Dlamini said all unions have similar shop-steward structures through which they have always communicated and consulted with workers on the factory floor.
The formation of industrial unions will be based on these structures. And shop stewards will now be in a better position than ever before to compare notes with stewards from different factories in the same industry.
These shop-steward structures will remain intact and will not be affected by the shift to industrial unions.
A strong industrial union also makes it more difficult for employers to play unions off against each other, and this helps unite workers nationally.
The new industrial unions in COSATU will be bigger and stronger than ever before, giving workers more bargaining power to challenge management and the government.
9
African Trade Unions [COSATU]. One industry, one union WALK INTO any union office and you'll hear talk of "mergers", , "industrial sector talks" and powerful new "industrial unions".
This is not really surprising, because COSATU committed itself -at its first national congress - to forming industrial unions in each sector.
The resolution calls on unions operating in the same sector to form new industrially based unions. It also calls for new unions in sectors where no industrial union exists - like in building and construction, and agriculture.
But what will this really mean, on the factory floor?
And what will happen to the general unions, like the General and Allied Workers' Union (GAWU) and the SA Allied Workers' Union SAAWU), which have organized workers in many different industries?
Their members will now be passed over to new industrial unions.
GAWU acting general secretary, Amos Masondo, doesn't see this as a problem.
He feels GAWU has always been committed to industrial unions: "We are very enthusiastic about this development. GAWU will be affected by members moving out to other unions - but we don't see this as a loss.
"Rather we see it as a step towards what we believe in. It is in the broad interests of the workers. We are
International Viewpoint 16 June 1986 forming bigger industrial unions and building the power of the working class as a whole."
One merger which is well on the way is in the food sector, where five unions are involved: the Food and Canning Workers' Union (FCWU), Sweet Food and Allied Workers' Union (SFAWU), the Retail and Allied Workers' Union (RAWU), SAAWU and GAWU.
FCWU General Secretary, Jan Theron, explains why it was essential to have a strong industrial union in the food sector:
"The union must speak for all the workers with one voice. If we are organizing workers in the bakeries, for example, then we must also organize workers in the mills which supply the bakeries with flour. Because, after all, it is the same company which owns the bakeries and the mills."
The new food union, which is expected to be launched by the end of May, will be one of the biggest in the country.
SFAWU president Chris Dlamini points out that the combined membership of the unions in the food industry is 50,000 members. But, by the end of the year, he expects that figure to be over 60,000.
Membership figures are growing all the time, especially since the formation of COSATU. Three months after COSATU's formation, paid-up membership in SFAWU has soared from 19,000 to 23,000 members.
GAWU organizers also report massive membership increases.
And, says COSATU's general secretary, Jay Naidoo, COSATU's membership is now well over 650,000 - 150,000 up from the
Shop stewards play crucial role ASK ANY unionist who the most important people in the union are and they'll answer immediately, shop stewards.
Shop stewards are workers in the factories chosen to represent union members in the union and before management.
It is from their ranks that the union leadership comes. And it is they who guarantee workers' control in democratie trade unions.
All progressive unions affiliated to COSATU believe in worker control. This ensures the interests of workers are clearly represented by the union.
It also ensures that unions cannot be dominated by a few skilled or well-educated or charismatic leaders.
This domination by a few leaders is found in bureaucratic unions like those affiliated to the Trade Union Council of SA (TUCSA). None draw their leadership from the factory floor or mine shafts.
And none of those unions have strong shop stewards' structures.
But COSATU believes in developing worker control of unions through strong factory floor organization.
At COSATU's launch in Durban, Cyril Ramaphosa of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said in the opening speech:
"Workers' political strength depends on building strong and militant organizations in the workplace."
This is written into COSATU's constitution. The preamble states that one of COSATU's tasks is to unite 10 industrial unions in a national workercontrolled federation.
COSATU vice president and SFAWU president Chris Dlamini believes that much of the work of developing worker control and worker leadership rests on the shoulders of shop stewards in the factories, and shaft stewards on the mines.
"The role of the stewards is to organize all workers, inform them of their rights and advise them how to organize other workers" , he said.
"Our slogan is: We don't just recruit and service. We politicize, mobilize and organize. Then the workers service themselves."
To do this effectively, stewards must be accountable to the workers who elect them. Before taking any action or going to any meeting either with the union or with management the stewards must get a mandate from the workers.
Then they must report back before doing anything else.
In the National Union of Mineworkers, this is particularly important. The shaft stewards are responsible for all union activity on the mines including strikes, what demands are made to management over wages or health and safety, and other issues.
Shop stewards have a broader responsibility than just in their factory, says Dlamini.
"They should also try to politicize and mobilize the broader community in which they live, by making clear the gains made through the shop stewards' structures.
*They should explain the structures of the trade union and the nature of its discipline of strict mandate and responsibility."
Through this approach, shop stewards can join community organizations like civics, women's and youth organizations and influence their direction.
They can also do this through area meetings of shop stewards.
The Springs shop stewards' council brings together 200 workers from nine unions every week. Together they represent workers from every large factory in Springs and many of the smaller ones.
The council discusses. all issues affecting workers and their families, not just factory-floor issues. Most talked-about issues are housing, May Day, the need for a living wage, maternity benefits, education and police action.
The Springs shop stewards have built their stewards' council into a leadership body in the area.
They said an East Rand civic body should be formed to lead community organization. Soon afterwards the East Rand People's Organization (ERAPO) was formed. Although workers are active in ERAPO, the shop stewards' council. is not directly involved.
It has also helped to form the Katlehong Youth Congress.
Students are invited to shop stewards' meetings to tell workers about developments in the education struggle, and to get ideas on forming student representative committees [SRCs] and joint action between workers and students.
Shop steward representatives fol lowed this up in meetings with the school principals and inspectors, who promised to meet their demands. All students were taken back and school fees were not paid.
At a meeting of teachers and students, all agreed that employers in the area should pay for building schools. Teachers and SRC's took the demand to the council, which passed it on to the employers. The council decided this would only be done for organized schools with SRCs.
It was also the shop stewards council which decided not to bury victims of police action on weekends, but during the week.
This way employers also feel the effects of police action in the townships.
Now COSATU plans to establish shop stewards' councils nationally.
Says Dlamini, "These will be encouraged in all regions because it is the best way to involve students, women, youth and residents in joint struggles on a local level."
Through these and other structures, one of COSATU's main aims will be carried out - "to encourage democratic worker organizations and leadership in all spheres of our society together with other progressive spheres of the community.
It is the shop stewards, therefore, who have the most important role to play in carrying out this COSATU policy. • International Viewpoint 16 June 1986