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COSATU's Input to theSAHRC Public Hearings on Racism,kwaZulu-Natal Region, 26 July 2000 |
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COSATU's Input to theSAHRC Public Hearings on Racism,kwaZulu-Natal Region, 26 July 2000 |
Table of Contents
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1. Introduction 3. Racism in the post apartheid era 3.1 Post apartheid legislation 3.2 Unemployment |
5. Conclusion |
1. Introduction
Racism is a historical global problem that has engulfed this world since the days of slavery. The origins of it can be traced back to the segregation policies in the United States and colonialism in Africa. The decolonisation of Africa and the removal of racial policies in other countries represented a paradigm shift which reflected the need to respect the fundamental human rights of all people and to remove all forms of policies that subjected Africans to unequal treatment.
However this shift in policy only attempted to remove blatant or direct racism within government policies whilst a more subtle form of racism is still practised in the world. In fact, the inequities that continue to exist in the world today are the evidence of this type of racism. This means that whilst racism is no longer entrenched in laws and policies and is publicly denounced to be inhuman and unacceptable, racism still exists and in most instances it is a hidden type of racism. This reduces it to a mere allegation, which is difficult to prove.
The divide and rule policy of the National Party government was the worst form of racism that resulted in the classification of people into nonsensical categories that continue to cause divisions even today. People were first classified as white and black, secondly those falling under the category of blacks were divided into African, coloured and Indian and thirdly Africans were further divided according to their ethnicity deliberately causing further divisions and tensions on racial and ethnic lines. This ethnic divide amongst Africans resulted in them being removed from their homes to new townships, which were divided, into sections for each ethnic group. Homelands were later established to create separate "governments" for Africans.
During the apartheid era a dual labour market policy existed where "quality" jobs were reserved for whites whilst the African majority were given low-paying, unskilled occupations. Africans worked as domestic workers and farm workers for white families and as cleaners, construction and mineworkers, etc. for big companies and as the lowest income earners within the public sector. For example, teachers in African schools, nurses in African hospitals and as clerks in the public service institutions that provided services to Africans.
These workers had no access to legal recourse for injustices suffered in their workplaces. The labour laws that were later introduced did not serve any purpose to Africans as they proved to be useless legal instruments that were not intended to transform the labour market and could therefore not be implemented. As a result Africans continued to be exploited in the worst possible way. For example, in addition to very low wages, most of them did not have access to important benefits like the UIF, pension funds, recourse for occupational injuries, medical aid etc.
Racial discrimination within the labour market was linked with class oppression. Employers indirectly implemented the racist policies of the Apartheid State to enjoy the fruits of cheap labour and to increase their profits. This was achieved by putting in place a number of mechanisms: (1)
The ideology of white superiority: This meant that no white person should work under the guidance or supervision of a black person. The effect of this was to keep black workers in perpetual subordination to anybody who was white and to relegate them to second-class occupational status in the workplace.
Mechanisms of control: This has taken various forms at different stages of South Africa’s economic development. Mining is notorious for some of the most extreme measures of control, e.g. forced recruitment, the compound system and the migrant labour system in general. However, other sectors of the economy also used control of different kinds in which supervisors and other layers of line management performed a crucial function. Surveillance by management, including the use of spies and the use of electronic bugging devices, played a central part in ensuring the success of these measures of control.
Thus cheap labour was achieved through various measures of control, which were intended to ensure that black workers had no rights and remained powerless. These measures which were designed to oppress black workers were then reinforced by control mechanisms put in place and enforced by state agencies like the police, the courts, etc
Denial of trade union and collective bargaining rights: This strategy was pivotal to the strategy of ensuring the cheapness and servility of black labour. Although white workers have enjoyed these rights for almost a century, employers continued to resist their extension to black workers until recently. Even when these workers finally got these rights recognised by law, employers continued to resist collective bargaining and trade unions for black workers.
The use of coercive measures to ensure compliance: A central feature of the control discussed above was the use of coercion and violence against black workers. Although many employers worked hand in glove with state agencies in this, it is possible to identify an independent role which employers played in violating the rights of their employees. This often took forms such as assaults, dismissals, and threats of dismissals and failure to pay workers’ wages.
Lack of training for black workers: Capital has always been opposed to the training of black workers. Where such training took place it was one of promoting the ability of blacks to serve the white boss effectively.
White workers and workplace discrimination: The role of white workers in promoting racial discrimination should be noted, racial discrimination made it possible for white workers to remain a privileged elite enjoying many privileges and rights which were denied to black workers. On many occasions they resisted attempts to allow black workers into occupations reserved for them, even though black workers were to receive lower wages in those jobs.
The state and labour market discrimination: Up until recently, many black workers have held the view that the South African state is working hand in glove with employers. This view comes from the fact that various governments were seen to be promoting the interests of employers through measures such as the migrant labour system, pass laws, the suppression of trade union activity and job reservation. Female workers who up to today remain oppressed, were excluded from the labour market or placed in low paying and often repetitive jobs with very little regard to their health, safety and development.
Gender and racial discrimination: Black women workers were the victims of triple oppression at the workplace — being oppressed as blacks, as workers, and as women. The history of this triple oppression has left us with a legacy in which women are clustered in jobs that can be defined as typical female jobs, especially in services. Women, particularly African women, are represented disproportionately in low-income brackets. And their concentration in flexible and unskilled jobs and small business contributes to their low incomes. Only a small percentage of African women form part of corporate management. Finally, women represent a major percentage of the unemployed. In our view business played an important role in the creation of this situation.
Trade unions have since waged never-ending struggles to improve the working conditions of the disadvantaged African masses. These struggles have also formed an important part of the overall struggle for liberation in the apartheid epoch. The unbanning of the ANC and other liberation movements, which led to the 1994 democratic breakthrough, created a conducive environment for trade unions to wage a new struggle to transform the labour market.
3. Racism in the post-apartheid era
3.1 Post-apartheid legislation
The challenges facing the democratic government and the trade union movement after the 1994 elections was to change all racist laws and introduce new legislation and a democratic Constitution which will protect the rights of everyone irrespective of race or gender. Cosatu participated in the drafting of the Constitution, national legislation and policies addressing socio-economic rights. These include the Employment Equity Act (EEA), the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), the Labour Relations Act, the Promotion of Equality and the Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Equality Act), the Promotion of Access to Information Act, the Medical Schemes Act, etc. (2)
The EEA and the Equality Act are regarded as the most important pieces of legislation that are aimed at eradicating racism within our society and in the employment sector. To address racism in the workplace, Chapter 3 of the EEA requires employers to implement affirmative action measures for previously disadvantaged groups i.e. blacks. The intention of the Act is to remove employment barriers created by a racist past, redress the inequities of the past, prevent unfair discrimination based on race, gender, etc. and create equal employment opportunities for everyone. Further, as a result of section 23 of the Constitution which invokes the right to fair labour practices, the interpretation of labour laws has now been infused with constitutionalism in our courts.
The Equality Act, which gives full effect to section 9 of the Constitution, deals with unfair discrimination in all sectors of our society including employment, education, health, sports, etc. The Act prohibits unfair discrimination based on race, gender and disability and promotes affirmative action. Both the EEA and the Equality Act shift the burden of proof to the alleged wrongdoer, who must prove either that the discrimination, did not take place as alleged or that the discrimination was fair. Only affirmative action is regarded as "fair discrimination".
According to international practice the burden of proof is always on the complainant who must prove beyond reasonable doubt that unfair discrimination did take place. A new approach that has been adopted in South African law through the Equality Act and the EEA shifts the burden of proof to the alleged wrongdoer after an allegation of unfair discrimination by the complainant. This is a positive shift towards addressing substantive inequality and racism within institutions. This approach is also useful in addressing indirect or a hidden form of racism.
Typical examples of racism in the workplace are where a company retrenches some of its employees and all those facing retrenchment happen to be African. Racism is more subtle or hidden, when during job applications whites receive first preference or where white employees get more good promotions and the best skills development programmes whilst their African colleagues get few promotions and meaningless skills development programmes.
A horrifying example of racism is that of six month old Angelina Zwane who was shot to death by a farmer for allegedly "trespassing" on his land. The comments that were later made by the white community regarding the case only reflected a sick racist society that we live in and the inhuman working conditions of farm workers. Farm workers are subjected to different forms of abuse including rape, assault and even murder by their white employers who rarely get punished for these offences. Some of these workers have been evicted by their employers from the land they have occupied for many years. This happens despite the existence of the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act 3 of 1996 which is aimed at protecting labour tenants from eviction by employers.
Although the Angelina Zwane case is a clear case of racism and brutality, the action taken by the police and the courts were also shocking. The police refused to arrest this farmer simply because he was "co-operative" and had a permanent address therefore he could not escape. At the trial the court convicted him of culpable homicide and imposed a suspended sentence. This is a clear indication of a crude form of racism that exists within the judiciary. Courts are continuously failing to interpret the spirit of the Constitution, which is meant to restore human dignity and bring an end to racism. This in itself poses a major challenge on everyone, it is evident that relying on existing legislation will not be enough, therefore other measures need to be adopted to eradicate racism.
3.2 Unemployment
The growing unemployment in the country has worsened the poverty levels amongst the poor. The legacy of apartheid has left a large part of the African population illiterate or poorly educated. This means that blacks occupy the unskilled labour sector while whites and a small minority of blacks are regarded as skilled workers skills. Therefore, large-scale retrenchments, which have been taking place in the unskilled labour sector in the last few years, have affected the already poor black population, increasing the levels of poverty.
The macroeconomic policy adopted by government bears the blame for the increasing figures in unemployment and poverty. In order to implement GEAR, government has set itself targets and in order to reach these targets government needs to downsize/restructure the public service, privatise most of its services to the poor, privatise government parastatals etc. This however, has major implications for the poor as an increase in the price of basic services and retrenchments will worsen their already poverty stricken backgrounds.
The history of oppression on the basis of race and gender created the conditions for a broad alliance of all oppressed people. In this alliance, the working class played a central role. But apartheid created almost equal deprivation of wealth and rights across the classes within the black community, providing the grounds for unity amongst the poor. Today however, the adoption of a liberal macroeconomic policy by the democratic government and the emergence of a black bourgeoisie have further widened the gap between the rich and poor. (3)
In any class society, the major class distinction lies between those who both own and control the wealth of the country and the "non-owners" who must work for the owners in order to earn a living. With the achievement of political and human rights in 1994, however, class differences have grown. Large majorities of people living in poverty are black; most of these families have no income to rely on as a result of increasing unemployment and lack of social security.
The socio-economic rights that are entrenched in Chapter 2 of the Constitution serve little purpose as they are subject to limitations. Regardless of these limitations however, national legislation which is intended to improve the social conditions of the poor have been enacted, whether the effects of these pieces of legislation are felt by the poor is matter that needs further investigation. In short, in the current conjuncture, while the democratic state still represents the class forces originally allied against apartheid, it cannot seek merely to mediate between class interests. Rather, it must implement measures that will ensure transformation biased towards the working class and the poor. Redistribution of wealth is not about redistribution from the "poor" to the "poorest" but from the rich to the poor. It is about democratisation of economic and social power on a broad scale.
3.4 On redistribution and poverty eradication
As discussed above, economic apartheid still manifests itself in racialised economic inequality. Furthermore, the extreme poverty of many of our people is a direct legacy of apartheid. A key pillar of a strategy for dealing with racism is thus the promotion of economic equality and the eradication of poverty. Statistics indicate that while interracial inequality has improved somewhat over the past few years, interracial inequality (for example amongst blacks) has worsened.
What is needed is a stronger redistributional thrust that closes economic gaps between the rich and poor and as well within racial groups. Redistribution and poverty eradication should be pursued through all aspects of government policy. Notably, appropriate fiscal policy should be strongly redistributional both in the way that resources are raised through revenue and spent; and labour market policy should strongly protect the jobs and working conditions of workers. As discussed above, unemployment is to a large extent an apartheid legacy and affects blacks disproportionately. A massive employment drive that creates quality and sustainable jobs must be a major element of dealing with that legacy.
COSATU proposes that all aspects of government economic policy – monetary, fiscal, trade and industrial, labour market, and public sector – should be geared towards employment retention and creation. We support black economic empowerment as conceptualised in this way. The most important way in which black economic empowerment can take place is through massive employment creation. The delivery of services and infrastructure to the poor, the vast majority of whom are black, constitutes real economic empowerment.
In a country like South Africa, which has a racist past, achieving reconciliation remains a major challenge. South Africa is a multi-class, multi-cultural and multi-racial society therefore some form of harmony needs to be created between these divergent sectors of our society. This can be achieved first and foremost by an individual commitment to change and the spirit of patriotism, secondly by community efforts with government and private sector support. A transformed and well-functioning judicial system is needed, which is committed to the socio-economic transformation of our country and the protection of the fundamental rights of the poor majority.
South Africa prides itself for having the most progressive Constitution in the world. Therefore, national legislation informed by this Constitution has been enacted to replace old oppressive apartheid laws. The role of the judiciary to progressively interpret the rights entrenched in these laws is imperative. Therefore, a new transformed judicial system needs to be created in order to realise the objectives of the Constitution and to ensure visible change.
Those who are responsible for interpreting the law and those who enforce it should be properly trained to curb human rights abuses within the system. Further, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) as a human rights watchdog should continue to monitor the implementation of these laws. The role of other progressive organisations is also important in this regard. Therefore, the role of the SAHRC to monitor the decisions of the courts and to intervene where the intention of the legislature is being undermined needs to be intensified.
Cosatu is still engaged in an ongoing struggle to close the apartheid wage gap, which is still based on colour and class. So far existing laws do not adequately address this problem. Salaries of those occupying management positions are still ridiculously higher than salaries of ordinary workers. Further important laws like the Skills Development Act needs to be monitored to ensure adherence and to address the lack of skills within the workforce and in particular the previously disadvantaged African workforce.
Community reinvestment laws that are relevant to the circumstances in South Africa need to be put in place to deal with racial discrimination by financial institutions and to encourage economic development in townships and rural areas. A social security system needs to be created to address poverty and unemployment.
5. Conclusion
In order to address systemic inequality a radical implementation programme of existing progressive laws should be put in place. This will assist in determining whether those who are in the periphery are able to access these laws. Further, societal changes and expectations place a greater emphasis on the need for government, labour and employers to be social partners in a co-operative effort to promote economic development and survival, social justice, labour peace and workplace democratisation. This can only be achieved through joint decision-making.
The forthcoming conference on racism is a welcomed initiative and South Africa should use this opportunity to share its experiences with the world and to try and find a pragmatic approach to eradicate racism, which is relevant to our complex society. Although the end of this conference will not mean an end to racism, it is important to ensure that the content of the programme for the conference reflects a clear vision to address racial discrimination. The participation of representatives from all sectors of our society is therefore necessary and should be stressed.
1 See Cosatu Submission on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Hearings on Business and Apartheid - 11 - 13 November 1997
2 Visit Cosatu web site at www.cosatu.org.za for submissions.
3 "According to the latest University of South Africa's (UNISA's) Bureau of Market Research; in 1996 the richest 20% earned R22 for every R1 earned by the poorest 20%. SA's poverty rate is between 30% and 40% depending on what definition is used. The country's Gini coefficient - an indication of income distribution - is among the highest in the world at 0,63%, with zero being an indication of complete equality and one extreme inequality." Business Day - 25/07/00
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