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Metal that will not Bend: National Union of Metal Workers in South Africa, 1980–1995

Metal that will not Bend shows that labour history is (still) central to the history of South Africa. This book is a study of the struggles, victories, frustrations and sufferings of black workers in the South African manufacturing sector at a time of immense change in the system of apartheid between 1980 and 1995. Its focus on workers in the metal industry is set in a rich context of South Africa’s labour history and all the relevant debates. During the 1970s and early 1980s, apartheid appeared irreversible. The end of formal racial discrimination was consequently slow and frustrating to many South Africans, especially black workers. The National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (Numsa) was built from diverse experiences of their own and those of other workers in South Africa. Numsa developed from small and isolated factories and became a powerful union of workers in engineering, the motor industry and the manufacturing sector generally. During the 1980s and 1990s Numsa was the strongest radical affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu). Great distinguishing marks of Numsa were its pragmatic policies and efforts to be an independent (see, for example, pp. 468, 474) group of workers despite their engagements with workers in other industries and political organisations. The book presents how unionisation among metal workers was developed from dynamic and conflicting, but at times also complementary circumstances.