a trade union. This problem has been recog nised by the UDF, in the Western Cape, where some organisations, refer-
THE FOLLOWING article consists of extracts from an interview with the general secretary of the General Workers Union (GWU)
which appeared in the journal South Africa Labour Bulletin, in its November 1983 issue.
The GWU is one of those unions who are seeking to form a single union federation of South African workers. It is heavily implanted among dock workers. The interview deals largely with the relation between the unions and political organisations such as the UDF.
In the introduction to the interview, the GWU explains that 'we take issue with claims and resulting criticisms that we do not support the UDF or that we are "not interested in politics"
We support any organisations opposing the new constitution and other laws which deny the majority of South Africans democracy.
... As stated in the interview union federation support to participate in a multi-
Participation ground, rather than alliance merely top" would still be imperative' affiliate to the United Democratic
The first point, which we've stated repeatedly, is that we to supporting any organisation which opposes the constitutional proposals and the Koorhof
Bills (1) and the UDF would obviously be primary amongst those organisations. We are also committed to the idea of doing campaigns with the UDF in opposing the Bills and the constitution.
But we don't see our way clear to affiliating to the
UDF. Our difficulties there relate to two broad areas, two broad issues.
the structure of many of the other organisations that are affiliated to the UDF, relative to the structure of a trade union.
major area of difficulty relates to the essentially single class nature, working class nature of trade unions, relative to the multi-class nature of the UDF, of the organisations affiliated to the UDF.
What do you see as the essential differences in structure between the General other trade unions, on the one hand, the organisations affiliated to the UDF, and why do you think those differences present obstacles to affiliation to the same
The answer to that question relatively simple, difficult as that has trade unions to all intents and purposes have identical structures. branch structures, fairly easily lock into another union at all levels of both organisations. This is simply not the case with a the organisations united under the banner of the UDF.
take two concrete from the Western Cape: the Ecumenical Action Group called TEAM, and the Detainees Parents Support Committee. The former is a grouping of progressive priests, and the latter is of individuals dedicated to opposing detention, and providing support for those in detention. Let be clear from the outset that both of these are laudable and necesventures, but neither bear similarities whatsoever to the structure of a union. The same can be said in varying degrees of a great number of other organisations affiliated to the UDF, all the youth and student for example. The critical feature that all these organisations have in common, as far as we can see, red to as mass-based organisations. have been given a certain number of delegates. Other organisations, those that we would primarily refer to as activist organisations, have been given a smaller number of delegates. While this recognises that differences do exist, we believe that it is an inadequate recognition. The difference between an activist organisation and a mass-based organisation is not one of size, and therefore of the number of delegates to a central rather of the entire structure and functioning of the organisation.
As we see it, an activist organisation is essentially grouping of likeminded individuals, who are brought together by a common political goal. Their activity consists in propagating their ideas amongst a constituency which they themselves define. Activists grouped together in this way, in an great deal of freedom of manoeuvre in the extremely flexible parameters in which they operate. represent members in a strong sense.
constituency, or in a certain area, and as such play a very important political role. Unions, on hand, are not organisations of activists, and union leaders are not activists in the same sense at all, because they are representatives in the strongest represent the views of the working class. They represent the views activists, can claim to represent the social aspirations of church congregations or student bodies and it doesn't really matter whether they are actually mandated by the broad mass of students or goers, or whether they are not. By propagating their ideas or their line attempt to make students or church goers aware of their broader and their social role. leader, on the other hand, can't go to a factory and claim to speak for the working class. He has to be mandated by workers in a called the Orderly Moveme and Settlement of Black Persons Bill, proposals were introduced year and concern Black people's right
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International Viewpoint 30 September 1985 factory, and he has to be reasonably sure that the particular workers who have mandated him back up his mandate. In a union situation there is no alternative to working in that way ...
Most of the organisations affiliated to the UDF have as their legitimate political task, to appeal to the masses 'out there'. We have as our task the representation of the workers inside our organisation, and the painstaking process of drawing more and more members into the formal and disciplined structure of a trade union. This is a major reason why we've found it difficult to envisage fitting into the structure of the UDF. We've experienced huge difficulty explaining to our members how we would fit into the UDF as a union, yet conversely we have found it very easy to explain to our members how we would fit into a trade union federation ...
Q You referred earlier problems in the relationship betwen the union as a single class organisation, and other organisations affiliated to the UDF which are multi-class organisations. Could you elaborate on that?
A. We'll have within our ranks members with militant political views, and we'll have in our ranks members with fairly conservative political views. We'll also have within our ranks a great many members who have few political views at all, people who have joined the organisation purely to fight their bosses. With a certain degree of tension now and again, these diverse views can all be contained within an organisation, because they are all held by workers.
To a certain extent this could also be said of any other mass-based organisation. It could be said of student organisations where these are mass-based, it could be said of women's organisations where they are mass-based, it could be said even of a community organisation. It is conceivable that woman joins a womens' organisation to fight womens' issues. Such an organisation should be able to contain within it a fair diversity of general political views as well. But there are two key differences. The first is that student and community organisations, and, organisations, identify the state as their of oppression. This means that they are inevitably more clearly politically defined, and their membership is more clearly a politically based membership.
don't have the bosses to intercede in the struggle in the same way that workers in a trade union do.
the fact of the matter is that in South Africa, most non-trade union progressive organisations, tend to identify themselves quite strongly with one or another political tendency.
This of course involves particular problems in Cape Town. know if these problems are the same community organisations are divided quite clearly into two groups. There
La possibility could jeopardise the unity of, if not directly our union in Cape in Cape Town. This is also especially sensitive when we've identified as a the formation of a trade union federation, with the even greater diversity of views that are contained therein. Just as we wouldn't want to do anything that would jeopardise the unity of the whole trade union movement. I'm aware that opens us up to what has become a currently fashionable charge, namely that we are economistic. Although it's not always clear from those levelling the accusation, I take this to mean that we concentrate our activities exclusively on wages and working conditions, that we're not concerned with political struggle, that the only basis of our unity is the struggle in the factory. Its as such, a unity that makes little positive contribution to the national democratic struggle. There are two answers to this: the first is that a union must inevitably carry within it the tendency towards economism. A factory-based organisation by definition sets itself certain limits, and the General Workers Union has never made any claim to mystically transcend these limits. The second answer to the question is that the accusation reflects a very narrow, formalistic notion of what politics is, and that's what really brings us to a point pertinent to the question of the class composition of the union ...
More pertinently it doesn't go any way towards transforming a student organisation into a workers organisation. To say that workers constitute the majority of any Black community in South Africa is obviously true, but it doesn't mean that workers constitute the majority of community organisations, of organised community organisations, organised community members. In fact, it's lamentable, but nonetheless true, that community organisations have had relatively little insertion into the ranks of contract workers, for example. In those rare cases where, the majority of a particular community organisation are in fact working class people, its possible that these working class members will have little influence at the top of
Contents
Introduction p.5 p.7
The world political situation
Political revolution and counter-revolution in Poland
Dictatorship of the proletariat and socialist democracy
Resolutions pt these
Twelfth Wore Congressof the Fourt Intersions
February 1985.
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