Changes introduced in the late 1970s, however, had their immediate
genesis in the 1973 Durban strikes by dock workers. Aft er the strikes, new
forms of militant, black-led trade unions emerged and began to push workers’
demands aggressively at the shop-fl oor level. Additionally, the formation of
the Wiehahn Commission in 1977 to investigate and make recommendations
on South Africa’s industrial relations regime resulted in amendments
to the industrial relations law in the early 1980s, in which black workers were
recognized for the fi rst time as “employees” in terms of legislation. Th is meant
that black workers could form and join trade unions as well as participate in
industrial councils for purposes of collective bargaining.