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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The State and African Trade Unions, 1918-1948
Author:Duncan, DavidISNI
Year:1992
Periodical:Social Dynamics
Volume:18
Issue:2
Period:December
Pages:55-74
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:State
trade unions
Politics and Government
Labor and Employment
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Ethnic and Race Relations
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02533959208458533
Abstract: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 preapartheid era has important lessons for State/organized labour relations in postapartheid South Africa. Notes, ref., sum.
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