ANALYSISstate privatised the steel giant in the
late 1980s. Under the ownership of the
multinational Mittal Steel, the labour force
was systematically downsized until its
Pretoria West works – historically run by
white labour – was closed down entirely in
the mid-1990s.
This had detrimental knock-on
effects for other industries in the city.
In the space of a few years, 15,000 white
workers were left unemployed by this
reduction in industrial activity. More were
made redundant from state employment,
and the introduction of employment equity
policies often made finding alternative
work difficult. Recent research has
followed the fortunes of blue-collar white
men in Pretoria as they sought to find work
or navigate unemployment.
The Mineworkers Union
Indeed, labour and later political reform
sent white workers in search of new ways
to safeguard their interests in a rapidly
changing world. An organisation that I’ve
studied closely is the Mineworkers’ Union.
Founded in 1902, the racially exclusive
MWU, for most of its history, represented
white miners at the lowest end of the skills
hierarchy. These workers were heavily
dependent on state protection from
competition from black labour. Hence the
MWU vigorously defended job reservation
and supported the NP. Its representatives
in turn enjoyed direct access to ministerial
offices and even the Prime Minister.
This changed with the Wiehahn
reforms. The MWU slammed the NP for its
“treason of the white worker” and called
a strike in defence of job reservation. This
came to nought. Next, the union shifted
its support to the newly-established
opposition Conservative Party and other
right-wing organisations. But when the
CP refused to participate in the 1994
elections, white workers were again left
high and dry. Once more the MWU changed
tack. It appointed a new leadership from
outside the mining industry which set out
to rebrand, reorganise, modernise and
expand the union.
Today the MWU is stronger than
ever – though you may not immediately
recognise it. In 2002, it was renamed
Solidarity and became the founding
organisation of what is today the
Solidarity Movement, an ever-expanding
conglomerate of some 18 organisations,
which includes AfriForum.
Solidarity
The union Solidarity now represents some
140,000 workers across all industries,
including professionals, as it offers
collective and individual representation
and benefits. It is predominantly, though
no longer exclusively, white. Crucially, the
union itself, and through its association
with the broader Solidarity Movement,
no longer explicitly identifies as working
class. It frames itself as an Afrikaner
organisation catering for minority
interests. It is clear from its strategies and
statements that “Afrikaners” and their
“interests” are understood as culturally
homogenous, self-evidently nationalist
and anti-ANC.
While built on working-class
foundations, the Solidarity Movement is
certainly not a working-class movement.
It is a populist right-wing alliance which
promotes white autonomy in a variety of
spheres and seeks to undermine majority
rule. It mobilises around a myriad of issues,
from affirmative action to farm murders.
It appeals internationally to everyone from
the UN to Fox News, and it potentially
threatens democratic consolidation and
social cohesion.To be sure, Solidarity is not the
full answer to the question about white
workers after 1994. Other research shows
that many have opted for economic and
social pragmatism, embracing cross-racial
support and intimacy. But Solidarity with
its Movement is, unfortunately, by far the
most prominent. It sees working-class
interests once more usurped into a broader
nationalist agenda.
Once again class is obscured by race
and culture. This should be a warning for
all labour organisations that are cosy with
those who have broader ambitions.Danelle van Zyl-Hermann is a
historian at the University of Basel.
She is the author of the book
Privileged Precariat: White workers
and South Africa’s long transition to
majority rule (2021).Today the Mineworkers Union is stronger than ever – though you may not
immediately recognise it. In 2002, it was renamed Solidarity and became the
founding organisation of what is today the Solidarity Movement, an ever-expanding
conglomerate of some 18 organisations which includes AfriForum.