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Browsing History by Author "Hlandze, Sifiso Sipho"

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    Labour Unions, Political and the Development of the Swazi Labour Movement 1939-2014.
    (Univeristy of Zululand, 2019) Hlandze, Sifiso Sipho
    The study sets out to examine the development of Swazi labour movement from 1939 to 2014. Through a combination of desktop and qualitative research the study traces the trajectory of the Swazi labour movement from the colonial to the post-colonial period. The Swazi labour movement developed and evolved as a consequence of a number of socio-economic, political and legal factors. The capital penetration that occurred in Swaziland during and after World War II led to the conflict between labour and capital. The expansion of the Swazi economy, particularly the expansion of the workforce due to the growth in investment and production, the political developments of decolonisation struggles, the emergence of Pan-Africanism and the emergence of an authoritarian non-party Tinkhundla state led to the development of the Swazi labour movement in Swaziland. Whereas different scholars have analysed labour relations in Swaziland no study has been conducted to trace the development of the labour movement in the country. This study interrogates this neglected subject by focusing on the views and experiences of the workers to demonstrate that the Swazi labour movement in spite of the challenges it faced from employers and the state, championed the workers’ demands and rights. It reveals social agency, showing that the Swazi labour movement was not passive victims of employers and the state but struck back to express its demands. Against the background of state repression, the study interrogates human agency to show that the Swazi labour movement continued to fight for improved conditions. The study shows that the labour movement played a critical role in the pro- democracy struggles in post-colonial Swaziland. However, in spite of the prominent role played by the labour movement in the struggle for democracy in Swaziland, the study shows the dynamics of labour by discussing the diverse views of the workers on the pro-democracy agenda which proves that Swazi labour was not monolithic. The study concludes by arguing that the Swazi labour movement has provided a constant source of discomfort for the non-party state as it represents an independent power base and holds an unrivalled capacity for political mobilisation in Swazi civil society. Key words: labour movement, pro-democracy, state repression, Tinkhundla, post-colonial, trade unionism.
University of Zululand