HEALTH AND SAFETY RISK IN DURBAN (fwd)

["FRANCO BARCHIESI" <029FRB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear comrades,

The forwarded message below is especially addressed to comrades who
are able to exert pressures on the mentioned companies in the US, or
who can provide their addresses/numbers (see final part of the
message).

FB

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------

Date: Sat, 17 May 1997 13:13:43 +0200 (SST)
From: Heinrich Bohmke <hbohmke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Franco Barchiesi <029frb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: HEALTH AND SAFETY RISK IN DURBAN (fwd)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 17 May 1997 13:12:15 +0200 (SST)
From: Heinrich Bohmke <hbohmke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: project_underground@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: HEALTH AND SAFETY RISK IN DURBAN


Dear Comrades

We are the General Secretary and Organiser of the Engen Maintenance Workers'
Union (EMWU) which operates on the Engen Oil refinery in Wentworth,
Durban, South Africa.  We have about 450 workers as members, most
of whom have worked for sub-contractors and labour brokers who have
performed the maintenance work on the plant.  We need your help in publisizing
our campaign against Engen (formerly Mobil) for cutting safety personnel on
site by 30% and thereby posing a severe threat to our safety and to the
safety of the communities of Wentworth and Umlazi.


Durban, as you may know, is a port-city (the third largest city in SA) in
the Kwa-Zulu/Natal province.  Much of our production on site of petrol, jet
fuel, benzyne, wax, asphalt, oil, zylene, toloene is for export into Africa.


Owing to the threat of instant dismissal under labour brokers and the
high turnover of workers over the years, our maintenance sector has
historically been unorganised.  This is despite heavy and crude
exploitation by bosses who still operate out of an apartheid mindset.
In fact our work organisation still resembles the old South Africa -
whites hold all management jobs, Indians are next on the hierarchy,
artisans are mostly 'coloured' and Africans do the heavy manual
labour.  Although many of us have worked on site for
10 years or more, we have drifted from the employ of one labour broker to
another.  We live, most of us, in the 'coloured' township of Wentworth
and the African township called Umlazi.  Job-security is a distant
dream and many times we have had to pick up and leave our families to
seek work in Sasolburg or up on the Reef.

Ironically, because of the consolidation of all these small contracting
firms under one larger sub-contractor in February this year, (Group 5 -
Brown and Root) we have been able to come together as workers and form
a trade union.

For once, in our 10 year history with Mobil (now Engen Oil) events have
conspired WITH us rather than against us and workers from all the different
maintenance sections have linked up.  For those familiar with the racial
nature of SA capitalism, it will be surprising to see such a wide cross
section of all races standing together in one powerful trade union.
Happily, this is the case with EMWU that has overcome the divide imposed
by apartheid between white, coloured, Indian and African workers.  Also the
new Labour Relations Act in SA, although far from perfect, extends greater
rights to workers' organisations and repeals much of the apartheid
union-bashing legislation.


Our forming EMWU in February was primarily a response to the threat by our
new sub-contractor, [Group 5 - Brown and Root] that it wd cut jobs by
55% to comply with the levels of staff Engen has set down.  This, they
claim, was part of a strange profit-sharing type contract they have
with Engen.  It seems Engen dictates the levels of person-power in all
divisions of the plant according to a formula called the Solomon
Indices.  With the help of some comrades in the University of
Durban-Westville and together with civic organisations we were able to
mobilise the Wentworth and Umlazi community against these impending
lay-offs.  Reluctantly and under pressure to maintain a 'liberal' image,
Group 5 - Brown and Root rehired ALL the people who used to work for the
smaller sub-contractors.  We considered that quite a victory.

Yet the threat was never over.  Management, imported a number of
"experts" from Houston, Texas who kept trying to introduce
multi-skilling (which seems more like demotion or deskilling as
they have fitters also doing welding etc).  Prominent in this effort was
one Jim Frederickson, a consultant to Brown and Root or Halliburton Co.

Management has also linked up with dubious "community groups" in the
Wentworth township; gangsters loyal to a town councillor named Bella
Jacobs.  As mentioned before, Wentworth is a "coloured" township.  This means,
in SA-racial terms, that it is populated by the grandchildren and great
grandchildren of interracial relationships going back to slave days.  Whilst
we do not regard ourselves as different from our fellow South African
workers, this is a category foisted upon some of us from above.
Unfortunately, during the run up to the elections in 1997, the National
Party government was able to play on the fears of "coloureds" pitting their
interestsagainst that of the black majority, resulting in some support for the
NPin the coloured community.  One such NP supporter is Bella Jacobs -
who seems to have a direct line to Engen top management.  This has made
resistance in our community to Engen quite difficult.

Whenever a popular campaign around health and safety (the oil trucks have
already killed two children on Tara Rd outside the plant, or
against dangerous levels of air pollution or against the blue asbestos
left uncovered by Engen for weeks) - you can be sure Jacobs will
enter the fray placating, and justifying, saying how thankful we must be
to have jobs.  In this way a environmental group from inside wentworth
has been smothered by her and her lackeys, as was the black
consciousness aligned - Wentworth Development Forum.

Since February, Engen has been on a mad "productivity" drive, bullying us
into overtime, neglecting key maintenance work.  This had already led to
the death of cde Sandile Ngema this year when a pipe on the main line
from the acid unit ruptured.  When measured it was found that the
thickness of that pipe was 0.08cm, instead of the prescribed minimum,
0.65cm.  A huge cover-up ensued because although maintenance on that pipe
was long overdue, it was not done as that wd have caused a partial
shut-down (of Engen's profits).

However to add insult to injury, Engen have caused the reduction of the
number of safety watchers on site to be reduced from 26 to 17, without
consulting with any of the unions, without so much as an explanatory
memo or anything.  As soon as the old fire-watching contract ended,
Engen, by dictate, told Group Five _Brown and Root only to rehire 17 of
the 26 fire-watchers.  This, in itself presents a grave danger, for the
amount of hot-work has not ceased but actually increased.  We now have a
situation where safety watchers have to double up during welding, grinding
and metal cutting in confined spaces and in vessels themselves.  This is in
violation of even our own "Third world" safety standards.  Since 10 May,
when the reduction of safety-watchers took effect there have been two
related injuries; a minor splash of caustic soda into the face of a
welder and a more serious crushing of the leg of a casual labourer
because a generator was not properly secured.  (Of course, he is
expendable and nothing will ever reach the press about just another
injured black youth).  These are problems safety watchers would have
picked up.In our view, our oil refinery is now a time-bomb waiting to
explode.We don't see why we have to be wise and vindicated after the fact
when a disaster has occurreed.  We can see one looming and want to act now!


So last Wednesday (14 May) we marched to our (acting) general manager Gareth
Jones to ask him to restore the number of safety watchers and to commit himself
to complying with proper safety standards.  According to our laws, such
an action is termed "withdrawal of labour" and falls short of an actual
strike.  Hundreds of Engen workers, as well as scaffholders joined in
our march, which was the first ever to occur on site.  Despite marching
peacefully, Jones refused to meet us, calling us a "bloody mob".  We did
not respond.  He issued a memo threatening Engen workers with instant
dismissal, adding that Group 5's contract would be terminated if we did not
go back to work immediately.  After many years of being
brow-beaten, of having to bow and scrape and be obsequious to
survive - it was wonderful to see every man and woman in that march
stand as one - and refuse to compromise our own safety.  Luckily we
also had two comrades from the University with us, who have read
the new Laws and this added to our confidence.  We walked off
site at 15h00 on Wednesday, after Jones threatened to bring to police in.


On thursday we came back, only to refuse to do any work where we do
not have an individual safety watcher in attendenace.  There is now
an uneasy stand-off.  We met with Mr. Jones the General manager.  He is
so arrogant it is almost unbelievable.  At first he says that that while
there has been a reduction in safety watchers, this is actually an
*improvement in safety for it forces workers to take responsibility for
their own environment*.  Everyone is now a safety watcher.  When we point
out the obvious - that the Engen plant is a volatile place and
that safety watchers are there *on the ready* to douse fires or throw
switches and close valves and generally observe things we cannot see, he
becomes arrogant.  Business principles dictate that in Indonesia, one
only needs 0.043 safety watchers per barrel of oil, says Jones and that is
what WILL pertain at ENGEN too as from NOW.  Profits before safety.
We are aware that management is beginning retrenchment procedures and
that some of us are being isolated for this.  We dont know how serious
Engen is about cancelling our immediate employer's (Group 5 Brown
and Root) contract.  They, meanwhile are also putting the squeeze on
us and most workers engaged in the work-stoppage are on final written
warnings.


What we do know is

* we cannot rely on government.  Our govt is so sold on an export-led
model of economic growth that anything that threatens "investor
confidence" is frowned upon.  This may come as a shock to you, but the ANC's
macro economic modela (GEAR) is nothing short of Thatcherite.  While Bella
Jacobs of the NP is an overt supporter of Engen at community level, many of
our former ANC comrades in government are overt supporters of
neo-liberalism and so they will not act in our favour.

* we can rely on the support of the communities of Wentworth and Umlazi.
Already civics, churches and the youth ahave pledged support as well as a
Cosatu union that also organises in the Chemical sector.  We also feel
that one last hit against Engen might just break Bella Jacobs' little
fiefdom down.

* we have got a reasonably good legal case which we are taking to the Labour
Court on Monday.  This is meant to win back those safety jobs but also to
focus attention on Engen's poor safety record generally.  Other similar
legal battles resting on the the fact that every "contract of employment has
the implicit term and condition of service that a safe and healthy working
environment will be provided by the employer"  should be forwarded to us.
Also are there people you may know who have technical expertise on
safety/fire watching in the petro-chemical industry?

* we will get at least 20000 people to march on Engen's gates 7 days from
now and blocade it.  Hopefully this event will receive space in the
local press.  We ask you to do what you are able to do - in the US.

* we can rely on Gareth Jones and Co. reacting very badly to unfavourable
press on the safety issue, especially in the US.  This is what we need, both
for our impending court action as well as the blocade of Engen property.
The more mainstrweam the newspaper the better, but also if environmental
groups could add some support.  As South Africans we have become used to
cloaking our *issues* in the anti-apartheid moral garb and so have neglected
building bridges with other progressive organisations elsewhere in the world.
This is where we would ask for your support.  To let people know, either
formerly in D&T or informally about what is happening.  We dont have those
networks and wonder what exactly the possibilities are of organising at
an international level.  What labour unions might give us support, how do
we link up with indigenous people's groups struggling against Mobil too?


* also letters or faxes of protest to Engen, Mobil or Brown and Root in
the U.S. would be great.  Unfortunately we don't have those addresses in
the U.S. but suspect a Houton Texas connection.  In SA the fax of Group
Five would be 27 31 3614174 (attention John Humphreys or Hennie Botha) and
Engen's fax no. is 27 31 460 3000 (attention Gareth Jones or Peter Dent).


* Lastly any other support, ADVICE or links will be greatly appreciated,
particularly if you know of NGO's that might help us fund our legal case.


Phambili Basebenzi Phambili!

Comradely yours

Francis Williams   and     Patrick Msomi

    For and On Behalf of EMWU
    Durban
    South Africa

++++++      ++++++       ++++++

c/o Dr. A Desai, Mr. Franco Barchiesi & Mr. H Bohmke
University of Durban-Westville
Wits University

Franco Barchiesi
Sociology of Work Unit
Dept of Sociology
Private Bag 3
University of the Witwatersrand
PO Wits 2050
Johannesburg
South Africa
Tel. (++27 11) 716.3290
Fax  (++27 11) 716.3781
E-Mail 029frb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/~spoons/aut_html
http://pluto.mscc.huji.ac.il/~mshalev/direct.htm

Home:
98 6th Avenue
Melville 2092
Johannesburg
South Africa
Tel. (++27 11) 482.5011


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