Financial Mail June 2 1972 >m CURRENT AFFAIRS

De facto demonetisation?The steady rise in the free market price of gold is only bringing the day nearer when the metal will effectively be d em o ­netised. not in any formal legal sense, but simply through the force of logic, believes the / A / ’s W ashington co rre­spondent.

For, as gold becomes more valuable on the free market, he argues, it slips deeper dow n into reserves, and central banks becomes less willing to use it for settlements when the official valuation is only S38 an ounce.

Moreover with all the European countries awash with liquidity, this creates few problems, for all of them have more than adequate paper and credit assets to finance whatever deficits may arise in the forseeable future. And in all probability the m onetary system will be reformed to make exchange rate adjustments a less painful and expensive process some time next year.

In the meantime, it is inconceivable that the major governments would ever agree to a massive gold price increase as the basis for resumed convertibility of the dollar. And when smaller countries have debts to pay they will find the temptation to sell gold on the free market, and use the dollars they acquire,

irresistible.The only conclusion therefore, is tha t

monetary gold will gradually flow out of the system into the free m arket from the minor countries, while the big ones will hoard it in their reserves with decreasing chances tha t they will ever be forced to use it to settle a debt.

Demonetisation in all hut name.

BANK DEPOS ITS

No more SidarelsThough it might appear to be closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, the proposed new definition of a bank, now before Parliament in the Financial Institutions A m endm ent Bill, is an urgent and sensible proposal. F o r it should prevent future Sidarel-like scan dais.

As does the present Banks Act. it prohibits any person (or co-operative society) other than a bank, from holding deposits from more than 20 persons or totalling more than R500 000.

But a new proviso stipulates that "an y com pany controlled directly or indirectly by him (whether such control be by way of shareholding or otherwise) o r administered by him, and the sub­sidiary of any such com pany, shall be deemed to be one person.”

I his plugs the loop hole through which Sidarel, not a licensed bank,

.could accept many more deposits than the law purported to allow, without either breaking it. or having to maintain a safe asset structure, or coming under j,he Registrar 's surveillance.„ Sidarel simply created a group s truc­ture of m ore than 70 companies. A nd once a year it spread the public’s depo ­sits am ong them to ensure that no one com pany had more depositors o r depo ­sits than a non bank was allowed by law.

Once it ran into cash flow difficulties caused by doubtful debtors, Sidarel had no s ta tu tory reserves to cushion the crunch. Only a few Sidarel executives knew the co m p an y ’s true position, so bad debts were rolled on until the situa­tion becam e hopeless.

There’s no consolation in the new wording for the thousands of Sidarel depositors who lost their savings. But it will protect other lenders from some

Finance M in ister Diederichs . . . a wise and tim ely move

accountan ts and lawyers who have for years been surreptitiously taking advan ­tage of this same loop-hole, although modestly com pared to Sidarel.

These lenders have already been restrained from their own cupidity by the April deposit rate clamp, which no longer allows “ financial intermediaries” to offer temptingly high rates of interest.

D r Diederichs has wisely introduced the am endm ent now, rather than wait for final conclusions by the police and the Registrar on the Sidarel affair, or for the liquidators ' final report. All of which promise to be protracted.

RIGHT W ING U N IO N S

Winds of change?Though the agenda for next week's con­gress of the Right Wing Confederation of L abour suggests that protection of the White worker remains a prime talk ing point, the tone of the debates could be more pragm atic than in the past.

F o r hard-liner Lukas van den Berg will no longer be in the presidential hot-seat. And his immediate successor, former vice-president Ivan Martin, is a more m oderate railwayman from the Northern Cape.

This station foreman from Kimberley has already indicated his priorities. He has the interest of the White workers at heart, even to the extent of relaxing traditional policies on non-White labour where this is likely to maintain their position.

Van den Berg virtually fell fromToo expensive fo r money?

power as president of the Confederation (and general secretary of the SA Yster- Staal- en Verwante Nywerhede-Unie) through a trap of his own making.

Having created a precedent by his pressure on fellow unionists to resign once they becam e involved in politics, he staked his own job when he made himself available for a vacant Senate seat.

Unfortunately for him. another c a n ­didate held higher cards. Van den Berg lost the seat, and was obliged to pack up his own union career.

He could have w aited for congress to announce his resignation. But at the cost of possibly embarrassing questions at the Confederation 's executive council this w eek.

Martin has the task of seeing out Van den Berg's term of office until the October elections. H e 's also president of the Railways' Running & Operating Staff Union (G roup "C " ) and the sec­ond railwayman to sit as the Confedera­tion's president.

He should have no difficulty avoiding Van den Berg's trap. For he is adam ant that politics should have no place in the Confederation's workings.

He believes it inevitable that more non White labour will be introduced to com bat the labour shortage, and sup­ports a methodical system of entry, offering a corresponding uplift for the White worker. He can justify his more rational ideas. For he's seen them work in his own industry.

Congress should prove an interesting test of his influence. For the agenda reflects some decidedly immoderate views.

A motion from the Co-ordinating

Ivan M artin . . . steadying the Con­federation's course

Council of SA T rade Unions asks government to halt race integration in com merce and industry, while the Federation of Mine Production W orkers is to voice its "a la rm at the threat to the White worker."

M artin 's conciliatory powers will no doubt be tested by one controversial debating point (for the Confederation): the Artisan Staff Association is to call (through the Federal Consultative Council of S A R & H Staff Associations) for "attention to be extended to reducing the wage gap."

Though M artin 's jo b will be a tough one. his moderate and co-operative approach m ay be just w hat the C o n ­federation needs. A nd w hat the eco­nomy needs, too. so long as he can e a r n his colleagues along w ith him.

M IN IN G W A GES YYawning chasmIt’s been a hectic month for the mining industry. H ard on the heels of the White mineworkers’ pay rises cam e increases for non-Whites and the cost of meeting dem ands from surface and underground officials.

The total bill could be a round R20m.However, the Africans’ increases will

have very little effect on the wage gap, argues U C T ’s D r Francis Wilson. D e ­spite the com m on assumption that Afri­can wages have risen by 19% (the basic w'age is up from 42c to 50c a shift), he is adam ant tha t the average increase is less than half that.

He is well qualified to comment. His book L a b o u r in the Sou th A frican G old M ines 1911-1969 is due to be published in a few weeks.

Wilson contends tha t if the increase of R7,5m is set against the African wage bill of R 84m , the percentage increase over the whole is only 9%. “ T hat can ’t be interpreted as materially altering the *Vage gap when it’s com pared to the union m en’s 7,4% increase and the 9,5% received by officials.”

The significant point tha t Wilson stresses is tha t not all African workers are on the minimum wage.

He welcomes the evidence of the min­ing industry’s concern, but considers the increase inadequate, both in terms of the industry’s ability to pay more and the needs of the African labour force.

After the increase (which takes effect on June 1) average African monthly cash earnings are estimated at slightly below R22. “ Although the worker h im­self is well provided with food and accom m odation , how is he expected to mainta in a family in the reserves from

BEING ON A

SOUTHERN COURSE

YOU ARE ASSURED OF A SAFE LANE & SOUND RETURN

BUILDING SOGIETVTHE SOCIETY THAT CARES

Dr Francis W ilson .. . little im pact on wage gap

that? Many families without land of their own rely on these earnings to live.

His figures show that six out of every 10 mineworkers are 25 and older — the age when most have families.

When it com es to comparative cash receipts: "N on-W hite wages in m anu­facturing, construction and electricity are 2,8 times higher, on average, than those in mining. If wages were doubled and board and lodging taken into account, there’s still no equality.”

Yet while non-White wages in the mining industry are somewhat lower than outside, White wages in September last year were higher by some 25% than in manufacturing industry and 9% in the construction industry.

“ The lion’s share of the reward for increased productivity has gone to the W hite miners,” sdys Wilson.

Between I96fe and 1970, the wage gap widened sharply. In 1966 the ratio was 17,6:1; in 1970 it had grown to 2 0 .8 : 1.

If tha t gap is to be closed signifi­cantly, more is needed than distributing R 7m am ongst 19 000 White miners and R7,5m between twenty times as many Africans.

Wilson considers tha t the African workers also deserve more in terms of the industry’s ability to pay. "W ith the current premium on gold, the mines could afford to double African wages. A t 8,8% of total revenue, this represents the smallest single cost factor faced by the mines.”

He says that, as a first stage, wages should be doubled as soon as possible.

At the same time, White wages should be raised only sufficiently to keep pace with the consumer price index. F rom 1946-51, during which time the gold price rose, as a result of devalua­tion, real wages for Whites increased by 14%, while non-White real wages dropped 3%.

"W e can’t let history repeat itself.” Footnote: The F M invited the C ham ber of Mines to comment, but it declined.

K W A Z U L U

Out in the coldApartheid in theory and apartheid in practice have proved so utterly different over the years tha t it is often hard to

believe they have anything in common.W hatever the individual issue -

land, jobs, free expression or removing discrimination — what government p ro ­poses in theory , and w hat it does in practice, are entirely different matters.

The latest example to come to the F . \ f s notice concerns Pretoria’s plan to consolidate Kw'aZulu’s 100 and more bits and pieces into a handful of large blocks.

As the D eputy Minister of Bantu Development, B raam Raubenheimer, proudly told Parliament recently, the program m e is at an advanced stage. He reported tha t negotiations had taken place with the Natal Agricultural Union, which had certain counter-proposals for the D rakensberg locations.

Further consultations were to take place. Thereafter Pretoria was quite pre­pared to given the N A U and its affiliat­ed farm ers’ associations "m o n th s” to ponder the eventual blueprint, which would be m ade public later this year. It would possibly even emerge before the end of the current Parliamentary session (presuming, it seems, that the N A U did its homework speedily).

Fair enough for the N A U , w'hich is an all-White body. W hat about Black reactions? H as Pretoria consulted the government of Kw aZulu?

You bet it hasn ’t. F o r whatever the theory, this is not the way apartheid, or multi-national development as it is now to be called, works in practice.

You tell the Blacks w hat you have decided. You don ’t ask them for their views beforehand.

Whites, and Whites alone, will decide the future borders of KwaZulu. That these decisions will involve the removal

A South African company with

more than 35 years'

experience

Cape Tow n Stellenbosch Paarl Port Elizabeth East London Durban Margate Pietermaritzburg Johannesburg Pretoria Nelspruit Bulaw ayo Salisbury and the U nited Kingdom

a member of the Syfrets group

INSURANCE BROKERS LTD

( Inco rpo ra ted Insurance Brokers)

R23 000), it is uncertain whether S tand­ard enjoyed any preference.

A circular from the liquidator early last year disclosed that the two co m p an ­ies appeared to . have joint liabilities of R228 000, exceeding assets by R71 000. But assets were valued on the assumption that R 100 000 could be rea ­lised on plant and equipment, once the dispute with Repfin had been resolved.

The plant and machinery has since been sold for only R28 000, which leaves Sable with few assets other than two contracts with government institu­tions to supply razor blades.

The Repfin claim under the H P agree­ment is in cold storage. Its validity, que­stioned by the liquidator and creditors, should ultimately determine whether concurrent creditors receive a dividend.

CLOTHING W A G ES

An eye for an eye . . .With the clothing industry deadlocked on wages, G arm en t W orkers’ Union national president, A nna Scheepers, has resorted to a more forceful strategy than bargaining round the conference table.

She has recommended her 13 000 members to achieve the increases the employers have turned down by selling their labour to the highest bidder. In so doing, she has unilaterally revoked a “ gentlemen’s agreement” in the Indus­trial Council for the Clothing Industry that has stood for about 15 years.

‘‘What else can we d o?” she asks. "W e're bound to last year’s Industrial Council agreement, when the large cost of living increase, and devaluation, were not foreseen. Real wages in the industry are declining.”

These are the bargaining counters on which the Union based its dem and for a col allowance to maintain the buying power of wages while the existing agree­ment lasts. It was refused by the T ra n s ­vaal Clothing Manufacturers A sso c ia - . tion, and a special meeting of the Indus­trial Council was requisitioned.

At these negotiations, a 2y% rise was sought for the lower paid workers (comprising about 50% of the labour force on average rates of R 13,50 a week), to be added to a 5% increase due in July under the current agreement.

Senior employees, who are not en ­titled to any increase this year, want another 1 \% . If granted, both these dem ands would have taken effect from July 1.

But employers wouldn’t budge. “ Even a flat rate, to show that the employers are concerned, would have been accep t­able," says Miss Scheepers.

Employers argue that they have

Your favourite hotel, and Hertz, the world’s biggest car hire company, owe their success to this effective, yet amazingly sim ple philosophy.

“ Keep the customer happy and chances are you’ll keep the custom er.”

W ith this in mind, Hertz give you what you want from the moment you step off the plane.

W herever you land, there’s a Hertz girl waiting for you. In a gold uniform that stands out like a ray of sunshine.

Having got your girl, you’ll get a sm ile and the keys to the car you’ve chosen. Be it M ercedes, Chrysler,Ford, or any other of our fine cars.

Automatic transmission, air- conditioning, a chauffeur and a radio are yours for the asking. The

"IThe car, the time, the place. You name it.

i -Johannesburg : 836-0713, Pretoria: 2-3560,Durban: 6-0303, Cape Tow n: 2-3344,Port Elizabeth: 2-6621, East London: 2-6009, W indhoek : 3731.

rest you can take for granted.

You’ll get a late model car. W ipers that work. Air in the spare. No problems.

W e w ill arrange for you to collect the car in one place and leave it in another.

You see, we don’t care how far we have to go to pick up a car.

The important thing is picking up another regular customer.

You can ask your secretary or travel agent to book you a Hertz car anywhere in the world.

Hertz

©United C ar H ira H ertz S ystem Licensee

Q -ln t.

’3 0€

i i\i r \ c v

In the com pany section of the Indexfor Volume XLII (October-December 1971). published on April21 this year, the S section was inad­vertently omitted. It is publishedbelow for the convenience of readers.

S K F ........................................................ ........47 201 R............8 93 L A

Sable Holdings D&G................... ...............517dSaker’s Finance & Investm ents..... ..... 61 9 695dSage H old ings..................................... .................147Salvo A ir Fre igh t................................ .................131

...458N 6 03 dSamuel O sb o rn .................................. ..... 6 5 9 d 7 2 5

...............4 33 dSanlam ............................144 S 3 /1 -4 8 7 75 1052dS anlam trust......................................... ................. 147Sanland.................................................. ..............4 3 3 dS antam gro........................................... ................. 147Schachat............................................... ..............155dSchlesinger Insurance Ins titu tion

H o ld in gs.............................S I /1 5 S 1 /1 9 1052dSchlesinger O rganisation................ .............S I 15Schus H o ld ings.................................. ............1 1 13d.Scotts Shoe S to re ............................. ............... 51 7d

..... 3 4 3 d 3 6 0Sea Products (SW A).......................... ..............1097Searles H old ings................................ ................. 524

...............3 43 d............10 5 2 d

S entak.................................................. ................. 144..... 3 23 41 5C

Sentrust............................................267C 4 4 5 9 75dShulton A frica ...................................... .67d 1 1 15LASigma Data.......................................... ................. 6 79Silverton Tanneries........................... ...............51 7dSinclair H old ings................................ ..............1097Slater W a lk e r..................................... ................. 3 36SA Breweries.............148 1 72 331 S2/1 1 S 2 /3 9

4 9 9 L A 5 0 8 51 7d 5 3 8................. 4 9 6............1052c)

SA Coal Oil & Gas C orp o ra tio n ..... ...............560CSA D rugg ists ................... 3 3 6 4 3 3 d 4 5 8 8 7 4 8 98SA Eagle............................................... .............S 1 /15SA Iron & Steel In dustries.............. 124 4 9 3 504

661 712C 9 60 1038SA Land................................................ ............10 5 2 dSA L ith o ............................................... 10 52 d 1 1 13dSA Marine C orporation................... .... S 1/57 8 97SA M anganese................................... ...8 4 2 0 8 91 dSA M utual Fire & G enera l.............. S1 15 S I 16SA Quarry Industries............... 1052d 1068 1075SA Polyo lefins.................................... ................. 3 23

................. 504

............... 89 IdSWA Fishing Industries................... ...5 1 7d 540D

.............S I 19............... 364C

Southern Sun C orpora tion .............. ........S2 29LASpectro Research Laboratories..... ................. 3 3 6

.............10 5 2 dStag Brew eries.................................. .............. 1171Standard B ank....................................Standard Bank Investm ent

C orporation.................................... ...,975d 9 95 DStandard & Chartered B ank ing .... .............1052dStandard B rass.................................. .........87 9 75 dStandard Telephones & Cables..... ................ 4 1 5S te e lb rite ............................................ .................. 442S tee lm eta ls ......................................... .........67d 4 4 6Steel & B a rn e tt...........................4 58 N 603d 1 168Steenbok Investment Trust (Pty) 3 3 6

..... 89 1d 9 0 3Stellenbosch W ine T ru s t................ ...... 51 7 d 5 3 0Sterns.................................................... ...............4 3 3 dStew arts & L loyds.............9 2 4 9 7 5 d 1 106 1 149S tilfo n te in ............................................ ............... 9 7 5 dS tu tta fo rd s ..........................................Sub N ige l.................... 7 90 9 6 7 997 1098 1 1 1 3d

...............7 9 /dSumcor Property In ve s tm e n t......... ............... 797dSuncrush.............................................. ................. 165Sun Life & M anufacturers L ife ..... ............... 387RSuzman L ............................................ .................. 33 6Swan H u n te r...................................... .................. 871Swazi Sugar........................................ ............. 10 5 2 d

APPLE ROT?

W eighted average paym ent 1967—

70 2.60Increase in fre ight

since 1970 52cAdditional im port

duty 18c 0 ,70

Est paym ent toproducers 1,90

Est prod and othercosts 1,60

Est net income n o r ,„• - im o 0 ,30cper carton in 1978

already costed merchandise for the year arid filled order books on tha t basis. One points out that individual firms are already giving increases to “ some members of their staffs."

But the Union contends tha t in­creases should be on an organised basis to avoid worker unrest.

Miss Scheepers' notice of termination of the industry’s "enticement agree­ment” could well force an employer rethink. In terms of the agreement, both the union and employers undertook to take action against an employee who became a party to enticement to lease one firm and join another.

Will reversion to a free labour market push up em ployers’ wage bills? They’re reluctant to com m ent at this stage.

The Union says bluntly tha t the agreement was signed to maintain h a r ­mony in the industry. "But if employers w on’t co-operate, nor will we.”

APPLE G R O W E R S

Hard sell neededThe Minister of Agriculture, Senator Dirkie Uys. was hardly a harbinger of good tidings when he opened the K rom River Apple Co-operative. He decided to lay bare the marketing difficulties that will face the deciduous industry in gen eral, and apple growers in particular.

In 1971 deciduous fruit grossed R64m , making it the sixth most valuable agricultural product. O f this, apples c o n ­tributed R35ni or 58%. Ten years ago the apple industry’s share was only 30%.

In the intervening decade, the gross value of the crop trebled, while p roduc­tion grew by 163%. In 1961 50 OOOt was exported. Last year it was 132 OOOt. Domestic consumption in 1971 am ounted to 80 OOOt.

According to the Minister's figures, 60% of the Republic’s 5,1m apple trees are already full-bearing. Once 100% are full-bearing, production will reach 400 OOOt annually.

In terms of the existing marketing ..pattern (56% exported, 33% used fresh locally, and 11% processed), this means that 224 OOOt will have to be sold over­seas, 132 OOOt consum ed domestically and 44 OOOt processed.

The U K , w hich took 59 OOOt of SA apples in 1971, remains our best c u s ­tomer. Belgium, with 22 OOOt ranks sec­ond.

Sales diversification has trimmed the U K ’s share from 66% (in 1961) to under 50%.

New m arkets have been opened, but due to restrictions, can ’t com pensate for the fall in exports to Britain once the

E E C tariff barrier has gone up to its full rate in 1978. »

After 1978, apple shipments to the U K will incur an additional import du ty in the region of 8%. Taking likely increased freight rates into considera tion, the Minister calculated producers ' 1978 net income at a mere 30c per carton com pared with R1 in 1971. (See box.)

Uys estimated that with a potential crop of 400 OOOt, over 200 OOOt (or 2 | times the current am ount) would be left for consum ption locally or in adjacent territories.

Clearly the apple industry is going to have to do some hard selling.

M O SC O W SU M M IT

The pay-offPresident N ixon has every reason to be satisfied with the results of the Moscow Summit. The agreements reached not only comprise the most striking m o n u ­ment to peaceful co-existence between the two Superpowers that has ever been created, they also reinforce the P re­sident's reputation as a statesman, a competent adm inistra tor and a m an of peace in this election year, writes the F \ r s W ashington correspondent.

Finally, they mark the completion of the new diplomatic o rder in the world which the President foresaw with his decision to move closer to the two C om munist powers and to loosen his trad i­tional ties w ith Europe.

In only one respect have the Summit agreements fallen short of his hopes: there is no sign that the two sides have been able to narrow their differences on Vietnam. The President is thus returning from Moscow still deeply engaged in the very w a r he promised to end nearly four years ago.

Nevertheless, if the agreements he has reached have any validity, it is improba-

SUMMARY OF PAPERS ON WHITE JOB SECURITY BY MESSRS. CARR AND WARDEN

A. Broad Progressive Party principles forming background againstwhich solution to problem must be found.

All people

+ Have right to seek and secure employment

+ Entitled to remuneration commensurate with their skills and training

+ Entitled to payment at a realistic rate for the job.

B. The Problem

+ Industrial/labour position in greatest ever stateof flux.

+ With changing governmental attitudes and adventof large numbers of Blacks into commercial and industrial employment, many positions, hitherto regarded as closed preserve of White workers, may or will be threatened.

+ If Progressive Party comes to be regarded asadvocating indiscriminate employment of Blacks to the detriment of White job incumbents, violent resentment and opposition of White workers, likely to be affected, tjust be expected.

+ Nonetheless, common justice and gravely neededgrowth of the economy demand breaking down of racist job barriers and facing up to the facts of change with unflurried discretion.

C. A realistic Assa9sment of Situation

Tilings are not as black as they seem and the problem is not quiteas intractable as it would appear at first sight. There are afew 'plus’ factors that must be taken account of:

1. In fact, not all that many White workersxz are going to be affected. There is actually a shortage of White workers and, even at the present juncture, job opportunities are going begging.

2. The vast majority of White workers enjoy the protection of the trade unions to which they belong and the various Industrial Councils who are unlikely to agree to the replacement of Whites by Blacks without substantial safe­guards regarding the future of these Whites. No changes of conditions are imposed from above. They are all agreed by negotiation.

3. The increased penetration of the Black worker into industry will result in considerable economic expansion which will in turn create a large number of new jobs.It will, therefore, not be unrealistic to expect full employment for all those people, irrespective of race, who are prepared to work.

Procedures Suggested to guarantee job security for all White workers in every eventuality.

It is largely the relatively small number of White workers who do not fall under the protective shield of the trade unions and the Industrial Councils who are likely to be affected and whose position is somewhat more precarious. In the light of the fact that every man has his own level of incompetence and that there will always be white workers who are neither fitted nor qualified to fill senior position?, it is extremely difficult to guarantee complete security for all such unprotected workers. The following measures may, however, go a long way towards alleviating the situation which is bound to arise within the foreseeable future and towards putting troubled minds at rest:

1. Leave a man who has satisfactorily been doing a job, which can be taken over by a Black man, but who is not suitable for any other job or promotion, untouched in his present job for the duration of his normal expectancy of service.

2. Eet such a man retire prematurely - assuming that he is within reasonable distance of normal retiring age - without loss of pension benefits and then ce-absorb him in some other job within the same organisation at an adjusted salary - possibly on a part-time basis.

3. If at all possible, the very best measure would be to ’recategorise’ t’ae post presently filled by a White worker, giving the post some, other name on the pretext of reorgani­sation and placing the White incumbent in another suitable post within the same organisation, thus making it possible to employ a Black worker in the old, renamed, job. The trend towards mergers of mahy firms into far greater industrial empires would undoubtedly facilitate such measures, given the necessary co-operation by enlightened managements.

Procedures not recommended

Two measures, suggested in the past, are not recommended or must, at least, be approached with considerable caution:

1. The idea that people who are displaced or found unsuitable for promotion should be paid off and then compensated by the payment of a permanent 'dole’ must be rejected as leadingto the emergence of a body of mendicants who come to expect payment for doing nothing as their right.

2. Some form of ’sheltered employment* subsidised by the Government for people who can no longer hold their own in competitive jobs must be viewed with considerable caution, because sheltered employment should really only be reserved for those suffering from some form of physical or mental disability, and should not be resorted to for people who are fit and able to do a normal job.

Additional aims to be_striven after by the Progressive Party

The Progressive Party, more than any other party should, in the light of the above, specifically strive towards:

1. The closest possible co-operation with the various trade unions who provide a protective shield for the vast majority of Shice workers.

2. Obtaining the enlightened co-operation of the employers of labour.

3. Preservation of the ’built-in*requirements of every human being, viz.:

IdentitySecuritySelf-expressionSelf-esteembelonging

G. Resume

The Progressive Party is faced with a very prickly problem in the field of White job security. It is, however, a nettle that has to be firmly grasped; the ineluctable facts and necessities must be faced quite openly. These facts are there for all to see:

+ South Africa's vast Black labour potential can no longer be safely bottled up or expediently juggled with without running the risk of grave unrest and violent upheavals.

+ Change in our labour situation must come therefore, and is already well on the way. We cannot go backwards, nor keep on marking time indefinitely. Immobility inspired by

fear and unconcerned inaction can only lead to economic stagnation and ultimate disaster.

+ This change is going to result in at least a measure of redundancy5 however/ temporarily.

+ In fact, however, the vast majority of White workers who may be displaced by Blacks will not lose the opportunity of work because such displacements will be accepted, and compensated for, by the trade unions with full concurrence of the relevant Industrial Councils.

+ In the long run, it must and will lead to an overall increase in employment.

+ By and large, the increased use of Black labour will free White workers, of whom there is a shortage, to fill better and more constructive positions.

+ Above all, Commerce and Industry will receive a substantial impetus through the injection of large numbers of Black workers into shilled and semi-skilled jobs. This, in turn, will lead to considerable economic expansion generally and to the creation of large numbers of new jobs in particular. Thus, in the end, vast economic and social benefits stand to be derived from the extension of work opportunities to as many people as possible.

W.3. de Villiers

December 27, 1973

Collection Number: AD1715

SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF RACE RELATIONS (SAIRR), 1892-1974

PUBLISHER: Collection Funder:- Atlantic Philanthropies Foundation

Publisher:- Historical Papers Research Archive

Location:- Johannesburg

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