"This is not the trade unionism we've been educated in'

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year and even the leadership were caught, as the acting general secretary says, by the reaction to the disciplining of a member.

What had happened inWOrKCI whose job entailed some kind of cash payment handed it in late, and the worker was suspended If as occurred every time something like that happened at BR, there would never be a train running. I mean it is a simple misdemeanor. was La background of asalist continuing allacke SARHWU. It was a spark.

SARHWU, like the unions here, is a national union with a head office. Rut each area and district. while they have a central point, MOUCH sicaic. autonomy. It is very much 1c1 o gec bn thing. So the way the reaction to the incident spread so rapidly kind of surprised everybody.

We were told about this group of what we call 'permanent way workers. YOU workers who mạintain the track. put gravel down, and so forth. They travel the townships where they live in hostels compounds.

day, they come into work and while they working on the side of the track, On the bank there were these men there with WE MUSTN'T for a moment imagine that building a strike is the same in South Africa. It is totally different. SARHWU came into operation in the main last 'with our pants down', guns pointed at them. One ot the senior black workers saw the white boss in charge asked, 'What's going on? I mean you've got these people standing there with these guns pointing at us. Are they going to shoot us if we continue working, or are they going to shoot us if we SLU WUIA: this?? What is all Ine Doss told them: *Well, what's happened is that they are frightened that you might go on strike. And if you go on strike they will shoot you.

The workers said 'On strike?' mean thev weren t even members of a union.

'Well SARHWU are on strike in Johannesburg. So they went back and carried or working.

That evening the hostel they all came to a decision. On Sundav atterwhen security at the HOSIC. Was 1110Sl relaxea. they all sneaked out to the station, got on a train and travellea down to Jonannesburg to find SARHWU. They ask what the strike is all about. It's explained to them, and they immediately join the union and all go on strike.

That's how the strike