1973 Durban strikes
[2] Although the number of strikes declined after March, 100 000 African and Indian workers were reported to have taken some form of industrial action by the end of 1973.
[6] In 1970, approximately 80 percent of jobs within South Africa's private sector paid black African workers below the poverty datum line which was set at R18 per week in Durban.
[2][4][7] The common consensus amongst state officials, employers and the National Development and Management Fund (NDMF) was that black African workers needed to increase productivity before they could be granted higher wages.
[4][3] Without access to the same legal mechanisms given to Whites, Coloureds and Indians, black African workers had limited opportunities to engage in collective bargaining with their employers.
[1][2] Instead of trade unions, black African workers were restricted to plant-based works committees supervised by the Central Native Labour Board.
[2][4] Works committees were designed to pass on workplace grievances expressed by African workers to employers or Native Labour Officers.
[4][2] Marais Viljoen, the Minister of Labour, announced in parliament that the establishment and effectiveness of works committees would result in black African workers losing interest in trade unions.
[9][10] At 3am on 9 January 1973, black African migrant workers at the Number One plant were woken up by a group of colleagues and told to meet at a local sports field instead of going to work.
[9][10] 1500 black African workers marched to the sports field, carrying sticks and chanting: "Man is dead but his spirit still lives" in Zulu.
[9][10][11] Continuing for two days, it was reported that strikers reluctantly returned to work after Goodwill Zwelethini, the Zulu king, delivered a speech urging them to do so and promising to negotiate on their behalf.
[10][12] The company refused and threatened to fire those who continued striking, enlisting the police and the Department of Labour for additional support.
[12] It wasn't until management's offer to take back workers without any change in pay was rejected on 25 January that the company agreed to the R3 wage increase.
[10][13] By the end of January, every textile factory belonging to the Frame Group in Natal had been affected by the strikes, bringing production to a complete standstill.
[13][12][10] On 5 February, 3000 black African municipal workers, including street cleaners and refuse collectors, went on strike and demanded wage increases of up to R10 per week, bringing Durban's essential services to a halt.
[10][16] Companies affected by the strikes were told to contact the Department of Labour and the police (in the case of violence) by the Durban Chamber of Commerce.
[16] A number of local and state media reports, including those released by Rapport and SABC, were sympathetic towards black African workers and held employers responsible for low wage levels.
[16][9][10] On 30 January 1973, the Johannesburg Star published an article which stated, "If labour peace is to be restored...employers will have to take the initiative and raise pay at least to a survival level, and R5 a week is not that.
[18] The 1973 Durban strikes are widely cited by academics as a turning point in South Africa's industrial relations system as it gave rise to the black trade union movement[10][3][2][11] and was a major step forward in the struggle to build a mass democratic opposition to apartheid which played a central role in the struggle for the democratisation of society.
