Miners' Strike remebered

An exhibition at The Workers Museum keeps alive the memory of those who died in the 1922 strike, while it also shows that struggle to improve the lives of the working class continues.
SOUTH Africans have a tradition of taking to the streets in protest when they are not happy about one issue or another. And contrary to popular belief, this tradition did not spring up during the apartheid era – it has been around from as early as 1922.

Curator Belinda Hlaka and Eric ItzkinCurator Belinda Hlaka and the City's director for immovable property Eric Itzkin go though some of the exhibitsOne of the first strikes in the country was the European miners’ strike in Johannesburg in 1922. More than 200 lives were lost in that strike, which turned into a civil war.

To commemorate those lives, The Workers Museum in Newtown is hosting Rambling 22, an exhibition that relates the events of the strike and honours the memories of the dead.

The exhibition, curated by Mpho Molikeng and sponsored by the Arts and Culture Trust, Plascon Paints and Khaya College, runs until 30 September. It is a combination of visual, audio, paintings and photos. Although it only takes up a small space, it is nonetheless very powerful.

Belinda Hlaka, the museum’s curator, explains that through the exhibition, the museum is trying to communicate that the struggle to better the lives of the working class continues. “We are still looking out for the rights of the workers.”

She adds that the 1922 strike is part of South Africa’s history, saying it must be narrated lest people forget.

Eric Itzkin, the City’s deputy director for immovable heritage, shares that the exhibition reflects on the history of workers and the workers’ class more broadly. It also shows the divided nature of the working class.

The strike began on 1 January 1922, when coal miners refused to take a wage cut that was suggested as a way to help the coal industry, which was suffering.

By 10 January, 22 000 gold mineworkers had joined the coal miners. Even though the government tried to get the mine owners and mineworkers to sit in a conference, no agreement was reached. By the end of January, the workers were not only striking about wages; they were also complaining about the possibility of white workers being replaced by cheap black labourers.

Soon after the strike broke out, the leaders organised a commando system across the Rand, from Boksburg in the east to Krugersdorp in the west. These commandos learned how to make bombs and prepared for battle.

Rambling 2Rambling 22 relates the events of the 1922 workers strikeOn 12 February, the government urged miners to return to work, promising police protection to those who decided to return. However, the offer was not enticing enough and not a single worker returned to work the following day.

On 21 February, there were clashes between police and strikers across the reef, from Benoni to Fordsburg. Police were instructed to disperse any gatherings, and to carry arms. Two days later, on 23 February, a section of railway line near Doornfontein was dynamited and a pylon at the City Deep mine was blown up.

The strike was declared over on 18 March. The president of the country at the time, Jan Smuts, was criticised for being too soft on the strikers, which led to his losing the 1924 elections to Barry Hertzog.

Hertzog’s government and subsequent governments progressively established the colour bar. After 1948, when the National Party came into power, this became apartheid, with a host of laws enacted clearly demarcating the differences between blacks and whites.