Pe — apartheid FEATURE Casting a shadow over By MIKE PHILLIPS The South African trade union move- Ment cast a large shadow over last Week’s whites-only elections, the first to be held under a state of emergency in the history of the apartheid regime. The two day general strike jointly cal- led by the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the United Demo- Cratic Front to protest the electoral sham has brought the focus of the struggle against the racist Pretoria regime Squarely on the working class and the trade union movement. _ The developments usher a new stage In the freedom struggle inside South Af- Tica. The trade unions, led by the 750,000-member Congress of South Af- Tican Trade Unions and the underground South African Congress of Trade Nions, are proving to be the only legal Organizations with the real capacitay to Mobilize the country’s 25-million Black People into effective action against the Oers, While Botha would have preferred to keep the spotlight on his government’s Stage-managed re-election, the world Saw South African police besieging and mvading COSATU House, the trade Union central’s Johannesburg head- quarters. Police swooped in to ransack the CASATU offices and arrest 11 people “Tanging in age from 12 to 49 under the Pretext that the union was harboring so- Called terrorists and kidnapped workers, 4 charge which SACTU Canadian Tepresentative Peter Mhlangu, last week labelled as part of the regime’s effort to drive a wedge into the union movement's Skillful marriage of economic and poli- Ucal struggle. The labor movement’s growing €conomic power has exposed cracks in the apartheid establishment, with big business scions like Julian Ogilvie Thompson, chairman of the De Beers diamond company joining a chorus of corporate leaders urging the Botha government to jettison its apartheid laws. The current railway and postal work- ers strikes have brought the unions to a head on confrontation with the South Af- rican state. The stakes are high. The government fired 16,000 railway workers for staging a six week illegal strike, and police have killed seven of the strikers. Test of strength The railway strike, says SACTU’s Mhlangu, is seen by the regime as a test of strength. ‘‘It proves to the world that Botha has failed completely to crush the opposition with his state of emergency”’, he said. Support for the strikers is widespread within labor’s ranks and from the com- munity at large, reflecting a growth in the consciousness of black workers that ex- tends right into support for the strike movement from public sector workers such as the postal workers who are rep- resented in another union centre. The 8,000 postal workers are into their fifth week of strike action — again in total defiance of the government’s ban on strikes. Despite heavy repression — more than 800 top union leaders, and 1,200 grass roots member have been jailed without trial under the state of emergency — the Barricades in South Africa. The more impossible it becomes for the Botha regime to govern in the old way, the larger the respon- unions continue not only to project eco- nomic campaigns such as this year’s “Living Wage’’ drive for higher wages, the 40 hour work week, improved hous- ing and maternity leave, but they are leading struggles that reach beyond the shop floor. These have included support to rent and student boycotts, country-wide demonstrations against the 10-month old state of emergency, and campaigning to ‘end the migrant labor system. The new situation will enhance SAC- TU’s role in the South African trade union movement, and demands a heightened solidarity response from the workers of the world, he said. As long as the regime exists SACTU will continue to play its underground role of helping the unorganized to build unions, project class-struggle policies into the mass trade union movement, and strengthen the process where the work- ing class is exercising its leadership role in the fight to bring the system down. SACTU’s resonsibilities don’t con- tradict the leadership role COSATU must play, as both organizations have stressed. ‘‘People must not confuse our separate roles or-think that they are in conflict’, the SACTU rep explained. ‘‘Because of the conditions we face our methods are different but our goals are the same — getting rid of apartheid.” It isn’t a question of keeping the name alive, he added, ‘‘but it is the character sibilities of Canadians to apply pressure on their government, in the form of full sanctions. of our activities that must be kept going, such as the fight for unity and for broader suppost for trade unionism among the people.”’ 4 Unity in Action The more impossible it becomes for the Botha regime to govern in the old way, the larger are the responsibilities on Canadians, and especially on their trade union movement. Co-ordinated, united mass action be- comes paramount to press the federal government for full sanctions against Pretoria and to cut all ties with the re- gime. Resolutions and promises of sanc- tions aren’t good enough when the Botha regime sees that its exports to Canada don’t diminish. The new situation also demands that solidarity be provided on the basis of what the freedom forces see as their needs and not through whatever expectations others abroad might hope for the outcome of the struggle. “It is no longer enough to say we sup- port SACTU_ but have reservations about the ANC and the armed struggle, because all of these organizations, — SACTU, COSATU, the UDF, the ANC, — they are all part of the overall struggle against apartheid and express the organ- ization of our people.”’ Political differences will also have to be set aside. “‘We are not going to get anywhere if we are bothered about whether a person is right or left. People are dying.”’ | Alternatives for N-power Martin Robbert, Edmonton, writes: It certainly is reassuring to hear five U.S. experts (Tribune, April 1), telling us that nuclear facilities in the Soviet Union are safe, that the radio active emissions from the Chernobyl reactor were “very low indeed,” and that the radioactive situation there was normal. One is tempted to believe that there are no lasting effects; after all “the villages outside the 30 km danger zone were fully populated and appeared normal.” It does not take a lot of research to - figure out in whose interest the experts of the U.S. Nuclear Deregulatory Commis- sion downplay the dangers and unsolved problems as well as the long term negative effects of nuclear power plant accidents. I did not give much credence to their state- ments after Three Mile Island, so why should I believe them now? Most European countries are still suf- fering from the aftermath of Chernobyl, which left them with high levels of radio- activity in the air, soil and subsequently the foodchain. Reindeer meat and other game are contaminated in Northern Europe, and Germany is trying to deal with one hundred train wagons full of Letters contaminated milk powder. All over Europe radiation in dairy products is once again nearing “official” maximum levels due to now contaminated summer hay that was used as feed during the winter. Since Chernobyl there have been more than nine irregularities or minor accicents in nuclear power plants around the world. Chernobyl shows that socialist reactors are not immune to accidents. Today no economic system can justify an increase in the use of nuclear power. The odds for an other accident increase with the amount of plants in operation. The economic benefits have no relation to the risks. Already thousands will contract cancer or leukemia as a result of Cher- noby] fallout. Soviet writer Valentin Ras- putin who has been awarded the order of Lenin and who has just recently been given the title of “Hero of Socialist Labor” is one of a growing number of Soviets opposing nuclear power. In an interview with the German magazine, Der Spiegel, he had this to say about Chernobyl: “Chernobyl is not an exception but the inevitable result of the development (of nuclear power). Nuclear power Is a cancer sore in all of the world’s economic sys- tems.” The alternatives are neither cheap nor convenient, but they can create jobs. Denmark is one of a growing number of countries which rely solely on non-nuclear forms of energy. North Korea has long ago joined the non-nuclear countries, showing that socialism as well as capitalism can function quite well without nuclear power. _ Support for centres urged Peter Ramsey, president, Victoria Action Society, writes: Your article, “Action Cen- tres Struggling to Survive ... (Tribune, April 29, 1987)” matches the sentiment at the Victoria Unemployed and Welfare Rights Action Society (Victoria Action Society, for short) exactly. We are strug- gling to survive, without B.C. Federation of Labor money too. : Our action centre was the first to be closed following the federal government’s cutbacks and the fight against unemploy- ment shifted to our organization, a non- profit society. Our office, staffed entirely by volunteers, served nearly 2,000 people last year with welfare, UIC, tenants and other problems. In addition, we have staged protests and hit the government on issues ranging from federal generic drug policy to the insane welfare policies of the Vander Zalm regime. The Victoria Action Society received the endorsement of the Victoria Labor Council at its last regular meeting in April and has the support of local Canadian Union of Postal Workers and Public Ser- vice Alliance of Canada affiliates. We have received many donations from personal supporters as well. As an independent organization, we must raise our money ourselves and this year we hope to raise $3,600 to keep the office open. We begin our campaign with a dinner (Mexican-style) at the Fernwood Community Association building and tickets are selling fast for the May 21 event. We desperately need your support and the support of the entire labor movement if we are to survive and grow to combat the effects of unemployment and poverty. We believe in a society of full employment, peace and social justice for all. This fightback demands the support of the entire movement for progressive change. PACIFIC TRIBUNE, MAY 13, 1987 e 5