This research project on the South African white goods manufacturing industry is part of a broader initiative bringing together researchers globally to study changes taking place in one industry - the white goods manufacturing industry. A long term goal of the research project is to understand the implications of the global restructuring of the industry for local manufacturing activities, and to explore the options for trade unions in the various countries to respond to these changes through some form of labour internationalism. An agreement was reached with NUMSA that the research will feed into the Sector Job Summit process, structured through a reference group set up by the union. For this process, the research on white goods forms part of a broader study conducted by the Trade Union Research Project (TURP) of the electronic and electrical appliances sub-sector (see Report B).