South African Railways and Harbours Union

The South African Railways and Harbours Union was formed by black staff of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration after they had been expelled from the National Union of Railway and Harbour Servants.

Formation

Rachel Simons, then known as Ray Alexander, played a significant part in setting up the organisation, and was helped by Johnny Gomas, the General Secretary of the Cape Town Stevedoring Workers Union. It was launched at a meeting on 26 March 1936 where Willy Driver was elected Secretary. By July 1936 it had 1300 members. Its first conference, attended by 26 delegates, was held in Cape Town on 3 and 4 August 1936. It decided to affiliate to the International Trade Union Committee for Black Workers and the South African Trades and Labour Council. As Africans could not rent premises in towns it operated from the premises of the Cape Town Stevedoring Workers Union at 57 Plein Street, which was rented in the name of White members of the South African Communist Party. The Union submitted grievances to the management of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, but were not allowed to negotiate.

In 1937 Ray Alexander produced a pamphlet for the union called "We Want to Live". It pointed out that the Cape Town City Council paid its labourers 6/8d a day but railway workers were only paid 3/6d or 4/-d a day. In Bloemfontein there was a general minimum wage of 3/6d a day but this did not apply to railway workers, who were paid less. The average wage of the 28,000 casual labourers was less than £32 a year - less than the average wage of black workers in 1920. Many black staff had no definite hours of work, but were required to be available as required. African workers only got 3 days paid holiday a year (Good Friday, Christmas Day and Union Day).

The union joined the Council of Non-European Trade Unions when it was established in November 1941.

Organisation

General Secretaries of the Union:

• John Noako
• Johnny Mtini
• Greenwood Ngotyana
• Archibald 'Archie' Mncedisi Sibeko

From 1942 to the 1950s the union had an advantage because of labour shortages and succeeded in negotiating improvements.

Mtini employed Archie Sibeko as the union's first full-time organiser, working out of a corner of the Non European Laundry Workers Union office in Cape Town in or around 1953. The union's operations at that time were almost completely clandestine. Sibeko wore the uniform brown overalls so that he would be inconspicuous on railway property. Until he was banned Ben Turok worked closely with him and took up cases using his position as a member of the Cape Provincial Council. If a strike was organised large numbers of workers were arrested and taken to court. The union organised for each one to give evidence individually about why they stopped work, and this usually led to prosecutions being withdrawn. Those who were known to be active in the union were routinely transferred to remote areas with reduced wages. Union organisers found on railway property were prosecuted for trespass. After an unsuccessful strike in Port Elizabeth in 1957, defeated by the use of prison labour, the railways strikers all dismissed. The stevedores were retained but their wages were reduced.

Lawrence Ndzanga was the unions organiser in Johannesburg, working with his wife Rita who worked for the union as a typist. Moses Mabhida was also a full time organiser, paid £25 a month.

It was a founder member of the South African Congress of Trade Unions in 1955.

A number of the unions organisers, including Sibeko, were arrested on at 4am 5 December 1956 among those charged in the 1956 Treason Trial, which continued until 1961.