Die persepsie van blanke mynwerkers ten opsigte van rasse-integrasie in die werkomgewing
Abstract
The objective of the study was to analise specific perceptions of white miners which could influence their level of acceptance of blacks who are advancing into positions previously held by whites only. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE a. The perception held by the white miner towards their circumstances at work, industrial relations and integration in general. b. The perception held by the white miner towards blacks and
the idea of equal job opportunities in the mining industry. The primary data was collected by means of: a. Personal interviews. b. Questionnaires. METHODOLOGY The choice of the correct methodology was influenced by the sensitive and emotive nature of the study. Therefore the writer used a combination of the above-mentioned methods for the main gathering of data the writer decided to utilize questionnaires administered by himself in order to explain the purpose of the study to respondents and to get their co-operation. It was
hoped t hat by using this personal approach, the problem caused b y the sensitive nature of the questions would be overcome and
that by using questionnaires a lot of quantifiable data could be collected in a short ti me. FINDINGS Given the segregated nature of the mining industry, together with its long history of conflict as the white unions sought to protect their members' privileged position, it was reasonable to predict that many of the white miners would be opposed to black advancement. The findings of the study have confirmed this prediction and have shown that there is both a high level of racial stereotyping amongst white miners and a marked desire to maintain the social distance between white and black. Training problem in industrial relations issues can help overcome the as the majority of white miners feel the need for more training in this field. However, for this to be effective, management must - clearly distinguish between training aimed at increasing modifying the knowledge in this field and that aimed at their behaviour patterns, and the example should start at a higher level.