Apartheid legislation authorized the "reservation" of many skilled jobs and managerial positions for whites; qualified blacks were legally excluded from most senior-level jobs, but black education standards were so inferior to those for whites that few blacks were qualified for well-paid jobs. Even in equivalent job categories, blacks received lower wages than whites. Although white workers were divided in their racial attitudes throughout the apartheid era, they often opposed benefits for black workers that could threaten their own economic standing.
The industrial development of South Africa relied on a great deal of low-wage labor to ensure profits. But during the 1960s and 1970s, many industries increased their capital stock by investing in high tech machinery--the result is lower labor cost and increasing productivity. Unemployment increased and poverty soared. Consequently, black workers' organizations became politicized, expressing their grievances publicly. Other organizations used militance and strikes on the government, which actually proved to be more effective in changing government policies. Parliament later enacted the Industrial Conciliation Amendment Act of 1979, recognizing black unions and including them under the labor law protection for the first time. Black workers were now able to bargain w their employers and even go on strike.
Source:
http://books.google.com/books?id=rOcmamq2fikC&pg=PA182&lpg=PA182&dq=south+african+law+1960s+and+1970s&source=bl&ots=EnTJ9LRIaY&sig=ni61XtAvawrpRjLqkuxG_wYtfCY&hl=en&ei=NPV0TYD3BIK78gb3ofzhDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=south%20african%20law%201960s%20and%201970s&f=false
http://countrystudies.us/south-africa/65.htm
http://www.history.com/topics/apartheid
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