Bezuidertand — ‘Past-colorsat workpea fegiete Ta Ne enginearing Iretvohy ia South Abia. BEYOND THE APARTHEID WORKPLACE Studies in Transition Edited by EDWARD WEBSTER and KARL VON HOLDT Wl nas UNiversity OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESSCHAPTER 3 R33. Post-colonial Workplace Regimes in the Engineering Industry in South Africa ANDRIES BEZUIDENHOUT Pts to reconstruct the wa sun Benerated by this. These processes are nbedded in certain spatial, social and Political economic contexts. It is algo Emporant to shake off the parochialien entrenched in many analyses of South Pftica, and to compare South Aftica to other societies in transition pPécifically other countties in southeen Africa — and in light of this, to Feconsider past debates, As will be show: Election in 1994, g fansformation jg ndustry’s geography has been reconfigured reinforces ther tant aspect of the spatial seructure of manufacturing during jPérthcid era. The arguient here is noe that no change has taken place, but ‘0 an uncertain future regime is not * can sometimes identify continuities74 Beyond the Apartheid Workplace his analysis of the beginnings of the South Africa’s transition, F Fukuyama (1991) noted that the rulers of the apartheid regime were {a up to their liberal democratic future. He was concerned, however, thafl African National Congress (ANC), as the new government, might turf back on the inevitable and walk back into the past. Of course, at that powerful groups in the ranks of the ANC still held socialist ideals. In req times, the metanarrative of neoliberalism — often expressed in the lan of globalisation — has forcefully reasserted a teleological view of history. Mi lyses of how Africa responds to globalisation have reintroduced the I of modernisation theory. As Frederick Cooper (2002:196) points ont For all its emphasis on the newness of the last quarter-century, tht current interest in the concept of globalization recalls a simila infatuation in the 1950s and 1960s: modemization. Both [emphasis @ process, not necessarily fully realised yet but ongoing and probably inevitable. Both name the process by its supposed endpoint. Botfl were inspired by a clearly valid and compelling observation — thal change is rapid and pervasive — and both depend for their evocativ power on a sense that change is not a series of disparate elements bil the movement of them in a common direction. The modernisation of Africa is read from the text written by the for colonial masters, who claimed that they ‘opened up’ African societies to logic of modernisation (Cooper 2002: 205) In South Africa, this logic was adopted by a group of policy research some of them trained in the discipline of developmental economics. argued that South Africa had to ‘meet the global challenge’ (Joffe et al. 199 199 understanding of South Africa as a racial Fordist system (with repressive af rigid state control) being transformed into a non-racial post-Fordist syst (flexible, politically free and market-driven) (Hart 2002). This procest seemingly driven by the power of political democtatisation and tf liberalisation, ‘This perspective has become dominant in South African studies of workplace. Exceptionalism allows one to construct South Africa’s transiHpost-colonial Workplace Regimes in the Engineering Industry. that presents a radical break with the past. Thus, South Africa can fa special case — one that potentially represents a ‘beacon’ sather than or’ for the rest of the post-colonial world (Seidman 1999) ie analysis presented in this chapter is based on a study of seven factories fhe engineering industry in South Aftica, Swaziland and Zimbabwe (see fle 3.1). Due to space considerations, however, this chapter deals only fh data from the four factories in South Africa is sector has been under considerable pressure following a rapid Foction of import tariffs, the unbundling of a number of South African Dnglomerates during which manufacturing operations were rationalised or notably steel. As a Bld off, as well as an increase in the cost of inputs t, imports of the products into South Africa have increased, while local ts have been unable to penetrate export markets. Also, a number of svere liquidated. A total of 70 semi-structured personal interviews were ducted with members of management, trade unions and union officials 1e seven remaining factories in the sector. 3.1: Background information about the South African engineering factories included in the study. Number of wnershi Comments employees | © ° 1300 ‘Owned by a South Altican | Factories A, B and C aro consortium, including the al part of ane group of _ directors companies Factoy 8 | 470 ‘Owned by a South Atcan ‘consortium Factoy € | 600 (Owned by a South Atrcan ] t | consortium | i 900 ‘Owned by @ US mutational | The mutinational sorporation corporation bought the operations from & tose-making South African firm [Lin the mid-18908 Ptocess is and trade ‘Thus, in this chapter an attempt is made to consider the problematic of teconstruction at the level of the workplace. The apartheid workplace regime Was constituted on a racial division of labour, a racial structure of power tansition Supplemented by attempts to incorporate 2 colonial construction of ‘ethnicity’76___Beyond the Apartheid Workplace in supervision, a system of migrant labour, the rail segregation of fag and 2 location of workplaces in a bifurcated industrial geography! Kind of workplace regime is constructed on the ruins of this? Thesg clements of the apartheid workplace regime are each considere} beloy this perspective on the past is used as a mirror to contrast preseng ttansformations, Indeed the question is posed, can we talk abnor a apartheid workplace regime, or, as Von Holdt (2003b) contends, the Bence of a neo-apartheid workplace regime? THE RACIAL DIVISION OF LABOUR (One characteristic of the apartheid workplace regime isthe racial division labour. Black workers initially occupied the positions of labourers 4 “ssistants to artisans. Later on they became semi-skilled operators (Webg 1985). Whites were artisans, managers and foremen who supervised bf Production workers. Foremen were assisted by black indunas or baas-boyis the administrative departments, a similar colout bat wae muintan white employee could be trained by a black assistant training officer, cxample. While black workers were not allowed to be titined as artien an informal level they often possessed the practical skils to do there job Won Holdt 2003b: 28). ‘his relates to Leger’ (1992) and Adler's (1995) OF as oe teference to ‘unskilled? produetion workers and the not of “tacit skilP. Yet, while these skills were not formally recognised, black workers often had to teach new white recruits how to do their jobs. ‘Thes# Same recruits then became theit supervisors As Von Holdt (2003b: 29) points out, however, ‘While the racial division! Of labour was tigid, it was not static [adeed,] racial boundaries shifted pyc me in tesponse to changes in production processes and changes in the labour market. Post-Fordists posited that increased competition would force South’ African manufacturing firms to construct workplace regimes based on non: adversarial industrial zelations and participative ma nagerial styles, “Team: ' ‘mult-skiling’, flexibility’ and, later on, ‘world clase manufacturing! would become buzz words from the mi 1990s onwards (Ewert 1997; Huntet 2000). However, as workers argued, in practice the workplace regime operated on a different logic,al geography.) i of this? These ansidered below, contends, the emg the racial division + of labourer bpetatots (Webs io supervised bla as oF baas-boys? as maintained — 8 manufacturing! fst 1997; Hunte psi-colonial Workplace Regimes in the Engineering Industry the early 1990s, this industry has not managed to become export instead, imports have increased rapidly. A number of South African Svere liquidated, and the remaining factories slightly increased their share. This process did not lead to a wholesale reorganisation of fiction. Instead, work was intensified by adding additional shifis in some iments, linking performance to production bonuses, and the piecemeal Piluction of new machinery. The training of workers was not generally fidered to be an important priority, leading to significant conflict between ment and trade unions. Indeed, during 2002, workers at one company Fon a month-long strike. The strike related to what were called ‘wage ales’. Indeed, the grading of jobs and the linking of payment to those jobs f explosive issues when the interviews were conducted. Considerable Bion was caused by the fact that the company had moved from the Paterson ng system (which had ten grade levels) to the one prescribed by the 1g Council for the industry (which had thirteen levels), and had done athout consulting the trade union, One worker explained, ‘On the Paterson 1 was grade five and [the other worker] was grade six, but when we E transformed to [the] NIC [system], we are classified on the same grade, uch is Grade G ... but we are earning different rates.’ There was a feeling that the exercise was used to cut wages. Workers felt that there were not clear Prdceclures, that often the system was very arbitrary, and that this opened the Way for favouritism. The result of this was the aforementioned ‘grade @nomalies’ which led to the strike. ‘Thus fat, the situation might seem like teething problems following the ge Moduction of a new grading system, However, the grade anomalies and Allegations of favouritism have an important racial sub-text, In the words of ‘One worker: The grading system is buggered because, if I can put it to you that ‘ay, it is still the old apartheid regime... You take the F-grade here, fin one department], where only coloureds work [Then] you take F. Sade in Dispatch [where blacks work]. In Dispatch they will be getting only R11.27 fan hout] .. in {the other department] they will get R12.80, but they're both F-grade ... These coloured people in F-grade are78__Beyond the Apartheid Workplace Seting More money than the black people in Dispatch, But the whig People who [used] to work in material handling they are also grade but they are getting R30 to R40 [an hous]. another factory, an interviewee had the following perspective: [Racism will always be everywhere in a way... But its not [alwaygl that obvious (here). But theze was a big issue on grades and race, you know? It’s like the Indians were Betting better grades, you see? Buy Faetines itdoes happen, because when I came here it wee something] like $0 blacks and 30 Indias... don't know how they rated [the Whole thing]. But mostly those Indians got better grades. Ie either because they applied for those positions that came up, oF they just omehow got the jobs. But the thing is not every position gets advertised, So you just see someone working on higher grade and you don't even know how the hell did he get there! Thete was very strong support among workers for the ‘broad banded’ sys Mela Only of five grades, first proposed by the National Union Metalworkers of South Africa (NU MSA) in the 1990s. They saw a molt Standardised system with clear procedutes as a way to fight discrimination based on arbitrary decisions by management Linking the training of worken {0 career paths could lead to advancement in the workplace. One interviewee pommented, “This is what we have been arguing about, just because they have trained some employees here. When there ane some vacancies they dont Put them there, they just [take people} from outside At all four South African factoties, black employees have steadily beea rep ted 10 the level of supervisor. However, the level of superintendent Still remained latgely the domain of white employees. As one wor! d There isan improvement, because since Teame here T think there were Fee tue African supervisors, but now. .. maybe we've got about five ot six... (In the past), supervisory vacancies were... for Coloureds and Indians only, and jobs like too! setter, which are highly skilled jobs, or quality controllers, were se tved for Indians and Coloureds only. But now there are Africans.But the white y are also F. ot [always] d race, you see? But something Bsition gets t-colonial Workplace Regimes in the Engineering Industry _79 er worker said Jone department] there used to be coloured supervisors in the past. iy there are... two [Africans] on this shift and there's one on the ther shift, [so] there [are] three African supervisors... There's an African superintendent, he is nightshift...T mean, [from] there ownwards, that’s where they actually balance the issue of the sployment equity, but at the top they don’t. Now there are more Indian supervisors, of I should bind them together and say coloureds and Indians. ‘The African supervisors, I can count them and tell you it is so and so, so and so. When it comes to Indian and coloureds I {cannot} count fthem] — they are more. fotkers felt that, although Africans had been steadily ptomoted to the Biipervisory level, they did not have real authority to conduct theit work. Pome felt that they were under-qualified for their jobs, thus permitting Management to undermine their positions. One explained, ‘I can take you to Tour] department, you can sce the top-level management disregarding the Supervisor and the superintendent and [going] straight to the workforce, and say, “Kom, kom, kom! Work! Do your job! What's wrong?” [This] is un acceptable? He felt that this had not happened in the past, when supervisors Were mostly coloured and Indian. Interviewees at a number of factories @choed this view: One worker said, We want black people to be supervisors, then fine, they will be supervisors. [But] in some areas they are not recognised. Another interviewee felt that there was insufficient training for those promoted to Supervisory positions, and referred to them as ‘glotified supervisors’. At the time, the union was in the process of taking up this matter with one of the companies: They [supervisors] are not empowered, although as the union we are trying to enforce that, We've got a dispute pertaining to the way they're80 Beyond artheid Workplace managing the factory... think there is progress, because we havg agreed with management last week that there will be weekly meetings) {which} will involve shop stewards, supervisors, and one or two e the workforce... And then monthly we will meet with the top level and discuss the outcome of our weekly meeting. So, we hope that maybe there will be change. However, this unionist was quite sceptical about the potential for su Process to make a significant impact. It was part of ongoing attempts address a whole range of issues, which included the issue of grade anos and the perception on the part of the workforce that the intensification work had reached unacceptable levels, Indeed, the dispute eventually re st in a strike. A young interviewee, who was appointed as a contract worker, point t0 another problem with African supervisors. He felt that they were from older generation who had not changed with time IMJostly people who are on supervisory Positions right now are the Old people from the old segime. For them language may be moze of & Problem than itis maybe for us. And for us, we see things much Tone C#8y and its like if you do have a problem, you just say it right there and then. For them, you know, they just keep quiet for some time and maybe handle it later ‘There were very few Africans in management above the level of supervise sr any Of the factories. At a factory in the Eastern Cape, some workers fh that Afticans in the Human Resources (HR) Department were sor idl setiously by the company, In the past we (had] two black HR managers, The reason w shy they left Tg, Hoe) all the yeats the HR managers used to get [a) car allowance, but they didn’ get fit) So automatically you think to yourself, no man, there’s definitely [something wrong], and if you push for Something, definitely you're not going to get it you're black. You understand? You see, you [ride a taxi], that’s your problem.fise we have ther factory, all the supervisors were black. An interviewee said about fy meetings, her management levels, “There's only one management here: all white.” For two of asked about the African Human Resources manager, he answered, fhe top level 1g) is not regarded as a manager... . They say he’s a Human Resources E hope thar but he’s not given power to be like that .. ? Another worker at the I fil for such g attempts to fade anomalies B He is an oppressor, because if maybe there is a problem, even from Fasification of SPEER. the management, you'll find that he points [to] worker inside ly resulted) 7 Even if maybe there is something that the company want to give us, he is the one that is a stumbling block. .. because [he says] now [they] © spoil the people... Asa black manager, he is the one who is supposed {o fight for us. [But] he’s not doing that. ig the appointment of managers, an interviewee described his concerns Follows ‘There ate issues that are supposed to be discussed on the Equity Committee... [O]ne of the problems we have is that some of the promotions on the managerial level are not discussed [at the com- mittee]. If they are going to advertise a post for a supervisor, a QC [quality controller], a team leader or a superintendent, those posts are discussed on the Equity Committee. When it comes to managerial positions, it does not discuss [appointments] .. . They just decide to advertise, to do interviews and appoint whoever they want to appoint. . . Most of the people are being appointed because of] theit Connections. There are people who have been working for this company ages ago, who decided to take a package. But most of them are back now... And you cannot find an African guy of Indian or a coloured in atop position. We've got only one African manager, an IR [industrial telations] manager, and only one Indian lady [who] is a manager at [the] Stores. Those ate the only two. Most of them ate whites,82_Beyond the Apartheid Workyl Workers generally felt that they were still regarded as ‘second clasgl ployees: The black employees in this factory are not taken into accountas peop Who are in the company, who're taking the production or making sg money in the company. There is nothing good for them. There ate ng) benefits they get as the employees of de company ... IF the compang can remove discrimination ... ey ld be all right, because if I see something, someone cat f new legis seems to be a comp that still operates in the workplace This different races to receive different wages, even when they ate graded equally. One might call this an informal wage colour bar. Also, in ff context of the breakdown of the formal colour bar of the apartheid Afticans are appointed to higher Positions ~ specifically as supervisors by perform jobs also ia some managerial positions Indeed, this slow proc Started from the early 1970s, as Nzimande (1991) showed. However, worker often question whether these new Supervisors and managers have seal authority. 1 SS resembles the ypward floating clour bey identified by ‘ambia in the early 1970s, THE RACIAL STRUCTURE oF POWER A second characteristic of the ‘parthcid workplace regime is the racial if ete Of Power in the workplace. This refers to the idea of haaskap— literally, boss-hood’ ot ‘bein, the-master”. Any black person was y definition int of any white person, no matter what theit position in the formal Von Holdt traces this back to ‘deep colonial roots’, where blacks Were Seen as servants of whites, He argues: The relationship between anagetial authority and the racial struc ture Or powet was complex. Not all whites were managers. However, any white had the ‘ight to issue instructions to any black. This meant thatdecond class’ em, was no clear line of managerial authority or job demarcation — Jeast, as applied to black workers. White men made the rules and fe cardinal rule for black workers was ‘to obey that man’s rules’, puntas people however arbitrary or senseless. For black workers this rule spelt bye making the : Where are no, the company fps beau Braskap was often violently enforced (Burawoy 1972, 1985), but also Ipported by the ability of supervisors to arbitrarily dismiss any black worker Pimposing racial fthout recourse to procedute, or by withholding bonuses for offences such gs coming late or insubordination (Von Holdt 2003b: 32-3), Interpositioned in 2 dubious role between the white supervisors and black B justifiable for porkers was the baar-boy, or the indina, Often white supervisors were unable ptm jobs that Bespeak an African language and black workers could not speak English or r Also, in the iifikaans. Thus an old colonial practice — what Mahmood Mamdani (1996: ipartheid era, calls ‘decentralised despotism’ — was employed in the workplace itso. British pervisors but olonisers called this system of manipulating traditional leaders ‘indirect rule’; leracialisation D7 the French called it ‘association’. Von Holdt (2003b: 35) points out that the Pevet, workers D2 deployment of the term indma ‘reflects white efforts to affirm, strengthen or Bes have real asa bulwark identified by reme insecurity: one white man’s rule might contradict another’, nd in trying to follow both a worker was bound to transgress one or "Other instruction (Von Holdt 2003b: 31). ifnccessary even create traditional and ethnic identities for blac against “modernisation” and its attendant demand for modern rights such as democracy or trade unions’. However, unlike traditional chiefs in the rural parts of colonies, these indwnas did not bridge physical space between the village and the city, rather the socal space between the worlds of supervisors i and workers. The (often brutal) power of baar-bas was derived from the Positions of the white supervisors and their role in the system as a whole. i the racial ‘Their role was seldom a hegemonic one — no wonder that they were sometimes called impimpis (informers) by Since the 1970s, trade unions have challenged the arbitrary nature of decisions made under colonial despotism. Over time, industrial relations Procedures were put in place. This was formalised in South Africa by the workers ' ‘ew Constitution and a new set of labour laws. However, while ‘permanent employees’ now enjoy the protection of labour law, at all the factories in the case study a significant proportion of employees have been appointed on84 Beyond the Apartheid Workplace EImpOrIFy contracts. At one factory, these workers are known as $1 short-term contractors. STCs tend to be employed at times when product bas to increase. When workers ate required for permanent positions theyll Usually recruited from the ranks of the STCs, Often, though, wotkere Permanently on a ‘temporary’ basis, as one worker pointed out Tedepends on the market ~ ifthe volumes are high, maybe, fora period of more than six months. If you statt, it should be a short-term contract. for a period of three months. If you exceed six months, you geta Pemianeat position, But it depends on the market... Catrently they are plus-minus 500 ~ that’s why T am saying it depends on the mar Like last year the company managed to employ more than 400 casual workers. Most of them were on short-term contacts, which expired at the end of last year At another factory, an interviewee ex; employed on a ‘month to month basis’, They were called ‘contract workerg According to him, some of these contract workers had been working at thal tory for as long as three years without being made permanent. Anothé ‘worker from yet another factory explained the situation as follows ‘What they do, if the contractor has worked, say, for six months, they Will terminate the contract. And then they would say, no, they doar have the job for the contract any more, All of a sudden, after two or three weeks, they will say they need those contractors back again. You See, [that is] the strategy they are using, One contract worker explained the rationale behind the employment approximately 200 contract workers at her factory in this I think the company doesn’t want to Pay. That’s why they employ Tre Stor Hes cheaper, because when they don't want them again they just tell them, "Youur closing date is in June. We ae takine you ay We don’t want you any more,’ It’s easy for them — tather than [with] permanent [workers, where] they have to go through some stages,ras STCs J \ production vas, they are orkers work apetiod sontract va get a xy they market 8 casual pited at rkers were tworkers’, ‘king at the t. Another 3s, they y don't two or in. You »yment of ploy again 18 you * than 3.2 provides a summary of how fixed-term contracts operate at the wnt factories. Proportions of contract workers range from 25-47 per 3.2: Permanent employees and fixed-erm contract workers. Number of | Permanent | Contract | Comments employees | employees | employees 1300 800 '500 (98%) | Shortterm contrac for duration of 3 months. ‘Some toolmakers and electricians sourced by labour contactors 380 120 (26%) | Monthly contracts introduced in +4996, when output increased. ‘Some casuals used to fil for absent workers. Contractors sometimes used for special projects i) Factory c 150 (25%) | Monthly contrac renewed for up 10 6 months system introduced in 2000. |At components factory, 80 permanent employees and 160 (66%) contract employees. Factory D 420 (87%) | Monthly contacts, New employees hired on contract basis and later ll oft. Source: Inteniows win managers and shapstowars, and meetings ih shop-steward commitess. Since templyment evel end fo vay, nese figure ratet eating level to ne interews were conducted at ne facores. At none of the factories did trade unions actively recruit contract workers as members. At one factory, an interviewee went so far as to suggest that ‘ihe only difference [between] contract and permanent [workers], I think, is being a member of the union — having a card and everything; that’s the only difference’ Hence, an important element of colonial despotism is retained in the new regime, While a significant segment of permanent workers have retained some form of security, a third of all employees are in insecure temporary jobs. However, even permanent workers are under constant threat because of firm86 Beyond the Apartheid Workplace closures. They are ftequently reminded of this as managers employ the languag of globalisation, MIGRANT LABOUR A third characteristic of the apartheid workplace regime is what Mame; (1996: 30) calls ‘the rural in the urban’. The workforce at Von Holdt’s 2003} 40-6) steel mill in Witbank was segmented into workers who had lived in th local township for some time and migrant workers who were housed in q hostel administrated by the local municipality. These two categories of worked did not only live in two distinc social spheres, but management consciously allocated them to different positions inside the workplace. According to Vor Holdt (2003b: 40), ‘migrants were preferred for jobs in hot, dangerous places such as the iron plant tap floors or the steel plant furnaces, and for hard labour . . . Locals were recruited for “softer” jobs — such as artisan assistants! He explains: This differentiated recruiting strategy was related to control, discipline and cost in the workplace. For migrant workers, pressed upon by the large reserve army of labour penned up in bantustans, and desperate for work, dismissal or non-renewal of a contract would be a disaster. This imposed on them the discipline to accept the toughest and most gruelling work, at the lowest pay, and under harsh treatment ... (Von Holdt 2003b: 42) Migrant labour remains a key characteristic of the current southern African labour market. However, in the industry under study, migrant labour is no longer a major feature. One of the firms did have an on-site hostel in the ast. Losing one’s job at this company also meant losing accommodation in the city, and this was used co keep workers compliant. This system is no longer used. However, the segmentation of the labour market into permanent and contract employees maintains some of the workplace-based dynamics of the migrant labour system. THE RACIAL SEGREGATION OF FACILITIES A fourth characteristic of the apartheid workplace regime is the racial Segregation of facilities. Up to 1983, this was formally legislated byPost-colonial Workplace Regimes in the Engineering Indust . 87 Bmment. However, as Von Holdt (2003b: 29-30) points out, when this Beation was repealed many firms continued with the practice of providing rate canteens, change houses and toilets. He makes an important point in fploy the language 5 regard: what Mamdani F Holdt’s (2003b; | Labour legislation reform —an alteration in the national regime of had lived in the © Jabour regulation — did not necessarily translate into change in the housed in q svorkplace regime. Racial identity was constructed by white political, ies of workers F rmanagerial, trade union and social power, rather than by the law alone, feet consciously and it was the basis of that power. Power in the workplace was racially peording to Von constituted (Yon Holdt 2003b: 30). fangerous places . and for hard Hsan assistants” workers reported that some forms of segregation some of the factories re still practiced. One worker explained: We should learn to live together, then we can work together, be it's not a big deal. But the supervisors, they've got their own kind of tea that they drink, we've got our own kind of tea. They drink fresh milk, and we drink only tea, The management drinks even better. You see. 1 am not saying they must buy us like, uice and everything ~ that is expensive — but if we can learn to live together, I mean, we can work together. They've got their own toilets, we've got our own toilets. Even us shop stewards, we were denied the opportunity to use the use discipline by the desperate ster. Fand most toilets up there, in the training centre. We were using them before, but Plabour is no all of a sudden they said no ... During the negotiations we were able hoste Wstel in the Modation in use those toilets. If you want to go to the toilet you must, like, go out and , ., stuff like that, So its not healthy. to use those toilets, but all of a sudden they decided, no, we must not From this interview it is clear that segregation is not always racial per se, but rather follows the contours of the company hierarchy. Another interviewee said We [African workers] also communicate with them [coloureds and } Indians}; we don’t have a problem, except with the management.88 Beyond the Apartheid Workplace Everybody is worried with management at this company. But with us 88 workers we don't have problems, because we eat together . They don’t treat us as tools, because there ate whites who treat then employees as tools, you see. So you dont stay with tools ~ tools stay separate, At another factory, where the canteen was used by both workers ang Mon eemen® management had an eaelier hunch time than the factory workers Managers used enamel plates and workers used plastic ones. One has 8 emphasise that these practices were based not on tace as such, but on the company hierarchy. It is important to note, however, that workers interpre this as de facto discrimination, since the hierarchy is stil racalsed, Apart from mentioning specific example about the general state of affairs in th national issues: jiuave never seen a place where apartheid is this bad, never in my life Now that’s why I was thinking, T can see why the white people are getting Killed on the farms — because of this attitude’. Ie is not them, bur itis the parents that taught them to be like that, you uaderstardl> Discrimination on the basis of race is no longer legislated in South Aftica. It 'S actively discouraged by state policies, and legislation has been put in place ‘o bring about employment equity. However, workers interpret the —ercbaton of facilities according to company hierarchy as proof that certain slements of racial segregation in the workplace remain, Workers hold strong Opinions and continue to challenge these practices These continuities may be temporary phenomena that form patt of a Process of decolonisation, Also, the study is based on only one sector of one industry. One cannot generalise the findin essentially based on opinions expressed during interviews ~ to include all of South / However, the Perspectives presented here do raise important questions about the ability of particular formation of the post-colonial state to ‘penetrate’ the workplace.Sut with us 1... They treat their tools stay workers and ctory workers) One has to hy, but on the ers interpret ised. ad comments linked this tg in my life, seople are not them, derstand? suth Africa. It 2 put in place nterpret the of that certain shold strong t™m part of a sector of one ‘on opinions However, the wt the ability enetrate’ the SOCATION OF WOREPLACES IN A BIFURCATED INDUSTRIAL Gmportant element of the apartheid workplace regime is the way es ae inserted into the industial geography of colonialism, Mamdani pi) refers to the bifurcated state and to the different logics of colonial ban centres and raral areas. In the South African context, indirect Fook the form of the bantustans created by the migrant labour system formalised by the apartheid government. While Von Holt (2003b) fies the importance of the migrant labour system, he f significance of apartheid industsal geography itselé Until the labour laws were changed in 1979, all African workers were Mided from the legal definition of ‘employee’. By using strategic court ined with a programme of mobilisation, the independent trade es, combi 1973 wave of strikes were able to slowly chip ions that emerged after the faysome of the legal pillars of racial despotism. However, accounts of "African labout history often fail to consider that a significant number workers were Jocated in areas that were not included in South African Ebour lav. These workers were often in what became known as ‘industrial centralisation zones’ in the so-called homelands (Friedman 1987: 475; Hart 2002). ‘The idea of this kind of ‘spatial fix’ (Silver 2003) to urban worker militancy predates formal apartheid. Indced, it was raised for the first time in the 1940s, Band a limited process of state support was initiated. Tn the 1960s, the {government stepped up its support for ‘border industries’, but the factories ‘vere not located within the bantustans. Only from the late 1960s to the early 1970s were factory owners encouraged to set up shop within the bantustans themselves, This had the added advantage of locating employment relations: outside the scope of the reforming South Aftican labour regime. Thus if one alters Mamdani’s language somewhat, whereas workers in urban centres "vere making propzess in achieving some form of industrial citizenship, workers in roral areas were very much the subjects of the neo-traditional rulers of bantustans, In the South African context, the way in which the ‘bifurcated state’ shaped the industzial geography of apartheid is often ignored by a ‘metro-centric? approach (Hart 2002). [After the spate of liquidations in the late 1990s and the ently 2000s, three90 Beyond the Apartheid Workplace of the four remaining South African factories in this sector of the engineerin industry are located in former bantustans, However, the union has begun address the dispaities in wages and conditions between these areas angl factories located in urban areas. Whereas NUMSA and its predecessor, the Metal and Allied Workers Union (MAWU), was able to organise urban factories in the 1970s, factories in these former decentralisation areas were only organised in the late 1980s, ‘The civil wat in the early 1990s, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, severely] disrupted union activities. However, currently processes of reconciliation im the workplace ate leading to former members of the United Workers’ Union of South Africa (UWUSA) being organised into NUMSA structures. As the wage levels at the different production locations in South Africa even out, workers interviewed at some of the factories were concerned about whether the company would maintain their operations in former bantusta: This is a constant source of insecurity, with workers referring to factories that are ‘running away’ from them. Some were aware that the discontinuation of subsidies for companies was putting pressure on the industrialisation models followed in the former industrial decentralisation zones. An inter: viewec, commenting on plant closures in one of the areas, said, think maybe it is because there are no company subsidies . . . There were some subsidies [for] seven years. So I think there are no subsidies now...’ Some related the closure of companies in this atea to racism: ‘What makes the companies close down? The answer is simple. It is the White men who have the money, they do not want the black government. ‘That is why they cun away with the money and hide it in another place, and sit upon it. That is the reason Another said, What I mean is that business owners think that there is a problem, that they must give people jobs. They fight the people because they want to bring back the white government. Whereas the industrial decentralisation zones served as a mechanism to discipline labour in South Aftica in the past, this dynamic is now replicated in the southern African region, In this industry, a competing factory was set up in neighbouring Swaziland in the 1990s. Within two years it captured 40 perEngineering Industry «= “post-colonial Workplace Regimes in the of the engineer sof the South African market; 90 per cent ofits production was exported ssion has begun t uth Africa. Swaziland is notorious for its labour repressive regime, and Dis African management and trade unions alike raised this issue publicly idenhout 2004). Trdeed, interviewees were very much aware of some of these dynamics. fe worker said, ‘I think the government must try to stop taking goods countries and not allow so many countries to bring their goods a these areas andy @ Allied Workers! be 1970s, factories in the late 1980s, beNatal, severely F reconciliation int Boods from outside the country? # Workers’ Unio © Thus, as the uneven labour market brought about by the industrial structuzes. ography of apartheid is levelled, the same logic is replicated in the context in South Aftica of southern Africa. The availability of a state form and labour regime in land that resembles the former homelands enables a rearticulation of pm other hese in South Africa — just because our factories are closing down due to fooncerned about | a met bantustans, the logic of apartheid industrial geography. South Aftica’s internal spatial fix ig to factories Gexternalised to include Swaziland in the case of this sector of the engineering but also Lesotho in the case of the textile and other industries. sdiscontinuation dstry, Hdustrialisation nes. An inter- CONCLUSION Hy I think maybe What can we say, then, about the workplace regime that is being constructed some subsidies oon the ruins of the apartheid workplace regime? Von Holdt (2003b) identifies Some rclated the three possible future trajectories for the post-apartheid workplace regime, First, authoritarian restoration implies a return to the logic of despotism. ‘This would entail what Burawoy (1985) calls ‘market despotism’, or ‘unitarism’ in the language of industrial relations theory. For Von Hold, in the South African context this implies a neo-apartheid workplace regime Second, negotiated reconstruction implies co-operation between management anda strong, independent trade union in order to establish a less authoritarian workplace regime. For such a workplace regime to survive in the long tun, the establishment of a more generalised ‘hegemonic’ regime of control would be required (Burawoy 1985). It would have to be supported by a social democratic ‘class compromise’. In the language of industrial relations theory, a ‘pluralist’ system would be the outcome of such a process. Third, Von Holdt identifies what he calls wildcat co-operation. This is when union members buy into managetial ideology and co-operate in restructuring exetcises without the union’s support. For Burawoy, this implies ‘hegemonic By was set up ed 40 pet92 Beyond the Apartheid Workplace despotism’ and, in the language of industrial relations theory, ‘neo. unitatis {na way, this is where the comparison between the various theoretical strand discussed here becomes conceptually inconsistent, Indeed, Von Holdt (2003 attempted to construct a theoretical language more appropriate in the contey of the South. ‘Hegemonie despotism’ is a moment that follows the ‘hegal monic’ regimes of the North, when the welfare state comes under Press because of economic liberalisation. It is a Post-welfare-state moment — widil cu-backs in social security legitimised by the ideology of globalisation. Alsg ‘Deo-unitarism’ implies a moment that follows ‘pluralism’ — the r-assertiont of unitarism. Von Hold is careful to point out that the apartheid workplace ‘gime was despotic in nature, Can ‘hegemonic despotism’ follow despotism’ as a regime of control? bete as is of the engineering industry in South Aftica. While the notions of apartheid workplace regime (Von Holdt) and Colonial desporism (Burawoy) ate useful in describing the past, the above categories of possible furure trajectories are less helpful. Rather, we are forced fo consider new concepts. In light of the criticism of South Africed cxceptonalism, the concepts of post-apartheid workplace regime and neo. ‘partheid workplace regime also seem inappropriate. Rather than any of these concepts, we see in the context of southern Aftica what one could el 8 pathcoloial workplace regime. Indeed, this study has shown that in this sector of the engineering industry a number of elements of the apartheid workplace rn. reconfigured in new ways, but that this process of reconfiguration Unfors Some key characteristics of the logic underlying the apartheid workplace regime ~ there is continuity in change First, historically the industry emerged as one with workplace regimes based on a racial division of labour, In some of the factories, race was remoulded, with the position of coloured and Indian workers changing over time. The racial mould is by no means a fixed one, In the context of ahe post. colonial state, the racial division of labour can no longer be legitimised by the state. Tn fact, policies have been put in place to bring about redress. Legislation aimed at rectifying skills imbalances as well a the promotion of employment equity has been promulgated. However, the post-colonial state does not always have the capacity to enforce such legislation, and substantialment — with sation, Also, reassertion| 4 workplace How ‘racial understand yin South old) and) the above are forced » African, and neo- ia any of could call ris sector ‘arkplace iguration >artheid regimes ee was 2g over « post ised by edress. tion of U stare tantial Post-colonial Workplace Regimes in the Engineering Industry exists for an upward floating colour bar and an informal wage colour fo exist within the informal realms of formal organisations. Indeed, while Polonial sate collapses, racialsed post-colonial suaey is quite capable of Bing on to colonial values. OF course, trade unions challenge these practices Bie workplace, and they may only be a temporary phenomenon, Becond, under colonialism the zacal structure of power in the workplace Bay on the state for legitimacy and formal legal sanction. Following the lapse of this regime, new sources of legitimacy are needed to maintain nagetial control over the labour process. An important element of racial se essentially pre-bureaucratic forms of work organisation are challenged trade unions, who force companies to sign ‘procedural agreements’, and sho challenge the absence of formal grading systems or the anomalies inherent such grading systems once they are implemented. In a way, one might argue at the struggle against racial despotism is a srugele for bureaucracy one that Dpased on a different logic and that is seen as mote ‘rational’ by workets. Hie managerial fix to this challenge is partially found in the market, with the Riroduction of new forms of insecurity —a layer of fixed-term contract Drkers in the case of this industry. Another form of insecurity is the constant g fhreat of relocation under the ‘pressure’ of ‘globalisation’. The discourse of Colonial management fuses with the discourse of globalisation through the Janguage of flexibility The bureaucratic measures that were meant to transform Solonial despotism into some form of post-colonial hegemony ate seen as Obstacles to productivity and employment. The result is the language of the Market legitimising the continuing dominance of white managers in the workplace and a reassertion of their despotism by using fixed-term contracts, threats to relocate and the language of neoliberal globalisation. ‘Thus, the State as locus of racial despotism disappears and the market is used to enforce discipline. Third, the system of migrant labour is still 2 major feature of the labour ‘market in the broader context of southern Africa. While itis not a key factor 18 the case of this sector of the engineering industry, the system of using fixed-term contracts replicates the dynamic of Jabour market segmentation brought about by the migrant labour system. Whereas in the past migrant Workers at one of the factories were at the risk of losing not only their jobsBeyond the Apartheid Workplace but also their accommodation in the hostel on the firm's premises, a layer of vulnerable contract workers are now subjected to the threat exclusion, Fourth, the segregation of facilities on the basis of race has become ill Some petty practices still persist, however. Segregated facilities in workplace are justified on the basis of seniority and rank. In the context informal colour bars, this remains a very sensitive issue in the workplace, Fifth, the location of the industry in a bifurcated industrial geographyy replicated in the context of regional integration. ‘This should be understog in the context of the somewhat different post-colonial routes taken by varioi countries in the region (Bezuidenout 2004), When the pos government came to power in South Africa, there were attempts to put if place a broader set of institutions to support the reconstruction of th workplace. ‘The extent to which trade unions could establish such ‘tation procedures in the workplace, however, was overestimated. Many sectors) the economy were never organised and, because of the nature of aparthy industrial geography, significant spaces of the manufacturing industry wel located outside the national regime. ‘The authors of the labour laws assumed that it would be possible 10 convince the players that the establishment of new institutions, or bureail cracies, in the workplace would be to their benefit ~ in the long run — even if they were not established yet. Therefore, the Labour Relations Act of 1995 contained significant elements of social engineering, The hope was that generalised exercises of ‘negotiated reconstruction’ would add up to become) a social trend, and in this way create the high road of post-Fordism A better understanding of the emerging post-colonial workplace regime in South Africa equips us with more appropriate theoretical tools t0 understand the limits to post-Fordist strategy. Indeed, the post-colonial § workplace regime is quite able to contain elements of negotiated recon struction, authoritarian restoration or wildcat co-operation — often. simultaneously but also at different times. A strategy of authoritarian restoration, as in the case of a number of factories in this industry, oftet leads to stalemate and continued ungovernability in the workplace. Thus workers actively resist attempts at authoritarian restoration. But because of the ongoing stalemate, the resulting resistant work culture is not conducivellnises, a ng possible or bureati Act of 1995) ve was that. to become: sm lace regime al tools to 7 sst-colonial ted recon- a ~ often thoritarian sty, often lace. Thus, because of conducive scant increases in productivity based on worker co-operation and However, even if firms shift their approach to one of negotiated ction, the question remains as to how sustainable such an approach Jin the context of an absence of state structures to sustain large- formation. Islands of co-operation in a sea of despotism do not Fehange landscapes; they only lead to the enclave economics created by {olonial societies based on the logic of simultaneous inclusion and fusion, ‘The racial dimension may be less pronounced, even though Beil tension will remain and flame up at certain times. B South Africa is not an exception to the rule, During the colonial period, «in Swaziland also fought racial discrimination in the workplace, and ‘babwe white craft unions depended on the state to fix the definitions ‘hele deskilled jobs as a defensive strategy against their black counterparts. B ia post-colonial Swaziland, the monarch succeeded in establishing his through traditionalism. In the realm of industrial relations, a Aionalist unitarism’ was established, building on key elements of colonial Bpoim. As a form of state, post-colonial Swaziland maintains the bi- Bion brought about by colonial land and labour policies. Ironically, the fonarchy’s bourgeois nature is entrenched by the maintenance of this NfGnction. Allowing for trade unions and parliamentary democracy would Tindermine this arrangement. ‘This creates the space for the South African system of industrial decentralisation, and its associated industrial relations practices, to be replicated in the Kingdom. Post-colonial Zimbabwe constructed a form of state corporatism after independence, thus incorporating trade unions into a nationalist project. The positive side of this state-led programme should not be ignored. While trade tinions remain weak at the level of the workplace ~a legacy of state corporatism — the racial character of despotism in the workplace is less harsh than in South Africa. However, in the context of the present political and Economic chaos in Zimbabwe, it is difficult to construct a useful comparison. A possible lesson from Zimbabwe may be that the ‘colour bar’ may shift out Of the workplace to the economy as such, specifically with regard to ownership. Thus, the politics of race remain engrained in post-colonial southern Africa, €ven though meanings shift over time. Indeed, the key to understanding the continuities with the apartheid9% Beyond the Apartheid Workplace workplace regime lies in seeing South Africa as part of a southern Affi political economy, historically tied together through processes of colo, conquest and the establishment of a relatively cohesive settler society with i ‘own identity. In the context of the Northern metropolis, hegemonic regimg of control slowly give way to hegemonic despotism. In the former colonigg colonial despotism gives way to a market despotism that reinforces some q the key characteristics of colonialism. This is what characterises the pos Colonial workplace regime ~ the rearticulation of past logics within the proceg of change Notes 1. The first four characteristics of the apartheid workplace regime mentioned here were developed by Von Holdt (2003). The fifth characteristic, apartheid industrial geography is added here, 2. Baar means ‘boss’, but implies an important element of white supremacy ~ a more accurat translation might be ‘master’ rather than ‘boss