South Africa Digging Out to Avoid a Cave-in

By Bruce W. Nelan/Johannesburg

Both sides had predicted that a strike this summer against South Africa's most important industry would be a nasty affair filled with ultimatums and mass firings. That forecast came true last week as hundreds of thousands of the country's black mineworkers stayed off the job and the mining companies hit back with the start of mass firings. But after a four-hour negotiating session Sunday, the blows and counterblows came to a sudden end. "The strike is over," said Johan Liebenberg, chief negotiator for the Chamber of Mines, which represents the six largest mining companies. While the settlement appeared to be mostly on the Chamber's terms, Liebenberg said, "Both parties realize what the costs of a strike are and have learned to respect each other."

That conclusion had seemed unlikely earlier last week. Though the Chamber had made an offer of improved fringe benefits, it refused to discuss wage hikes above the 15%-to-23% range that it had unilaterally put into effect before the walkout began three weeks ago. After a perfunctory show of hands at the 31 affected gold and coal mines, the all-black National Union of Mineworkers rejected the offer.

The Anglo American Corp., the nation's largest mining company, then proceeded to fire some 38,000 strikers, bringing the total of dismissed employees to 45,000. The firm also pledged to sack an additional 16,000 this week if they did not return to work. Meanwhile, a black coal miner who had refused to go on strike was found stabbed and burned to death. The next day security police shot and killed two strikers in a clash near Johannesburg.

In South Africa, where a state of emergency has been in effect for more than a year, speculation swirled that the confrontation was political -- an attempt by a feisty black union to flex its muscle. Both sides denied this. "The crucial demand is wages," said N.U.M. General Secretary Cyril Ramaphosa."It's a straightforward industrial relations dispute," agreed Liebenberg.

As hundreds of union stalwarts chanted their support in downtown Johannesburg last week, Ramaphosa declared, "The strike continues until our demands are met." Such confidence was expected of him, but the showdown had become an uneven match. The Chamber claimed that 340,000 employees and two- thirds of its 99 gold and coal mines continued to operate despite the strike. Meanwhile, the workers were losing at least $2.2 million a day in wages. They have no strike funds, which are illegal in South Africa. And replacements were readily available. Reflecting the miners' predicament, Ramaphosa last week lowered the union's proposal from a 30% across-the-board pay increase to 27%. But the Chamber would not budge. In the end, the N.U.M. acceded to much the same offer it had rejected four days before: improved death benefits and holiday pay but no wage increases beyond 15% to 23.4%.

The settlement leaves the decision to rehire the 45,000 fired miners to individual companies. Under the law, employers can fire all miners who are not working; although the walkout was legal, the strikers were deemed to be breaking their contract by withholding their labor. After similar dismissals in the past, most workers have been taken back.

The employers have apparently proved that union brinkmanship does not always work. For the past two years N.U.M. has used the strike weapon to gain last-minute increases from the mining companies. But the Chamber was bent on demonstrating that salary hikes can be achieved only at the bargaining table. Over the past ten years, the Chamber said, the pay of black mineworkers has gone up 85% after inflation (to an average of $320 a month, not including room and board). The union contended that its members earn an average of only $170 a month. "Employers learned that the union has muscle," said Naas Steenkamp, president of the Chamber after the final session, "and the union has learned that the employer can set limits and stick to them."