Metal that will not bend : National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa 1980-1995 / Kally Forrest.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Forrest, Kally, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Metal-workers--Labor unions--South Africa.

Metal-workers.

Strikes and lockouts--Metal-workers--South Africa.

Strikes and lockouts.

National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa--History.

National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 566 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Johannesburg : Wits University Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the 1980s there was a surge of trade union power in South Africa. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) was prominent and innovative in this assertion of muscle.Metal that does not Bend traces Numsa's accumulation, from a few small unions in a handful of factories to the staging of national strikes involving thousands of workers in auto and engineering. It examines how the union used its influence in macroeconomic and political arenas. Numsa was Cosatu's most radical socialist affiliate, and the book explores its attempts to implement its vision. Historians have framed apartheid's downfall as resulting from the activities of the exiled liberation movement, global anti-apartheid boycott strategies and internal township insurrection. This book reasserts the critical role of the internal labour movement.

Contents:

Front Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Table of Contents; Acknowledgements; List of Abbreviations and Acronyms; Introduction; Chapter One: Building local power: 1970's; Chapter Two: Power through numbers: 1980-1985; Chapter Three: Power in unity: 1980-1987; Chapter Four: Breaking the apartheid mould: 1980-1982; Chapter Five: Worker action fans out: 1980-1984; Chapter Six: Melding institutional, campaign and bureaucratic power: 1983-1990; Chapter Seven: Conquest of Metal Industrial Council: 1987-1988; Chapter Eight: Auto workers take power: 1982-1989

Chapter Nine: Auto takes on the industry: 1990-1992 Chapter Ten: New directions: 1988-1991; Chapter Eleven: Defeat of Mawu strategy: 1990-1992; Chapter Twelve: Towards a new industry: 1993; Chapter Thirteen: The Cinderella sector: 1983-1990; Chapter Fourteen: Applying vision in auto and motor: 1990-1995; Chapter Fifteen: Applying vision in engineering: 1994-1995; Chapter Sixteen: Independent worker movement: 1980-1986; Chapter Seventeen: Beginnings of alliance politics: 1984-1986; Chapter Eighteen: Weakening the socialist impulse: Civil war in Natal 1987-1994

Chapter Nineteen: Civil war in Transvaal: 1989-1994 Chapter Twenty: New politics: 1987-1990; Chapter Twenty-One: Disinvestment: Pragmatic politics 1985-1989; Chapter Twenty-Two: Compromising on socialism: Legacy of the Alliance 1989-1995; Appendix; Notes; Select Bibliography; Index ; Back Cover

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 547-550) and index.

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Apr 2018).

ISBN:

1-86814-556-5

OCLC:

913334410