Transformation 5 (1987)                                            Debate
   A REJOINDER TO VON HOLDT
  Martin Plaut
      Von Holdt's assertions are many and diverse. Let me therefore use the
  space available to counter but two. The first is that workerism is respon-
  sible for 'the separation of unions from other popular organisation (which)
  weakened the trade unions as a political force, and weakened the popular
  movement as a whole 1 .
      For a start this implies an extraordinarily narrow view of what consti-
  tutes the political. To have built a union movement in South Africa that
  was, by the end of the 1970s, not only the fastest growing in the world,
  but also one of the few expanding movements anywhere, is no mean achieve-
  ment. Nor did this simply imply a shop-floor strength. It resulted in a
  major and possibly irreversible shift in the South African political eco-
   nomy in favour of workers and their families - a shift that has not even
   been eroded by the events of the last year, that has seen lesser movements
   crumble.
      More significant still is his selective recall of history - a
   selectivity that is part of the populist mythology about the recent past,
   and a wilful collective amnesia.    In particular he cites the '...manifest
   ability of the UDF and its affiliates to challenge state initiatives in the
   political arena - particularly the Tricameral Parliament...1, contrasting
   this with the lack of political initiative on the part of the unions. He
   declares: 'For example, the shopfloor model offered very little guidance on
   how to challenge the government's initiative in introducing the Tricameral
   constitution'. No evidence is provided to back up this assertion - and
   this is not surprising, since it is plainly wrong.
      As early as 1983 (according to Friedman, 1987:443 ff) FOSATU began to
  mobilise against government plans to introduce a new constitution. Shop
   stewards at over 500 factories approached management calling for opposition
   to the proposals. On the day of the referendum itself, tens of thousands
  of workers in FOSATU factories arrived at work wearing union badges urging
   a 'no' vote. The following year, in the Eastern Cape, NAAWU went house to
   house urging coloured members not to vote in the elections to 'their' house
  of parliament. Nor were these initiatives confined to the Tricameral
  parliament. It was FOSATU president, Chris Olamini, who mobilised workers
  on the East Rand to take up issues in their communities. This is some of
  the evidence ignored by Von Holdt - ignored because it is at variance with
   his perspective.
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Transformation 5                                                    Plaut
    The second assertion I would dispute Is one that is implicit throughout
this paper, but was explicit in an earlier version (Von Holdt, 1987) This
is that relations between party and unions, although difficult at times,
will so to speak be 'all right on the night'. Or, as his quotation from
Mafumadi has it, that it will all '...depend on the balance of forces at
the time of the seizure of power1. In his earlier paper. Von Holdt claims
that despite theoretical problems about this relationship '...in political
theory and practice elements of the solution have been found*. (1987:17)
He then brings to his defence national struggles from Vietnam to El
Salvador.
    This grand gesture towards global politics Is. however, only used as
legitimation. No theory is advanced of just how party and unions might
resolve their differences, might overcome the tensions that arise from the
fact that their goals will tend to diverge since they mobilise different
constituencies, for different ends. Von Holdt's view Is one that assumes a
linear progression of history In which the lessons that are learned are
always the right ones, and the successes are always seized upon by the
right faction.
    Very different conclusions can be drawn from the kinds of examples that
he cites. Post-colonial Africa is strewn with the bones of trade unions
that allied themselves with nationalist movements to fight for the liberty
of their people. The unhappy experience of the Zambian unions - once
amongst the most powerful on the continent - 1s a case in point. Nor has
the passing of time made relations easier - as workers In Jerry Rawling's
Ghana could testify. Even unions operating in the relative freedom of
Nigeria have repeatedly found themselves at odds with the state, and
restricted in their operations. Closer to South Africa, the unions in
Mozambique have been confined to a productionist role, and Instructed that
they are to be '...the arm of the Party for the organisation of the labou-
ring classes.' (Plaut (1984):123) Is this the future Von Holdt sees for
the South African movement?
    Nor is the evidence more encouraging when one considers the situation In
Eastern Europe. Anyone doubting this should consult the Illuminating
chapters on the trade union debate that took place in the Soviet Union, by
one of the most respected scholars of the period - Nell Harding. It is his
belief that the decisions of the early 1920's on these very questions were
 '...the crucial turning poini in the history of the Russian Revolution1,
 (emphasis in the original) (Harding, 1983 :275) Hard ing's argument is long
and complex, but in essence it 1s that the repression of trade union
democracy led inexorably to the degeneration of democracy in the party
 itself, and finally to the appalling atrocities of Stalinism.
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 Transformation 5                                                   Plaut
    Such considerations are not of 'mere' academic interest. The events
 inside the South African unions, before and after the formation of Cosatu
 indicate that they are live issues that have to be faced. The debate
around socialism and the splits in unions such as CCAWUSA, all have a
bearing on the subject.
    Von Holdt argues rightly that 'Nationalism is not simply a negative
force*. Nor is It unambiguously a positive one.         That is why FOSATU
stated all those years ago that 'It is therefore essential that workers
must strive to build their own powerful and effective organisation even
whilst they are part of the wider popular struggle. The organisation is
necessary to protect and further worker interests and to ensure that the
popular movement is not hijacked by elements who will in the end have no
option but to turn against their worker supporters' (Foster, 1982:77).
REFERENCES
Foster, J. (1982) 'The Workers' Struggle - Where Does FOSATU Stand', South
    African Labour Bulletin, 7 . 8 .
Harding, N. (1983) 'Lenin's political thought1, Macmillan, London.
Von Holdt, K. (1987), 'National liberation and the trade union movement'.
    unpublished ASSA Conference paper, University of the Western Cape.
Friedman, S. (1987) 'Building tomorrow today*, Ravan Press, Johannesburg.
Plaut. M. (1984) 'Changing perspectives on South African trade unions'.
    Review of African Political Economy. 30.
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