“running all over the country,organizing people”

In 1947 a law had been passed for each race group to have its own union. The Labour Department threatened that if the unions are not going to form their own unions, then they are going to deregister the unions. The Coloured union was registered but the union that the Africans belonged to was not registered. The union was weak so we decided that we were going to try to keep the registration, so that we can build the union ⁶. Because if we didn't have registration and wanted to take up the workers' complaints, employers can say, ‘we don't need to talk because you are a non-existent organisation, you are not registered'.

We always said that registration's not so important. Non-racial unity was very important because registration is only a piece of paper. All the years we were working together. We did not want to split, and we had to make a plan so that it appeared as if we were splitting. We had one committee, not two separate committees and we just kept two separate sets of books in case the inspector came around to investigate. We had two sets of books but we were mixed, Africans and coloureds, when we went to see the employers about complaints. Oscar Mpetha represented the Africans and I represented the coloureds but splitting was entirely against our policy.

When the African comrades, like Oscar, that worked for the union were also banned they didn't have anybody to work for them. So I worked for both Food and Canning and for African Food and Canning. A lot of other unions didn't have organisers or people to work for them. I also tried to help organising the Tin Workers' Union so I had three unions that I was looking out for.

Then the union extended to Port Elizabeth and Mossel Bay. I was elected general secretary, not only doing the clerical work in the office, but also responsible for the organizing, for negotiations, for agreements and if there's a dispute you are the person that has to take the lead. So it was quite a big job, but I was not alone because whenever I went somewhere the branch secretaries or the branch organizers accompany us.

We had a big fight for a Conciliation Board to be set up. The coloured unions were registered but not the African unions so whenever we had negotiations the employers tried to lock out the Africans. The government appointed a native dispute settlement officer to represent the Africans ⁸but he was never in contact with them. He did not know how the Africans were living or what their needs were, but he was there to represent them because they weren't allowed to speak for themselves.

We were not prepared to negotiate without the Africans. We didn't negotiate directly with employers because there were Conciliation Boards with the bosses, the government, and some native settlement of dispute officers. We hoped to break the system down but at a later stage we determined not to negotiate with the government and the native dispute officers so we spoke to the employers to negotiate with them directly.

Things improved a lot from there, because we understood the worker and negotiated with the employers directly. Things became easier for the union because the employers were much more likely to give in to worker demands because they knew if they didn't they were likely to have trouble with the workers.

There was also an essential products law that said strikes were illegal for food workers but when the workers were determined they didn't care about the law and just went out on strike. In most of the cases they won, were not prosecuted and didn't go to jail because it was settled directly with employers. If we had gone through the Conciliation Board, immediately after workers went on strike the government would step in and workers would be prosecuted.

As a union official I had to cover a wide area because our branches stretched as far as Port Nolloth. Whenever there were negotiations and agreements I had to go with some of the executive members to do the negotiations. I did that for a long time and hoped not to lose contact with the workers. My work was almost like being a supervisor for all the branches. If there were problems in a branch that they could not handle, I had to go and help them. I had to oversee the functioning of the branches. There was a constitution that determined how the branches should function and every three months or so I had to check whether the finances were handled correctly.

You had to take care of all the negotiations, whether it was piece work or any other work. There were times when you could not reach agreements, because we did not want to give in and the employers did not want to give in. You got a mandate from the workers and if you couldn't go further than that level you had to stop and come back. So that is how we negotiated all of the time. In earlier years we made agreements for three years and then it started to break down, so we made agreements for shorter periods.

The union was very strong, especially on the factory floor. The workers were united. The government tried everything to divide the union. Lucy Ninzi and I worked together, and at many of the factories they still tried to divide us who were in the leadership. When we got to a factory the employer would say, ‘Liz can come in but not Lucy.' We would refuse to enter the premises. The committee would then discuss it and send a delegation to meet with management. We always made a breakthrough, and they agreed.

We had one serious problem in the union. We had to elect other people as substitutes for the people who were banned. It was a problem to fill these posts, because we did not know whether we are appointing the right people for these positions. We elected people and we gave them posts as chairman or vice chairman but never really explained to them what their responsibilities were. Previously people accepted a position but did not know how to provide leadership or which way to turn. It caused a lot of problems and things were difficult until we sat down with people and explained what was expected from them. We started with the ones that we elected. We gave them the constitution so that they could at least know what is in the constitution. We received most of our training from Jack Simons, Ray's husband.

Ray was very strict. There was no such thing as coming late. I stayed in Paarl and took the train to work early in the morning. I had to be at the office a certain time for our ‘early discussions'. My sister's one son lived with me so I had to get up to see to him. Then I had to run otherwise I was going to miss the train. When you were late you had to give Ray an explanation. You could not use the train as an excuse, because you knew that you had to take the train. That is what our people lack – discipline and commitment. They don't have that, and you need that to make progress.

I was really committed. There was a factory in Bellville called Spekenham. Our president, Christiaan Kilowan, and vice-president, Johnny Mentoor, were organising the workers when they went on strike. I was in bed when they visited me and told me about the strike, and they did not want to go without me. I told them to go and fetch the other executive members but they insisted that I must go with them. So I went with them, they settled the strike and from there they had to take me to hospital where I had a miscarriage. The baby was growing in my tube and they had to remove it. After I recovered I went back to work.

It was always a problem to organize branches over the weekend. You never get everyone who is prepared to sacrifice a day. Not all members worked hard in the union. Its not that they are not serious but its just plain laziness, because how did others know that it's their duty. If you join an organization you make a commitment because the organisation has obligations that must be attended to.

We would take six people along when there were three branches to visit. Since I was driving I had to go to the place which was the furthest away, say Port Nolloth, and I would drop two at Lamberts Bay and the other two at Saldanha Bay. We usually arranged for a meeting in advance and when I was done I used to pick them up again. We would get to people's houses about four in the morning, park and wait in the car until they got up, and then we knocked.

Lamberts Bay did not have tar roads yet, and one day we got stuck in the sand. The gears locked and I had to call a mechanic, because I did not know what was going on. We were digging the car out of the sand until somebody came to help us get the car out.

My friend Elizabeth Mafekeng wanted to meet the workers she had organised in Tulbagh. The employers didn't allow us to go on the premises because you must get their permission. I was driving and we hid the car in the bushes until it was dark. When it was dark, we went onto the premises and as we were going around this corner, the foreman came around the other corner with a knobkerrie. He threatened us and said that we should leave the premises.

When we got back we found out that we had a case against us for trespassing. Sam Kahn and Albie Sachs were our lawyers and they defended us successfully. The magistrate and the prosecutor and some of the others went to the factory to see where we trespassed. They saw that there was no gate; it was just a fence. The court said that can't be trespassing because we didn't open a gate. So the case against us was withdrawn.

Before I was banned I was very, very active, running all over the country, organizing people, meeting people. We had a very difficult time with the Special Branch. The Special Branch and bosses were always working together. Whenever you go to the factory, they would inform the Special Branch. But we were never intimidated by them because we knew we've got the right to go to the workers, to speak to the workers. In East London the employers and the Special Branch were united because they didn't want the union to operate or workers to be organized. I had not even started to contact workers when the Special Branch took us for questioning and were just wasting our time.

If you wanted to go to the East London location you had to have a permit. At the registration office you had to get a permit, saying to whom you want to go to. But in front of the office there was a big board – ‘No permit to L. Abrahams'. So I could never get a permit to get to the workers in the location. For me see the workers they had to come out of the location, to some place where we meet.

An Indian comrade had a hotel and gave us a space for a meeting because we couldn't get a hall. Some of the committees in the location informed the workers and organised them to come to the hotel, so that we could have a meeting. They were so determined to smash up our meeting or to harass the workers. Wherever you went, they followed you. One of them followed me right up to the toilet! I was so mad; I turned round and said ‘I'm going to have you arrested under the Immorality Act!'