Things go slower at Coke
The March 20 go-slow by coke workers marked a further s t e p in worker u n i t y in a c t i o n across union l i n e s in the b a t t l e a g a i n s t Coke b o s s e s , j u s t as they prepare t o s e l l t h e i r 30% remaining
shares in South A f r i c a . Workers involved were from South African Allied Workers Union (SAAWU), Food and Allied Workers Union (EAWU)
and Food, Beverage Workers Union (FBWU). P l a n t s affected by the go-slow were Benrose (650 workers), Bedfordview (800), C l a y v i l l e
(350), Devland (600), P r e t o r i a (800) and Lea Glen (100).
The demand by workers a t Amalgamated Beverage I n d u s t r i e s (ABI) t o be paid the 100 year centenary bonus paid t o Amalgamated Beverage Canning (ABC) r a i s e d questions on the r e l a t i o n s h i p of both com-
panies t o Coke Export Corporation. South African Breweries
p r e s e n t l y has the majority of shares in ABI. According t o workers in ABI f a c t o r i e s , "Management has always kept the question of who owns what c o n f i d e n t i a l , but sometimes t r i c k e d workers. In 1976
workers were told t h a t Coke Export Corporation was taking over 87%
shares of Schweppes and t h a t both Schweppes and South African Breweries (SAB) were owning minority s h a r e s . Later on management said SAB was owning 55%, Coke Export 30% and Schweppes 15% of
s h a r e s . In 1985 workers l e a r n t t h a t SAB was going t o c o n t r o l ABI completely, but employment c o n d i t i o n s would remain the same for workers." (1)
The newly-formed Coke Workers Co-ordinating Committee faces a dif- f i c u l t t a s k . ABI and ABC are p r e s e n t l y owned by d i f f e r e n t com-
p a n i e s . The former i s owned by SAB and the l a t t e r by National Breweries S e r v i c e s . Workers d o n ' t think Coke Export Corporation has withdrawn from South Africa, instead they view the an-
nouncement of Coke s e l l i n g i t s remaining 30% shares as a cosmetic change. According to Henry Lechataba, a vice-chairman of the Food Beverage Workers Union for the Transvaal and a chairman of the Shop steward Committee in Benrose ABI p l a n t , "The Coke Workers Co- ordinating Committee envisages t o meet the Coke Export Corporation
i n t e r n a t i o n a l personnel manager, Mr Michael Samoroa."
Soke l o o year anniversary
During l a t e 1986 the Coke 100 year centenary was c e l e b r a t e d .
Workers in ABI and ABC f a c t o r i e s claim t h a t they were t r e a t e d dif-
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- coke go-slow -
f e r e n t l y during the c e l e b r a t i o n s . At the Bedfordview p l a n t (ABI) workers were given c e r t i f i c a t e s , w r i t t e n messages of thanks for
having contributed to the growth of Coke Export Corporation. In Devland (ABI) each worker got one tea mug engraved with "Coke
hundred y e a r s " . At C l a y v i l l e and Benrose (both ABI p l a n t s ) workers were offered T - s h i r t s p r i n t e d "Coca Cola hundred y e a r s " . The
Wadeville (ABC plant) workers were offered 6 weeks pay as a cen- tenary bonus.
Workers in ABI p l a n t s were ignorant about the ABC offer t o workers u n t i l they got news from t h e i r SAAWU c o u n t e r p a r t s . Under these
circumstances the Coke Workers Co-ordinating Committee was e s t a b - l i s h e d . At a meeting of a l l Coke workers i t was decided t h a t the bonus issue should be raised with ABI management. ABI shop stew- a r d s in a l l companies presented t h e i r demands t o management. The f i r s t meeting bore no f r u i t . Management claimed t h a t the bonus
i s s u e was Coke Export C o r p o r a t i o n ' s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y and not ABI's.
Workers argued t h a t ABI was Coke's "South African f r o n t " , has
taken over Coke's problems in South Africa and t h e r e f o r e must pay the bonus given to other Coke workers during the 100 year centen- ary c e l e b r a t i o n s . Workers j u s t i f i e d t h e i r p o s i t i o n by s t a t i n g t h a t ABI was p a r t y t o the 100 year centenary c e l e b r a t i o n s .
On March 21 workers in a l l ABI p l a n t s decided t o go on a go-slow if ABI was not prepared t o pay the bonus. After two days ABI
management responded by demanding t h a t workers resume normal work- ing procedures and that n e g o t i a t i o n s should commence on the bonus demand. At t h i s meeting management offered 2 weeks pay. Workers r e j e c t e d t h i s offer and eventually management offered 4 weeks pay which was accepted by workers.
S e l l i n g shares
ABI i s p r e s e n t l y s e l l i n g RIO-million worth of s h a r e s . The company hopes t o bring in black businessmen t o buy s h a r e s . Peter Lloyd, the chairman of ABI said t h a t the offer "would allow many small businessmen who may never have had the chance t o o b t a i n shares in a company, to own a p a r t of a company whose products they s e l l .
Nothing on t h i s s c a l e has been t r i e d in t h i s country b e f o r e . " I s t h i s an attempt to avoid boycott of ABI commodities by township businessmen?
In addition t o the offer made t o the black businessmen, ABI a l s o plans t o s e l l Rl-m worth of i t s shares t o i t s 38,000 employees.
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- coke go-slow - Unions have not responded t o t h i s o f f e r , but Food, Beverage
Workers Union has warned the black businessmens' o r g a n i s a t i o n , NAFCOC, and the Get-ahead Foundation a g a i n s t buying or helping black businessmen t o buy Coke s h a r e s . When asked t o put NAFCOC's position on the issue ( i e . s e l l i n g of shares t o black businessmen by ABI), the p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s o f f i c e r of NAFCOC, Mr Mokgoko
expressed ignorance about the warning given t o NAFCOC by Food, Beverage Workers Union, However he pointed out t h a t NAFCOC was pursuing the question of buying shares in ABI. He a l s o expressed d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n about the percentage of shares sold by ABI. He
f e l t they were not enough t o "give the black community a substan- t i a l p a r t i c i p a t i o n in shareholding. Enough shares w i l l place
blacks in a strong p o s i t i o n in the economy." According t o
Mr Mokgoko suggestions have been presented t o ABI t o increase
shareholding for b l a c k s . On the question of Food, Beverage Workers Union, Mr Mokgoko f e l t stronger t i e s should be b u i l t between them- selves and the union.
He j u s t i f i e d t h i s by s t a t i n g t h a t , "When the economy deepens, there w i l l obviously be c o n f l i c t s , and NAFCOC and t r a d e unions which are a l s o concerned with the advancement of the black com-
munity should c o n t a c t each other in t h i s r e g a r d . " What c o n f l i c t Mr Mokgoko i s r e f e r r i n g t o i s u n c l e a r , but if i t i s c l a s s c o n f l i c t ,
i t remains t o be seen how the contact between NAFCOC and t r a d e
unions (if they agreed t o t h i s contact) w i l l resolve the c o n f l i c t . Meanwhile t h e former head of Coke South Africa o p e r a t i o n s , Fred Meyer, s e e s the s i t u a t i o n as follows, "The arrangement was in l i n e with the company's s t a t e d i n t e n t i o n t o use i t s former investments
in South Africa as far as p o s s i b l e t o c r e a t e m u l t i - r a c i a l p a r - t i c i p a t i o n in the c o u n t r y ' s soft drink i n d u s t r y . " Fred Meyer's
suggested s o l u t i o n i s t o c r e a t e a m u l t i - r a c i a l employer c l a s s , and of course the o b j e c t i v e being to accumulate p r o f i t s a t the expense of the workers.
(Jabu Matiko, A p r i l 1987) References
!• Interview with Henry Lechaba, Food and Beverage Workers Union shop-steward.
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