South Africa’s workers movement on fire – the Durban strikes of 1973 - ROAPE
▻https://roape.net/2023/03/06/south-africas-workers-movement-on-fire-the-durban-strikes-of-1973
50 years ago, South Africa witnessed a historical turning point. On 9 January 1973, workers of the Coronation Brick and Tile factory in Durban came out on strike. Immediately thereafter they were joined in strike by workers from small packaging, transport and ship repairs companies, and women working in the textile and clothing sector.
Between January and March 1973 almost 100,000 workers were on strike in Durban. Through songs and marches workers made their demands heard – the first public mass action in South Africa since the anti-apartheid activism of the 1950s. This was labour action, and at once a political revolt, where workers exercised the power of factory-based mass action. The strikes signalled both militant non-racial trade unionism and an invigorated spirit of rebellion.