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Abstract
Yours for the Union stands as a landmark history of the making of the black working class in South Africa. Drawing on a wide range of sources, it covers the crucial period of 1930–47, when South Africa's rapid industrialisation led to the dramatic growth of the working class, and uncontrolled urbanisation resulted in vast shanty towns which became a focal point for resistance and protest. Importantly, Hirson was one of the first historians to go beyond the traditional focus on the mines and factory workplaces, broadening his account to include the lesser known community struggles of the urban ghettoes and rural reserves.
Written by an author with first-hand involvement in South African labour struggles, Yours for the Union broke new ground with its account of the effort to mobilise urban squatters, domestic workers and rural peasants, and remains an indispensable resource for the study of the South African labour movement.
‘A key theme in Baruch Hirson’s work is “the enthusiasm, courage and weakness of the workers”. In his view, this courage and enthusiasm was squandered. … South Africa’s working-class communities are still paying the price … and Baruch Hirson’s tragic history is still their story.’
Tom Lodge, from the Foreword
Baruch Hirson (1921–1999) was a lifelong activist who spent nine-and-a-half years in South African prisons as a result of his opposition to the apartheid regime. Following his release in 1973 he left for England, where he lectured in history at several universities and produced eight finely written, passionately argued books on the history of the left in South Africa. These include Year of Fire, Year of Ash (1984), The Cape Town Intellectuals (2000) and his autobiography, Revolutions in My Life (1995). He also founded the controversial critical journal Searchlight South Africa.
Tom Lodge is professor of peace and conflict studies at the University of Limerick, Ireland. He was formerly professor of political studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He is the author of Mandela: A Critical Life (2006) and Politics in South Africa: From Mandela to Mbeki (2003).
Table of Contents
Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
---|---|---|---|
Front Cover | Front cover | ||
African History Archive | i | ||
About the Author | iii | ||
Title Page | v | ||
Copyright | vi | ||
Contents | vii | ||
Photographs and Illustrations | x | ||
Foreword by Tom Lodge | xi | ||
Abbreviations | xiv | ||
Preface | xv | ||
1. The African Worker: Class and Community\r | 1 | ||
The Growth of an Urban Community | 1 | ||
Community, Identity, Class Struggle | 4 | ||
The Search for an African Working Class | 10 | ||
The War and the Working Class | 13 | ||
Notes | 14 | ||
2. Desperately Lean Times: The Socio-Economic Background\r | 16 | ||
A People Trapped in Depression | 16 | ||
South Africa during the Depression | 17 | ||
Unemployed ••• and Unemployable | 18 | ||
The 'Golden' Road to Recovery\r | 20 | ||
Boom Time – Boom Town\r | 21 | ||
The 'Casualness' of Urban Employment\r | 23 | ||
War, Industry and the Economy | 25 | ||
Notes | 26 | ||
3. Industrial Legislation and Minimum Wages | 28 | ||
'Civilised' Labour\r | 28 | ||
The Wage Act of 1925 | 30 | ||
The Amended Wage Act | 31 | ||
From Wage Boards to Union Organisation | 33 | ||
Notes | 34 | ||
4. Rebuilding the African Unions, 1932–40 | 35 | ||
Trade Unions in the Colonies | 35 | ||
Organising the Work Force | 37 | ||
The State of the Unions, 1930–35 | 39 | ||
New Beginnings | 41 | ||
Max Gordon and the Liberals | 41 | ||
Gordon's Victories and Ultimate Downfall | 45 | ||
Notes | 49 | ||
5. Organising Domestic Servants | 51 | ||
Cheeky Servants Must Go! | 51 | ||
'House-Boys' and 'House-Girls' | 53 | ||
Unions for Domestic Servants | 58 | ||
A Case of Corruption? | 59 | ||
The Union of 100 | 60 | ||
Notes | 62 | ||
6. Vereeniging: 'To Hell with the Pick-up!' | 63 | ||
A 'Lack of Organisation'? | 63 | ||
From 'Old Location' to Sharpevilie | 64 | ||
Law and Disorder in the Location | 66 | ||
'To Hell with the Pick-Up!' | 67 | ||
The First Riot | 69 | ||
The Second Riot | 70 | ||
White Town ― Black Location | 70 | ||
The Aftermath | 72 | ||
Working-Class Action | 73 | ||
Notes | 74 | ||
7. The Politics of War and the Black Working Class | 76 | ||
Indifference | 76 | ||
Recruits for the Army | 77 | ||
Division on the Left | 78 | ||
African Responses to the War | 80 | ||
Subversion? | 82 | ||
The War and the Unions | 85 | ||
The Strike Wave of 1941–42 | 86 | ||
The March against Passes | 89 | ||
Notes | 91 | ||
8. Trade Unions in Struggle | 93 | ||
The African Distributive Workers | 93 | ||
Daniel Koza ― Trade Unionist | 94 | ||
Strike in the Coal Yards | 95 | ||
The Council of Non-European Trade Unions | 98 | ||
The Right to Strike | 101 | ||
Notes | 104 | ||
9. Organising Under War Conditions | 107 | ||
Yours for the Union | 107 | ||
'How to Get Higher Wages' | 107 | ||
The 31 Workers of Oliphantshoek | 108 | ||
Marabastad: The Troops Move in | 110 | ||
Splits and Expulsions | 114 | ||
Notes | 120 | ||
10. Rural Protest and Rural Revolt | 122 | ||
Urban Organisations ― Rural Constituents | 122 | ||
The Bakwena-Ba-Mogopa Committee | 124 | ||
Land and Land Apportionment | 126 | ||
'Betterment', and Much Worse | 127 | ||
Maliba's 'Seven-Point Programme' | 129 | ||
The Five Morgen Limit on Land | 130 | ||
A State of Permanent Instability | 132 | ||
The Balemi Silenced | 132 | ||
Notes | 134 | ||
11. Azikwhelwa! ― We Shall Not Ride | 136 | ||
The Road to Alexandra | 136 | ||
The First Boycott | 138 | ||
New Political Combinations | 138 | ||
Findings of the Commission of Enquiry | 140 | ||
The African Democratic Party | 141 | ||
The Fifty Day Walk | 143 | ||
The Meaning of Victory | 145 | ||
Notes | 146 | ||
12. Umagebule ― The Slicer | 148 | ||
Orlando, the 'Model' Township | 148 | ||
The Sofasonke ('We Shall All Die') Movement | 150 | ||
The 'Slicers' | 154 | ||
New Squatters, Uew Leaders | 155 | ||
A Priest at 'Tobruk' | 157 | ||
Communists at the Tail End | 157 | ||
A Rent Strike and Riot: The End of the Road | 159 | ||
Notes | 162 | ||
13. Organising the Migrant Workers | 165 | ||
Egoli, the Golden City | 165 | ||
Compound Organisation | 167 | ||
Organising the 'Unorgauisable' | 168 | ||
Migrant Workers and the VFP | 171 | ||
The Witwatersrand Mine Native Wages Commission | 173 | ||
Action and Reaction: Strike One! | 175 | ||
Action and Reaction ― Approaching Strike Two | 176 | ||
Notes | 180 | ||
14. The 1946 Miners' Strike | 183 | ||
August 1946 | 183 | ||
Strike! | 185 | ||
Congress and the Strike | 187 | ||
Unions in Trouble | 189 | ||
Disintegration of the Unions | 190 | ||
Facing the Future | 192 | ||
Notes | 194 | ||
15. Conclusion | 196 | ||
Bibliography | 203 | ||
Index | 219 |