Born in the
heat of war
The 1940s
I
t all began with South Africa’s declaration of war on Hitler’s Germany in
September 1939 when a new unity among employers in the nation’s metals and
engineering industry was forged. The government of the day had appointed a
Director-General of War Supplies and a Controller of Industrial Manpower. Five
trade unions represented a sometimes-restless workforce labouring long hours
under a wage freeze. Yet employers, whose industries were crucial to the war
effort, could not deal effectively with either government or labour issues. They
were regionally organised and had no prominent national voice.
Born out of conferences in Bloemfontein in 1941 and Cape Town in 1942, a
national umbrella organisation was formed. Its name was the South African
Federation of Engineering and Metallurgical Associations (SAFEMA,) with HC
Gearing as its first Director and former journalist Fred Williams as the first
President. A regionally structured council was created comprising three
delegates and three alternates each from the Cape, Transvaal, Natal, Midlands and
Border areas. The first report of the SAFEMA Council stated that the Federation
represented 440 employers.
In 1947, in view of vigorous growth in the industry, a decision was taken to revise
the Federation’s constitution and provide for more effective services for the
increasing number of specialist national Associations created in the sector. The
new structure moved away from regionalism and opened the way for majority
representation on the council for registered employer associations. At the same
time, provision was made to ensure that regional interests were also represented.
The Council was empowered to co-opt as members prominent industrialists
whose knowledge and experience would be of value to the Federation – and the
name was changed to the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South
Africa ( SEIFSA).
At the outbreak of World War II, South Africa’s engineering sector was for the
most part concentrated on repair and maintenance work. The urgent demands
of war brought massive expansion and technological advancements in the metals
SEIFSA AT 75 - SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE MAGAZINE
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