Abstract
D. Litt. et Phil.
The white paper on privatisation and deregulation in the Republic of South Africa, was tabled in 1987. This paper outlined a policy for the possible privatisation of state-owned enterprise. Generally this step was favourably met by "Big Business" and a number of political players, but rejected and resisted by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). This phenomena led to the central assumption of this study. It was assumed that the rejection of privatisation (or manifestations thereof, such as commercialisation) by COSATU, would not necessarily be indicative of the cognitions and attitudes which
labour union employee members, hold of privatisation/commercialisation. The purpose of this study was to explore this assumption. This assumption was to be researched among a sample of official members of the South African Railway and Harbours Workers Union
(SARHWU); an affiliate of COSATU. A further purpose was to explore the influence which an official communication action, (aimed at the employees of a commercialised parastatal), may have had on the cognition and attitude of the sample. The aim was to draw from these findings to formulate directives for the internal strategic communication management of commercialisation to black SARHWU members. To achieve this purpose, the concept privatisation and commercialisation were conceptualised, and fundamental differences between the two concepts highlighted. An extensive "theoretical study was undertaken to identify the communication principles on which the communication of innovation (change) are based. The concepts of privatisation/commercialisation and the principles of the communication of innovation, were integrated into a framework for the formulation of a communication strategy and strategic communication plan for commercialisation.