Please read the case study below and answer the following questions.

Question

Ellen Claasen, is a 21-year old South African woman who works in a factory. Ellen got pregnant in high school and then dropped out of school. She only obtained grade 10. Three years after she left school she eventually got work at a factory that makes tin cans (for canned food).



Ellen has been working at the factory for two years and still does exactly the same work. Three men cut the tin according to a template, and the Ellen and about 100 other women solder the cans together. The factory gets extremely hot in summer and ice cold in winter because the building mainly consists of zinc. The women are exposed to gasses while they solder and often by lunchtime, Ellen can feel her lungs burning.



It takes quite long to complete one tin can and there is a certain quota she has to finish everyday – the women seldom succeed in making the quota, and thus they usually work overtime for an hour or so, without payment. Their supervisor, the factory owner’s wife, is very strict and often makes sarcastic comments when someone is absent from work due to illness (she has also fired a woman who stayed off work for two days). Thus Ellen goes to work even when she is feeling very ill.



Ellen and the other women have heard rumours that the owner of the factory plans to buy a machine that will be operated by one man. She fears that she is going to lose her job. She and the other women have decided that they are going to join a union affiliated with COSATU as soon as possible.

Ellen’s work bores her and she cannot wait to go home at night. She wishes she could find other work, but seeing that she still lives with her parents (and only her mother also has a job) she has to continue to work to support them, her baby and herself.
By which objective of unions will Ellen and her co-workers benefit the most?

A.
Economic reason

B.
Job security

C.
Political reason

D.
Self-fulfillment

Answer 1

Based on the details provided in the case study, the objective of unions that Ellen and her co-workers will benefit from the most is:

B. Job security

Ellen and her co-workers are concerned about job security due to the looming threat of automation in their factory, which could lead to potential job losses. By joining a union, they can collectively bargain for better job security and possibly negotiate against layoffs or seek protections against the introduction of machines that may replace their work. This aligns directly with their need for job security in an uncertain employment environment.