Eddie Koch
Documents which suggest that a bus-making company used a private security firm — headed by a former Special Branch policeman — to plan a third-force campaign of “deliberately and openly hostile terrorism” against selected targets of the National Union of Metalworkers have been handed to police for investigation.
Documents on letterheads of the security company, Investment Surveys, indicate that detailed discussions took place between senior officials of Port Elizabeth-based Busaf and former security police officer Johan du Plooy to conduct a 1980s-style dirty tricks campaign against the union.
A letter entitled “Strategy Document: Numsa” and apparently signed by Du Plooy, states that: “The union movement was an effective tool of the African National Congress during its terrorist campaign against the South African government … They did not limit themselves to legitimate industrial action but achieved major successes with their rolling mass-action campaigns and wildcat strikes.”
“The total physical destabilisation of Numsa would be a costly, manpower- intensive and time-consuming exercise. Such an exercise would have little chance of success. Therefore, I propose to destabilise them by means of discrediting them in the eyes of their supporters and selectively eliminating key office infrastructure and personnel.”
Representatives for Dorbyl Transport, which owns Bushaf, and Investment Surveys, told the Mail & Guardian it appeared the documents were sophisticated forgeries, possibly planted by rival bus-manufacturing companies. They refused to comment further saying the papers have been handed to police for investigation.
An Investment Surveys spokesman said the letterhead and signature of Du Plooy on the documents appeared to be genuine but that the text between these was clearly a forgery. He added that this was possibly done by pasting the logo and signatures onto the documents and then faxing them to the union. Du Plooy was not available to comment.
Numsa representatives said they had agreed in a meeting with Dorbyl management to co-operate with the police investigation and to hand over the documents. The union has undertaken not to make further announcements in the media until the probe has been completed.
The strategy paper allegedly drafted by Du Plooy proposes:
* Bribes being paid to key shopstewards.
* Provocation of wildcat strikes designed to split moderate union members from its “out of control” leadership.
* Direct attacks on union officials and premises.
“Therefore, the overall strategy is to antagonise Numsa into militancy and then to alienate Busaf labour against Numsa through direct negotiations with the labour force to break its ties with Numsa. As a secondary consideration, the physical destruction of Numsa’s infrastructure in Busaf’s areas of operation will at least create serious working problems for Numsa and will render them regionally ineffective,” continues the document.
Numsa said this week its first reaction was to question the authenticity of the documents, but that its suspicions had been raised by the fact that the union’s local office in Port Elizabeth had been burnt down in mysterious circumstances last month, and that a number of its senior officials have been visited by strange men in the past few weeks.