62 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
62 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
The **Rhodesian Railway Strike of 1945** was a
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[strike](List_of_Strikes "wikilink") by railway workers for wage
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increases and fighting against [anti-black
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racism](Anti-Racism "wikilink") by [bosses](Boss "wikilink") in Rhodesia
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(now Zimbabwe and [Zambia](Zambia "wikilink")).
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## Background
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Workers in the [British colony of Southern
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Rhodesia](British_Empire "wikilink"), now Zimbabwe and Zambia, bore an
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increased workload to support the war effort during [World War
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II](World_War_II "wikilink") as extraction of mineral resources
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increased, employees of Rhodesia Railways worked upward of 65 hours per
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week to transport the minerals to ports on the Indian Ocean. While white
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European railway workers had strong unions representing them, black
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African employees received inferior treatment and lower pay grades than
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whites.
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The Rhodesia Railways African Employees Association (RRAEA) was formed
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in spring 1944 in response to poor working conditions, and soon rew to
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include several hundred members, most of them in the hub city of
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Bulawayo. By 1945, it had submitted many written requests to the
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company, all of which were ignored. Company managers believed Africans
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were incapable of organizing themselves to demand more rights.
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Black workers wages were massively cut without them being informed,
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combined with an unequal, intimidating work environment in which
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superiors would regularly “joke” about firing employees or cutting
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wages. Upon payday, unrest began on the 20th of October, 1945.
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## Events
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A crowd of black workers and supporters waited outside the Rhodesia
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Railway Headquarters. Managers ignored them, leading to a strike two
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days later involving 2,708 workers. They demanded:
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- 500% wage increase
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- Informing of wage changes
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- Payment in cash rather than rations
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- Termination of the current management
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The company refused to negotiate, and the strike spread across the
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country, shutting down railways. Supplies of food and coal dwindled
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across the economy, leading to the formation of a government commission
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to investigate the causes of the strike.
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## Results
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After two weeks, the strike ended. The independent commission
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established as a result of the strike raised the workers' wages by
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25-30%, improved sick leave practices, and weakened the power of the
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Supervisor of Natives. However, the wage increase fell far short of the
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requested amount (and still below the country's poverty line), and other
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requests, including the right to be paid in cash instead of rations,
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were not met.
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## References
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[Global Nonviolent Action
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Database](Global_Nonviolent_Action_Database "wikilink") - [Black
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Rhodesian railroad workers strike for better
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pay, 1945](https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/black-rhodesian-railroad-workers-strike-better-pay-1945) |