The points of agreement and disagreement between business and labour about weighty issues are seldom scrutinised together.
The Community Agency for Social Enquiry (Case) research agency did just this in a survey commissioned by the Weekly Mail & Guardian, the South African Chamber of Business (Sacob), and the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
Business editor Reg Rumney summarises some of the results of in-depth telephone interviews with 100 top business people and fifty-five union leaders
The survey, on a wide range of issues, was conducted in April this year by Mark Orkin of Case, and Ann Kushlick, with the help of Samantha Smirinl, Poppy Makalima and Sello Molefe.
It is a follow-up to a similar survey done16 months ago which canvassed the views of 100 top business people. An important finding of the previous survey was white businessmen’s fear of the more powerful role unions would play in economic affairs. So this time around top unionists were also asked to articulate their assessment of political, social and economic change in South Africa.
The business sample covered 100 top sectors of business countrywide, including all the major conglomerates. It comprised 23 black, one coloured, three Indian, and 73 white business people. Eighty-six were men and 14 were women. The union sample included 55 unionists, all national or regional office bearers, approximately in proportion to the sizes of the six major union federations. The sample included 44 black, two coloured, one Indian and eight white unionists. Forty-eight were men and seven were women.