Social conflict in post-apartheid South Africa : a case study of the conflict at Volkswagen South Africa Ltd. between 1999 and 2000

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The thesis is an analysis of the strikes at Volkswagen SA during the period 1999-2000and its social and political outcomes. Seen from a broader perspective, it is a casestudy of social conflict in a young democracy after the formal demise of apartheid in1994.By the time (i.e. early in 2000) events reached a climax, the company had lostmillions of Rand in revenue and more than 1300 workers their jobs. The thesis wantsto explain how this came to be - despite attempts by the company to establish apluralistic industrial relations culture that go back to the early 1990s and after,ostensibly, gaining the consent of the shop stewards committee at the factory and theNUMSA leadership for a lucrative (A4) export agreement.After studying the literature and the press, interviewing key actors in the drama, andclosely following the proceedings of the CCMA and the Labour Court, the thesiscomes up with an explanation more complex than the conventional ones offeredduring and after the strike. The immediate cause of the strike action was the nonacceptanceof the terms of the export agreement by 13 shop stewards and theirsupporters. These shop stewards had been elected onto the VW shop steward councilafter their union (i.e. NUMSA) and the company had concluded the agreement. Whenthey came out in open defiance of the agreement, they were suspended by the unionfor their unconstitutional action. They subsequently tried to rally their followers fortheir own reinstatement.However, the thesis shows that the strikes of 1999 and 2000 were merely two moreoutbursts of shop floor tension and conflict that had been dormant for a long time.Before and after 1994, there existed informal structures and factions at the shop floorlevel which refused to tow the official NUMSA line - a policy which increasinglystarted to embrace the ethos of reconstruction and economic competitiveness.Neither the union leadership, nor company management were able to deal with theseinformal structures and bring the dissident faction under control. Although thepotential for more cooperation and trust did exist, both the union leadership andmanagement failed to turn this into social capital. The thesis suggest that this mayhave been possible, if there had been more direct forms of worker participation (overand above the shop stewards committee). Also, the haemorraging of the unionleadership after 1994, and the increasing bureaucratisation of industrial relations didnothing to improve the situation.To make matters worse, the thesis argues, the terms ofthe export agreement were notproperly communicated to the union rank and file. To top it all, the thesis providesample evidence that the VW workers could not record any extra material gains inexchange for more flexible working arrangements in the wake of the shift fromFordism to Lean Production at the Uitenhage factory. Here, wealth creativeindustrial relations did not accompany the shift to lean production, as post-Fordisttheory would like to suggest. When the 13 shop stewards and a certain percentage ofthe VW workforce came out in protest against this arrangement, no special effortswere made to mediate the conflict.The fallout of the conflict includes hundreds of millions of Rand in lost companyrevenue, more unemployment in one of the poorest regions of South Africa, a drawnout legal process and political divisions in worker ranks and in the Uitenhagecommunity. Although NUMSA admits to a wakeup call, the relationship betweenthe COSA TU affiliated union and the state is as close as ever. In the eyes of the thesis,however, the case of the VW strike, including the direct intervention of the head ofstate, is proof that the young, post-settlement democracy is not yet able to deal withsocial conflict in a mature way.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University