New Strike Wave Tri in S. Africa

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bativity. Workers Union (a member of Fifteen East London trade the CUSA union federation) and unionists were detained by the the Transport and General Factory committees in the Fosatu federation).

Strikes in the last few months in South Africa have demonstrated the continuing determination and combativity of the black working class and the deepening CriSiS anina aricic nf nolitinal manned control facing the capitalist class.

At the end of October, over 1500 workers at the WilsonRowntree sweet factory in East London came out on strike.

The strike erupted in the wake of a wave of factory struggles in the area.

Over the last few months, militancy has fuelled a dramatic growth of workplace organisation in East London industrial area under the banner of the South African Allied Workers Union and the Food and Canning Workers Union.

This reflects a national situation of the growth of workers' organisations.

The whole Wilson-Rowntree workforce, which is organised by SAAWU, walked out in solidarity with a section of workers in dispute over working conditions.

Management responded by sacking, the workforce, who joined the ranks of hundreds of other workers sacked in recent strikes at Collondale Canneries, Ray-Lite Batteries, National Converter Industries and other East London factories.

But the determination and organised unity of the WilsonRowntree workers broke the employers' attempt to rehire workers selectively (no doubt with aid from the secret police).

A mass meeting was held in the African township in solidarity with victimised East London workers. Wilson-Rowntree bosses were forced to retreat and to reinstate the workforce unconditionally, a week after the sacking.

This bosses' retreat was soon followed by a police attempt to break working class comsecret police. area organised a protest.

Faced with the threat of working class anger escalating into action in support of the victimised trade unionists, the state backed down. All fifteen were released on the day of the mass meeting.

In the country's motor vehicle industry, black workers have continued to take up the weapons of organised strength and class confidence forged in the course of factory struggles throughout last year.

They have also turned to their advantage the bosses' concern to maintain full production during the current boom in vehicle sales.

Last November, there was a two-day strike by 4,000 black workers at the giant Datsun plant in Pretoria.

The entire black workforce came out in support of car assembly workers in dispute over a savings scheme.

Management called in armed police, claiming that workers were damaging vehicles and equipment on the assembly line.

Successful

But reports indicate that the united mobilisation was successful in securing the demands of the assembly workers.

The most recently reported major strike action involved workers ih another strong and strategically important section of the black working class.

Last month, 780 black busdrivers employed by Putco in Johannesburg stopped work. The immediate cause of the workers' action was the victimisation by management of a fellow driver.

But the underlying build up of militancy is related to an ongoing wage struggle. This had earlier sparked off a two-day strike in July by 1000 Putco drivers in Johannesburg and Springs, who are organised in the Transport and Allied Workers Union (member of the The July strike had won important concessions, but the drivers' full wage demand had not been met.

Drivers were determined that the return to work was on the basis of a rapid settlement of their wage demand by Putco.

The bosses aimed to defuse workers' militancy by a long series of diversionary negotiations.

In August, a meeting in Soweto of 400 drivers demanded action to force a wage increase. Hesitant union leaders acted to hold back strike action, fearing that it could jeopardise the "progress" being made in negotiations.

Crisis The mounting anger the drivers finally exploded the December strike.

The outcome of the strike remains unclear from the information available to Socialist Press. But what is clear is that the united strength and militancy of the drivers have thrown Putco bosses into crisis.

The wider significance of the strike is that it emerges at a time of escalating militancy and anger in the massive working class community in Soweto and the Johannesburg area, focussed around a range of grievances, including rent increases of 75%.

Meanwhile the President and General Secretary of the black media workers' union MWASA have been served with banning orders in Soweto.

All these strikes show the fighting determination and mobilised strength of the working class. Workers show time and again their readiness to struggle despite the bitter hardships imposed by a vicious class enemy.

By taking this determination forward by independent working class politics, workers will be able to build their defence against each attack and mobilise their strength for the socialist revolution.

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