The state and African trade unions, 1918-1948
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3618703 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Duncan (0000-0003-2768-576X, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1992 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 55-74 |
| Publication date | 1992-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Dynamics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0253-3952 • E-ISSN: 1940-7874 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02533959208458533 |
| OpenAlex | W2013191520 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 10 |
This article analyses the relationship between the state and the nascent African trade unions in South Africa between 1918 and 1948. It shows how the government's attempts to deal with African workers separately from white workers became increasingly difficult during this period. Pressures from African unions themselves, from liberal groups and from the increasingly important role played by Africans in the economy, forced the state to seek a coherent way of handling African trade unions. The paper shows how the state was divided over this issue, with Native Affairs and Labour Department officials conflicting with each other and with government ministers. Although the cabinet held ultimate power within the state, civil servants played a significant role in shaping government policy and determining how it was implemented. The paper concludes that, although circumstances have changed greatly since 1948, the pre‐apartheid era has important lessons for state/organised labour relations in the post‐apartheid South Africa which is currently taking shape
Civil servants · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · African history and culture studies · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · History · Law · South African History and Culture
Taste of Freedom
Racial Segregation and the Origins of Apartheid in South Africa, 1919–36
The State Divided
Yours for the Union. Class and Community Struggles in South Africa 1930–47
Striking Back
The moral economy of the black miners' strike of 1946
Liberals and Local Administration in South Africa
The South African State and Industrial Conflict in the 1940s
Capital, state and white labour in South Africa
Casualties
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |