With shouts of Afrika!�: The 1952 textile strike at good hope textiles, King William's town
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Date
1990
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Social Dynamics
Abstract
This paper, through a detailed examination of one of the biggest and most significant strikes in the East London region, suggests its importance lies both in the events and processes of the strike itself, and in its longer term impact on political traditions of union and popular struggle. It argues that a dynamic relationship developed between a newly emergent industrial working class in the textile industry, and an equally rapidly established local ATWIU, and local ANC branch. This resulted in the merging of a pattern of worker discontent and strike action with the ANCs Defiance Campaign in particular, and in so doing, the nature and direction of the strike was transformed. Finally it is argued that the defeat of this �mass� strike of defiance by the textile workers, laid the patterns and built the disillusions of future labour struggles in the region. � 1990 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Description
* Financial support from the Human Sciences Research Council is gratefully acknowledged. It is not, of course, to be held responsible for the opinions expressed or the conclusions reached.
Keywords
Strike, East London, South Africa, Political traditions, Union, Dynamic relationship, Emergent working class, Textile industry, ANC, Defiance campaign, ATWIU, Strike action, Worker discontent, Mass strike, Defiance, Textile workers, Labour struggles
Citation
Minkley, G. (1990) �With shouts of Afrika !�: The 1952 textile strike at good hope textiles, king William's town, Social Dynamics, 16:2, 71-90, DOI: 10.1080/02533959008458496