Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Labor unions South Australia History'

Regular strike action has become a central characteristic of the South African industrial relations system. Whilst in the 1950s strikes were mostly isolated outbursts of relatively short duration, strikes in the 1980s were challenges of unprecedented duration and intensity. It is argued that despite this dramatic change, reflecting a series of discontinuities in both the political and economic arenas, strike action in South Africa does follow distinct patterns, and can be ascribed to a combination of identifiable causes. Principal causal factors include wage aspirations, past experiences and the subjective interpretation thereof, and the role of the union movement. Contingent factors include the prevailing political climate, industrial relations legislation, the amount of information opposing sides possess of their adversaries' intentions as well as spatial issues, such as the internal dynamics of individual communities. Partially as a result of South Africa's political transformation, the late 1980s and early 1990s saw further changes in the industrial relations environment. Reflecting these developments, it is argued that a new type of trade unionism has developed, "coterminous unionism" . This will have far-reaching implications for the nature of industrial conflict. However, it falls fully within the theoretical parameters outlined in this thesis. Despite significant developments in social theory in the 1980s and 1990s, there have been few attempts accordingly to update theories of strike action. One of the objectives of this thesis has been to attempt such an update. It is hoped that the constructs developed will shed light on a widely prevalent form of social conflict, assist in the analysis of future outbreaks, and enable the identification of those situations where a high propensity to engage in strike action may exist.

Bibliography: pages 231-239.
The thesis examines the 'making' of an african working class in Port Elizabeth. It offers an alternative interpretation to conventional histories which emphasize continuity both in the idea of a strong industrial working class and in a tradition of militant and effective worker organisation. At the same time, it posits the idea that there was a working-class movement which developed among Port Elizabeth's african community in the late 1940's and 1950's. Chapter 1 examines population growth in Port Elizabeth, the growth of secondary industry, and employment opportunities for africans. It is argued that limited opportunities for african employment in secondary industry affected the forms of working-class organisation that emerged. Chapter 2 examines the situation of the urban african population in the 1920's and 1930's, looking at factors which influenced its organisation and consciousness. The low wages paid to african workers were not challenged effectively in this period by the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union which had declined by the mid-1920's, or the Trades and Labour Council which did not organise african workers. However, the permanently urbanised status of the majority of the african population laid the basis for a militant community consciousness. Chapter 3 analyses attempts to organise african workers during the Second World War. It focusses on Wage Board determinations. the first african trade unions formed by the Ballingers and Max Gordon, the organisation of the Council of Non-European Trade Unions and the Trades and Labour Council, and the organisation of railway workers. It is argued that these attempts at organising african labour were largely unsuccessful in building strong industrial unions with an african leadership. Chapter 4 looks at the rise of the 'new unions' in the post-war period, when african workers were drawn into manufacturing on a large scale, and an african working-class leadership began to emerge. The response to this from the state, capital and other trade unions is examined through looking at the struggles of workers in four sectors: stevedoring, laundry, textiles and food. These sectors are contrasted with the tertiary sector where organisation of african workers was weak. Chapter 5 examines the politics of reproduction of the african working class between 1 945 and 1960. It looks at changes in the nature of the African National Congress and the Communist Party of South Africa, and at innovative strategies around issues of reproduction. The role of women's organisation and their struggle against the extension of pass laws is highlighted, and it is posited that a working class movement developed in this period. Chapter 6 analyses the application of influx control in Port Elizabeth in the 1950's, and the conflict of interests over the implementation of the labour bureau system. It examines the divisions in the african working class between migrants and non-migrants, and the response of different sections of the working class. Chapter 7 looks at the role of the South African Congress of Trade Unions. It is argued that the integration of point-of-production struggles with community and political struggles was the outcome of the position of african workers in industry combined with strong political organisation in the 'sphere of reproduction'. Changes in the structural position of african workers combined with political repression led to the collapse of this working class movement in the early 1960's.

This thesis investigates the history of labour management at David Jones, the major Australian retailer and manufacturer, between the years 1838 and 1958. This thesis examines the development of consent-based approach to labour management at David Jones, in particular the development of paternalism and welfarism. In doing so this thesis explores both general questions regarding the factors that influence why certain firms adopt a consent-based approach to labour management, as well as informing debates around the existence of nineteenth century paternalism and the origins of twentieth century welfarism. The historical material contained at the David Jones Archives and elsewhere reveals little evidence of paternalism as a deliberate management strategy. This brings into question the usefulness of paternalism as a concept in the historical study of Australian labour management. The inability to trace paternalism also undermines explanations of twentieth century welfarism premised on the pre-existence of nineteenth century paternalism. The historical materials, however, do note that twentieth century welfarism was a deliberate labour management strategy adopted by David Jones management. Welfarism, combined with systematic management and training, was initially adopted following the First World War to deal with the threat of industrial turmoil. However, in the 1930s, welfarism increasingly became a pro-active strategy designed to create skilled selling and raise the profile of the firm within the community. Further, welfarism at David Jones in the inter-war period was more than merely a new form of paternalism, somehow transformed by being in a larger, more bureaucratic setting or a result of employers confronted an increasingly feminised workforce. Welfarism at David Jones was a deliberate strategy, informed by overseas experiments, management consultants and the new science of psychology. Welfarism at David Jones continued into the post World War Two period. However, new forms of retailing, in particular self-service, undermined attempts to create skilled selling. Elements of welfarism remain at David Jones and continue to support the firm???s corporate image as a provider of high-quality customer service.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2001.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: During the course of the 20th century the press played an absolutely crucial role as a source of information, a medium of communication and propaganda, educator, critic, public watchdog and in forming and influencing opinion. In this respect the press may also be regarded as a reflection of South African society. This study investigates the role that the press played and the influence that it exercised in the political and economic mobilisation of the organised labour movement during the period 1908 to 1924. In view of the racial divisions that have prevailed in South Africa, the focus here is specifically on the white labour movement, because it was this manifestation of the organised labour force that virtually dominated the first few decades of the twentieth century. During this time the black labour movement was still to a large extent under-developed and began to emerge only around the 1920s. Organised labour flourished during the period under review. This period is characterised as one of political turbulence, as well as of large scale and serious industrial unrest, as part of the cathartic process in which the relationship between the state and its subjects in the field of labour took shape. The study adopts as its point of departure the year 1908, when the National Convention began its deliberations on the unification of South Africa, which in turn led to the official founding of the South African Labour Party in October 1909. The Labour Party operated independently until 1924, when the alliance between the National Party and the Labour Party won the election held in that year and formed the Pact coalition government. From an economic point of view there were two clear positions. On the one hand, there were the so-called establishment press organizations. These included Afrikaans-language newspapers, although - because of their ethnic commitments - they were strongly in favour of the protection of the economic position of the Afrikaner workers. On the other hand, there were anti-capitalist press organisations that wished to promote proactive steps in favour of the workers, which in tum often resulted in industrial conflict in the form of strikes. These tensions in the economic terrain spilled over into the political sphere elections, and here too the press played a central role in the often tense relationship between state and subject. In order to understand a meaningful analysis of the social role of the press, the following press organs and study materials were selected: The Star was the mouthpiece of the powerful Witwatersrand gold-mining industry. Die Burger and Ons Vaderland played a great role in the political and economic mobilisation of the Afrikaner working class whose sympathies lay with the National Party. The following labour-orientated and socialist papers reflected and interpreted the political and economic points of view of the labour movement in the period 1908 - 1924: Voice of Labour, The Worker, The Eastern Record, The Evening Chronicle, The War on War Gazette, The International, The Labour World, The Bolshevik and The Guardian. In addition, the role of a number of extremist strike newspapers In mobilising workers during the strikes of 1913, 1914 and 1922, is also investigated. The press played an important role in exposing a number of cardinal issues that dominated the discourse within the labour movement to greater public criticism and discussion. The effect of this was to raise the struggle between labour and capital for hegemony in the political and economic life of South Africa - as happened every time during election campaigns - to the level of the national political debate. Furthermore, the press, and specifically the right-wing labour and left-wing socialist press organs, also reflected the deep ideological divisions in the labour movement. In this respect, it was particularly the views of these press organs on race and the place of black people in the industrial dispensation that determined and influenced their political creeds. The mobilising power of the press was vividly illustrated by the strike papers. By propounding militant extremism these papers often succeeded in sweeping up industrial unrest among workers to the level of violence, which meant that the authorities were compelled to suppress these publications by means of martial law proclamations. It is probable that the SALP, and especially the socialist organisations, on the periphery of the political spectrum, would not have survived for long in South African politics without the communicative support of their mouthpieces.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gedurende die 20ste eeu het die pers, as bron van inligting, kommunikasie- en propagandamedium, opvoeder, kritikus, openbare waghond en meningsvormer en -beihvloeder, 'n uiters belangrike samelewingsrol vertolk. In hierdie opsig kan die pers ook as 'n weerspieeling van die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing beskou word. Hierdie studie ondersoek die rol wat die pers gespeel het en die invloed wat dit as openbare memngsvormer met betrekking tot die politieke en ekonomiese mobilisasie van die georganiseerde arbeiderbeweging gedurende die tydperk 1908 tot 1924 uitgeoefen het. Gegewe die historiese rasseverdeeldheid in Suid-Afrika, is daar spesifiek op die blanke arbeiderbeweging gekonsentreer, aangesien dit die arbeidsterrein gedurende die eerste paar dekades van die twintigste eeu feitlik oorheers het. Die swart arbeiderbeweging was in daardie stadium nog grootliks onderontwikkeld en het eers om en by die twintigerjare begin ontwaak. Die betrokke tydperk was 'n tydperk van hoogbloei VIr die georganiseerde blanke arbeiderbeweging. Dit word veral gekenmerk as 'n tydperk van politieke onstuirnigheid, asook van groot en ernstige endemiese nywerheidsonrus en konflik, as dee 1van 'n katarsis waardeur die verhouding tussen staat en onderdaan op die arbeidsterrein uitgekristalliseer het. Die vertrekpunt van die studie is 1908, toe die sittings van die Nasionale Konvensie met die oog op die unifikasie van Suid-Afrika 'n aanvang geneem het en ook aanleiding gegee het tot die amptelike stigting van die Suid-Afrikaanse Arbeidersparty in Oktober 1909. Dit strek tot 1924, toe die verkiesingsalliansie van die Nasionale Party en die Arbeidersparty die oorwinning by die stembus behaal en die Pakt-koalisieregering gevorm het. Vanuit 'n ekonomiese oogpunt gesien, was daar twee duidelike stellingnamens. Enersyds was daar die sogenaamde establishment-persorgane. Hieronder ressorteer ook Afrikaanstalige koerante, alhoewel hulle as gevolg van 'n etniese verbondenheid sterk ten gunste van die beskerming van die ekonomiese posisie van die Afrikanerwerkers was. Andersyds was daar anti-kapitalistiese persorgane wat 'n pro-aktiewe optrede ten behoewe van die werkers, wat dikwels op nywerheidskonflik in die vorm van stakings uitgeloop het wou bevorder. Hierdie gespannenheid op ekonomiese terrein het oorgespoel na die politieke sfeer van verkiesings en ook daarin het die pers, in die dikwels gespanne verhouding tussen owerheid en onderdaan, 'n sentrale rol gespeel. Ten einde 'n sinvolle ontleding van die samelewingsrol van die pers te kon doen, is die volgende persorgane as studiemateriaal geselekteer: The Star was die mondstuk van die magtige kapitalistiese, Witwatersrandse goudmynindustrie. Die Burger en Ons Vaderland het 'n groot rol in die politieke en ekonomiese mobilisasie van die Nasionaalgesinde Afrikanerwerkersklas vervul. Die volgende arbeider- en sosialistiese blaaie het die politieke en ekonomiese uitgangspunte van die arbeiderbeweging in die tydperk 1908 tot 1924 weerspieel en vertolk: Voice of Labour, The Worker, The Eastern Record, The Evening Chronicle, The War on War Gazette, The International, The Labour World, The Bolshevik en The Guardian. Daarby is ook die mobiliseringsrol wat 'n aantal ekstremistiese stakersblaaie in die stakings van 1913, 1914 en 1922 gespeel het, ondersoek. Die pers het 'n belangrike rol gespeel om 'n aantal kardinale kwessies, wat die diskoers binne die arbeidergeledere oorheers het, ook aan groter openbare kritiek en bespreking bloot te stel. Sodoende is die stryd tussen arbeid en kapitaal om die hegemonie van die Suid-Afrikaanse politieke en ekonomiese lewe byvoorbeeld telkens tydens verkiesingsveldtogte tot die nasionale debat verhef. Daarbenewens het die pers, spesifiek by monde van die regse arbeider- en linkse sosialistiese persorgane, ook die diepe ideologiese verdeeldheid in arbeidergeledere weerspieel. In hierdie opsig was dit veral hulle rassebeskouings en die posisie van die swart man in die nywerheidsbestel wat die politieke credo van hierdie persorgane bepaal en befuvloed het. Die mobiliseringsmag van die pers is treffend dem stakerblaaie gemustreer. Dem militante ekstremisme te verkondig, kon sodanige blaaie dikwels daarin slaag om nywerheidsonrus onder werkers tot die vlak van geweld op te sweep sodat die owerheid dan genoop was om hierdie publikasies dem middel van Krygswetproklamasies te onderdruk. Synde op die periferie van die politieke spektrum, sou die SAAP, en veral die sosia1istiese organisasies, sonder kommunikatiewe ondersteuning van hulle spreekbuise waarskynlik slegs 'n kortstondige politieke bestaan in die Suid-Afrikaanse politiek gevoer het.

Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.
The effects of ‘accelerated globalisation’ can not be denied when observing modern innovations shaping human life. Its development and consequent revolutionary impact is unlike any other in modern history. The last half of the twentieth century witnessed changes in exponential terms, such as informational and technological innovations that constantly redefine the way people function. This study focuses on the effect of globalisation on trade unions, paying particular attention to the formation of liberal economic conditions, the rise of global capital flows, and the diversification of workers, working conditions and employment patterns. Globalisation has led to the formation of new social, economic, and political conditions which have made it increasingly difficult for trade unions to function in traditional ways. At the heart of this lies the fundamental opposition of capital to labour, and increasingly so under conditions of global competition. Trade unions, are organisations that represent worker interests through solidarity and strength in numbers, traditionally at the national level but increasingly they are being challenged on a global level. Thus, due to various internal and external factors, the situation many unions find themselves in is one of survival instead of growth and influence. The case study of Cosatu was chosen due to the benefit of analysing the organisation’s past success as well as present situation. Although it has not been unaffected by the problems facing unions worldwide, it has managed to achieve some notable successes in the process. The practice of social movement unionism has been highly effective in mobilising under-represented groups, and is found to still be effective in South Africa, although at a diminished scale. It is imperative for all unions to restructure the way they function so as to incorporate previously marginalised groups, to utilise technology and globalisation to their advantage, and to educate potential new entrants to the labour market.

This thesis examines labor organizing in the U.S. South, specifically the Piedmont and eastern regions of North Carolina in the mid-twentieth century. It aims to uncover an often overlooked local history of civil rights labor organizing which challenged the southern status quo before America's 'mainstream' civil rights era of the 1950s and 1960s. This study argues that through labor organizing, African American tobacco workers challenged the class, gender, and race hierarchy of North Carolina's very profitable tobacco industry during the first half of the twentieth century. In doing so, the thesis contributes to the historiography of black working class protest, and the ever-expanding field of local civil rights histories and the long civil rights movement.

The International, as the weekly newspaper of the International Socialist League, articulated from 1915 to 1919 an ideology which stood opposed both to organised labour and nationalist movements in South Africa. This situation reflected significant historical struggles during this period, which constitutes essential background to the discourse of the International. The International's writers opposed the institution of trade unionism in the labour movement because it was fragmented on the lines of skill and race. They opposed both the National Party and the South African Native National Congress because they advocated racial (and national) rather than working class interests. Instead, these writers, according to their international socialist paradigm, advocated a working class united irrespective of race and skill at the level of industry. To analyse these ideological positions, discourse analysis provides a fruitful method for locating its dynamics in relation to other positions and extra-ideological (contextual) practices: The International's writers g~nerated a socialist position against racism by engaging in an ideological struggle in discourse. They articulated their anti-racist position from international socialism's critique of the 'languages' of both militarism and trade unionism in the discourse of labour. Within the discourse of militarism, the working class was signified as divided between hostile nations. These writers applied this as a metaphor to the division of the local labour movement and criticised the latter accordingly. In their view, just as workers were divided between the nations (nationalism), so they were divided within the nation (racism) in South Africa. One context cohered with the other, and both agreed with imperatives of international capitalism. This was fundamentally opposed to the principles of international socialism which characterised the International's discourse. Within the dominant discourse oflabour, workers were signified as divided between different trade unions on the basis of skills. Furthermore, in the South African context, trade unions organised only white workers, and ignored the far larger proportion of black labour. In this context, the International advocated industrial unionism, and criticised the narrow base of the white trade unions for fragmenting and weakening the working class in South African. The International's writers were thus led by the discourse of international socialism to a new discourse, whereby not white workers alone, but a racially-united working class movement would be the key to a socialist future in South Africa. Their struggle entailed a bid in and over discourse to rearticulate the sign of the 'native worker' within their own discourse as the dominant discourse type. Underpinning their struggle was a fundamental opposition to capitalist class relations.

This dissertation examines how honor was fashioned in the New South by examining the masculine roles performed by William Greene Raoul, Jr. Raoul wrote his autobiography in the mid-1930s and in it he reflected on his life on the New South's frontier at the turn of the century as change came to the region in all aspects of life: politically, economically, socially, sexually, and racially. Raoul was an elite son of the New South whose memoirs, "The Proletarian Aristocrat," reveals a man of multiple masculinities, each with particular ways of retrieving his past(s). The paradox of his title suggests the parallel organization of Raoul's recollections. The "aristocrat" framed the events of a lifetime through a lens of honor, sustained by southern gentlemen who restrained masculine impulses on the one hand and avoided dependency on the other. Raoul the "proletarian" cast honor through an ideological retrospective whereby traumatic memories of disappointment and failure were re-fashioned through a distinctly politicized view constructed rather than recalled. Raoul's business failures led him to re-conceptualize masculine honor as a quality possessed more by the emerging working class than the rising commercial class. Memory operates in this project as more than mere methodology as assumptions about access to the past through memory are subordinated to an examination of the meaning of the memories rehearsed by Raoul. Raoul wrote his autobiography at a bittersweet moment in his life. While his personal fortune had been nearly wiped out by the stock market crash of October 1929, he clearly looked back on his career in the New South as a committed radical with delight as the Great Depression called into question the legitimacy of the capitalist system that he had long held responsible for his own professional failures in a variety of endeavors, from the cotton-mill industry to box-car building and from saw manufacturing to a practicing accountant. Raoul converted to Socialism in part to join what he regarded as society's most progressive and virile force. It is these two voices, the proletarian and the aristocrat, that are under examination here.

This thesis examines internal union and external factors affecting union relations with Aboriginal workers in the wool and cattle sectors of the South Australian and Northern Territory pastoral industries, from union formation in the nineteenth century to the cold war period in the 1950s.
PhD Doctorate

M.A.
The aim role of to 1990. of the this research was to present an overall view of the white worker in the trade union movement from 1948 The events following the coming to power of the National Party in 1948 were scrutinized and it has been clearly indicated that discrimination on the basis of skin colour has been the single most important factor leading to problems in the labour field. Then came the period after 1979. The Wiehahn proposals were accepted by the government and a new era in the field of labour relations was introduced. Racial segregation made way for an integrated and unitary labour relations system. Within the context of this research TUCSA and SACOL were regarded as representative of the white groups in the trade union movement. In the third instance attention was also given to three significant variables in the labour field which militancy and strikes, the role of differentiation and discrimination, and the opinions of white trade union members on politics and the trade union members on politics and the trade union movement. The following conclusions can be drawn from the empirical study: * All the trade union leaders are of the op1n1on that their trade union has an important role to play and that it meets the needs of their members. * The majority of trade union leaders hold the opinion that they are pro-active in protecting the interests of their members. * Some of the trade union leaders feel that militant action in the labour field can be justified...

D.Ed. (Educational Management)
The influence of union leadership plays an important role in determining both the perspectives and leadership styles of the principals who hold positions of leadership in teacher unions. Although there is extensive literature on the basics of the development of the concept of identity in general, little is known about how identity is forged in education unionisation in general and what specific leadership character may result out of the principals who are union leaders. As is commonly known, such knowledge is crucial because principal leaders are continuously faced with making leadership decisions, acquiring endless information and implementing educational policies whose effectiveness might be tainted by union biasness and favoritism. In the light of continued absence of knowledge of how identity is forged in unionisation, coupled with the ever increasing election of principals by teacher union members to occupy leadership roles in these unions, this inquiry explored how such occupation of union leadership roles shape the self-knowledge of these principals and what leadership style may result as a reason there off. The inquiry specifically sought to determine whether the unionisation discourse constructs the identities of the principals who are leaders and if so, how it does this and what consequences this is likely to have on the leadership style of the principals concerned. The identity theory of Stryker and Statham (1985) (Owens, Stryker and Goodman, 2006) was used to addresses this aim. In addition to this, the inquiry used the principals who hold positions of leadership in Teacher Union A, Teacher Union B and Teacher Union C respectively as case studies, focusing specifically on the broader social discourses that exist subjectively in these unions as a vehicle to demonstrate the development of the identity of the principals who are leaders in them. The language used by these principals in focus groups discussions and participant observations were the main source of data for this inquiry. By doing so, this inquiry aimed to illuminate how union leadership act to produce self-knowledge that, in turn, leads to the discursive coordinates by which the principals who are union leaders come to define themselves. This was achieved by conducting focus groups interviews and participant observations of the principals who are in positions of leadership in these three unions and thereafter drawing on Critical Discourse Analysis in order to interpret the transcripts of the data collected by both focus groups interviews and participant observations.

This thesis is an examination of the main tendencies in the trade union movement in South Africa during the currency of the Industrial Cenci 1 iation Act from 1924 to 1979, and of state labour policy of direct relevance to worker organisation. It considers in particular the reasons for the predominance of protectionist strategies, frequently amounting to racial monopolies and exclusion, among the unions catering for white artisan and production workers. Attention is given to the deployment of legislative and other policy instruments by the South African state intent on providing support for the prevailing protectionist demands and the exclusionary stance of large sections of the trade union movement. In analysing these developments, reference is made to the history of the trade union federations reflecting the divergent interests of different sections of the South African labour movement during this period. The evolution of trade unions for the workers occupying a subordinate role in the South African "racial order" is also traced. Consideration is given to the barriers to the full development of such trade unions, and to the incipient decline of the era of racial exclusion which the 1970s witnessed.
Sociology
D. Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

M.A. (Historical Studies)
Since its inception in 1902 the aimof the Mine Workers' Union (MWU) was to protect the interests of the White worker. All the strikes organised by the MWU since 1907 had this mission in mind. The position of the skilled worker has always been at stake in the relationship between the government and the mine authorities due to the importance of the goldmine industry. This relationship has been complicated by the industry's dependence on more expensive skilled labour on the one hand and the availability of much cheaper unskilled Black labour on the other hand. White workers who exclusively represented the skilled labour force obtained guarantees for their position in 1911 when work reservation of certain positions wasgranted legal recognition. At the slightest threat to their security the White workers exhibited political power to the extent that this position was considered not negotiable. The MWU's unique relationship with the National Party since 1948 thus gave unequaled protection to a labour union. Socio-political changes in the RSA, especially in the late 1960's and early 1970's, required essential changes in labour relations. The mine industry has also been drawn into the new labour dispensation during the early eighties when jobs for coloured groups and Black people were brought in parity with jobs previously held by White mineworkers. The new labour dispensation proved to be unavoidable already in 1977. This caused resistance by the White mineworkers who considered the changes as treason by the National Party. They used political opportunities in an effort to maintain the status quo in the party's reforms in labour policy. The process which has been seen as politicising and even as militant petered out towards the end of 1981 when it was realised that the new labour dispensation was irreversible and the MWU in collaboration with the Herstige Nasionale Party were unable to obtain a mandate for amending the new labour policies. The MWU finally turned its back on the National Party when the Conservative Party was established in 1982. This party came into being in protest against the National Party's move away from apartheid. The Conservative Party made provision for white workers' right to self-determination as embodied in the old dispensation; it therefore obviously provided a home for the MWU. This merger between the Conservative party and the MWU which came into being after 1982 heralded a new dispensation for the MWU. It also provided the MWU with a new platform for political activities.

M.A.
During the 1930's industrial expansion which marked the rise of industrial trade unions also precipitated the process of urbanization and proletarianization of large numbers of rural Afrikaans-speaking migrants, resulting into acute poverty and unemployment. The Labour Party, dominating the established trade union movement during this period, drew its support from the craft unions in the Trades and Labour Council-structure which strongly opposed the new rural migrants clustering around the least skilled and lowest paid occupations in the rising industrial unions. At the same time foreign and communistic influences also prevailed in the existing trade unions. National-minded leaders who became increasingly concerned with the serious effects of proletarianization set out to smash the ideology of class which threatened national unity. Thus their endeavour to capture working class support for Afrikaner na- tionalism by means of organizing the Afrikaans-speaking workers in right wing inclined trade unions which they labelled 'Christian National'. As control over trade union funds also proved to be a valuable source of income, the mobilization of the Afrikaner worker provided both the means of developing Afrikaner capital and gaining political power. In October 1936 the Nasionale Raad van Trustees (NRT) was formed to provide the financial backing for Afrikaner trade unions and to act as liaison body with the Afrikaner nation. It's aim to break the power which the Labour Party had gained in South African politics led to the organization of Afrikaans speaking mine workers in the Trades and Labour Councils' largest non-craft affiliate, the Mine Workers Union (MWU). This resulted in the formation of the Afrikanerbond van Myn- werkers (ABM) as a alternative union to the MWU during November 1936.

This thesis is a study of the Great Strike of 1917, arguably the biggest class conflict in Australian history. For over two months up to 100,000 workers confronted an enraged and belligerent combination of conservative state and federal governments, employers, the establishment press and a middle class which was organised against them on an unprecedented scale. The thesis assesses the strike from a ‘history from below’ perspective. In doing so, it challenges the existing historiographic consensus that the strike was doomed to defeat and that the consequences of that defeat were wholly negative. It argues that the leadership of the strike was primarily responsible for defeat and that the failure of leadership was a product of a conservatism inherent in the trade union bureaucracy. This conservatism was, moreover, underlined by the prevailing faith, predominant within official circles of the Australian labour movement at this time, in arbitration as an alternative to industrial confrontation. It analyses the connection between the defeat in 1917 and the revival of the movement in 1919, concluding that anger at the betrayal of the 1917 strike by its official leadership played a significant role in shifting the movement to the left, motivating key sectors of the working class to seek revenge in 1919.

This thesis examines the emergence and development of the African working class in Durban between 1959 and 1985. It begins with an analysis of Durban's economy, which significantly changed .the lives of Africans. It shows how, during an era of economic boom, of intensive state repres•ion and unparalleled social engineering, the state intervened in the shaping of the African community and created the oppressive setting of the African working class, which was to pose the greatest challenge to the established order. The forced removals of the underclasses to the newly established apartheid townships during the late 1950s and early 1960s had a profound influence on the social and political history of this working class. Once African trade unions had been crippled and formal oppositional politics crushed, South African industrial relations enjoyed relative "peace" which was disturbed by the covert forms of worker resistance. In the 1970s the economic position of Durban's African working class was rather tenuous, as earnings had remained static since the 1960s despite the booming economy. Because of this, urban workers felt social and economic pressures from both apartheid and capitalism and responded in a way that shocked both employers and the government. In January 1973 Durban was rocked by strikes, which broke the silence of the 1960s when the South African Congress of Trade Unions declined and the African National Congress and Pan-African Congress were banned. The outbreak of the 1973 Durban strikes marked a new beginning in the labour history and industrial relations of Durban and South Africa in general. A new blend of African independent trade unions emerged with their distinctive style of organisation. They focused on factory-based issues which reaped benefits for the workers in the long-run and managed to sustain pressure from both the state and employers. During this period, however, the African working class paid a high price, enduring miserable conditions, earning wages below the poverty line, experiencing a breakdown in family structure, and living with crime and violence, police repression and the criminalisation of much social and economic life. By 1985, these unions had established themselves so firmly that the state regarded them as a serious challenge. Indeed, the making of Durban's African working class was no easy task and its history shows suffering, change, mobility and accomplishment.
History
D. Litt. et Phil. (History)

The purpose of the study is to explore past and current professional nursing organisations by means of historical inquiry and to explain the factors that influenced the development of such organisations, as well as the contribution that these organisations made to the professional development of South African nursing in the period between 1914 and 2014. The researcher conducted a literature review and collected data from archival primary and secondary sources. A priori codes provided structure and historical context, yet allowed flexibility. Philosophically critical realism guided the research and enabled the researcher to explain and critique the social world in which South African nursing organisations historically functioned and exerted their professional influence. The findings revealed that in the past one hundred years political, economic and cultural factors present in the social world influenced the nature of South Africa’s professional nursing organisations. Determined to create a female professional image, status and educational exclusivity, South African nursing leaders of the 20th century opted to establish the South African Trained Nurses’ Association (SATNA), a professional nursing association. Influential associations such as SATNA and the South African Nursing Association (SANA) guided the profession to develop a nursing culture based on philosophical and ethical principles of practice. The result was a recognised, respected and trained nursing corps. Over time, however, a social class system, religion, political ideology and nurses’ economic needs reshaped South Africa’s nursing associations and consequently the profession. By the end of the 20th century, South African nursing leaders accepted that nurses needed their socio-economic welfare to be prioritised and therefore the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA), a professional organisation with a trade unionist stance, was established. The result was a trained, politicised, fragmented nursing corps struggling to find its collective professional voice. The greatest legacy bestowed on South African nursing by its first influential organisations is the professional associations evident today. Over time, the South African Nursing Association’s discussion groups that had been established in the 1950s to discuss nursing-related topics evolved into the specialist groups and associations that were present in 2014.
Health Studies
D. Litt et Phil.