Abstract
Discussions and debates on the role of technology in trade unions responses to technological innovation, even though trade unions and their members are directly affected by these changes. Based on in-depth interviews conducted with South Africa-based worker leaders, academics and some German-based academics and trade unionists, the article contends that South African trade unions adopt a reactive approach to technological changes because their bargaining strategies focus on wages at the expense of production. To remedy the situation, based on the testimonies of interviewees and German experiences, the paper suggests that the South African trade unions need to consider adopting a dualist bargaining strategy that focuses on both wages and working conditions, on the one hand, and technology and technologies, on the other-as reflected in Germany today. To enter the terrain of production, the argument advanced in this article is that through the use of research, education, new collective bargaining strategies and campaigns, trade unions can proactively shape the use of technologies in technology in a manner that defends and advances the interests of workers.