General elections were held in South Africa between 26 and 29 April 1994. The elections were the first in which citizens of all races were allowed to take part, and were therefore also the first held with universal suffrage. The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), and marked the culmination of the four-year process that ended apartheid.
The Defiance Campaign against Unjust Laws was presented by the African National Congress (ANC) at a conference held in Bloemfontein, South Africa in December 1951. The Campaign had roots in events leading up the conference. The demonstrations, taking place in 1952, were the first "large-scale, multi-racial political mobilization against apartheid laws under a common leadership".
In South Africa under apartheid, and South West Africa, pass laws served as an internal passport system designed to racially segregate the population, restrict movement of individuals, and allocate low-wage migrant labor. Also known as the natives' law, these laws severely restricted the movements of Black South African and other racial groups by confining them to designated areas. Initially applied to African men, attempts to enforce pass laws on women in the 1910s and 1950s sparked significant protests. Pass laws remained a key aspect of the country's apartheid system until their effective termination in 1986. The pass document used to enforce these laws was derogatorily referred to as the dompas.
Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap, which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically by the nation's minority white population. Under this minoritarian system, white citizens held the highest status, followed by Indians, Coloureds and black Africans, in that order. The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day, particularly inequality.
The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution of 1996; and in South Africa's first non-racial elections in 1994, won by the African National Congress (ANC) liberation movement.
Trade unions in South Africa has a history dating back to the 1880s. From the beginning unions could be viewed as a reflection of the racial disunity of the country, with the earliest unions being predominantly for white workers. Through the turbulent years of 1948–1991 trade unions played an important part in developing political and economic resistance, and eventually were one of the driving forces in realising the transition to an inclusive democratic government.
The Wartime Labour Relations Regulations, adopted under the War Measures Act on 17 February 1944, were introduced in Canada during World War II by the government of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. Drafted loosely on the American Wagner Act, it was the first federal legislation in Canada to legally protect the formation of unions and to force employers to negotiate with organized workers. It was a foundational framework for legislation of union rights in Canada. The provisions of the order were later replicated by Acts of all the provincial legislatures.
Prior to the arrival of the European settlers in the 17th century the economy of what was to become South Africa was dominated by subsistence agriculture and hunting.
Padraig O'Malley is an Irish international peacemaker, author, and professor. O'Malley specializes in the problems of divided societies, such as South Africa and Northern Ireland. He has written extensively on these subjects and has been actively involved in promoting dialogue among representatives of differing factions. He is currently the John Joseph Moakley Distinguished Professor of Peace and Reconciliation at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Internal resistance to apartheid in South Africa originated from several independent sectors of South African society and took forms ranging from social movements and passive resistance to guerrilla warfare. Mass action against the ruling National Party (NP) government, coupled with South Africa's growing international isolation and economic sanctions, were instrumental in leading to negotiations to end apartheid, which began formally in 1990 and ended with South Africa's first multiracial elections under a universal franchise in 1994.
The SouthAfrican Mine Workers' Strike was a labour dispute involving mine workers of Witwatersrand in South Africa. It started on 12 August 1946 and lasted approximately a week. The strike was attacked by police and over the week, at least 1,248 workers were wounded and at least nine killed.
The Extension of University Education Act, Act 45 of 1959, formed part of the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. This act made it a criminal offense for a non-white student to register at a formerly open university without the written permission of the Minister of Internal Affairs. New universities were then established for various non-white groups.
The Urban Bantu Councils Act, Act No 79 of 1961, formed part of the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. It replaced the Advisory Boards created earlier by the Natives Urban Areas Act of 1923, and permitted democratic election of new municipal councils with African chairmen which were assigned some administrative duties.
The Industrial Conciliation Act, 1956, formed part of the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. It prohibited the registration of any new 'mixed' unions and imposed racially separate branches and all-white executive committees on existing 'mixed' unions. It prohibited strikes in 'essential industries' for both black and white workers and banned political affiliations for unions. Clause 77 legalized the reservation of skilled jobs to white workers, as the Bantu Building Workers Act of 1951 had done in the construction trade, 'to ensure that they will not be exploited by the lower standard of living of any other race'.
The Abolition of Racially Based Land Measures Act, 1991 is an act of the Parliament of South Africa which repealed many of the apartheid laws that imposed race-based restrictions on land ownership and land use. Among the laws repealed were the Black Land Act, 1913, the Development Trust and Land Act, 1936 and the Group Areas Act, 1966.
Mkhuseli "Khusta" Jack is a South African politician, businessman and anti-apartheid activist. Jack currently serves as the chairperson of Build One South Africa. He previously served as the deputy mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay.
The Council of Non-European Trade Unions (CNETU) was a national trade union federation bringing together unions representing black African workers in South Africa.
The South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) was a national trade union federation in South Africa.
The 1973 Durban strikes which were part of the wider Durban Moment, were a series of labour disputes and worker-led demonstrations held in Durban in 1973. African workers across various sectors deliberately withheld their labour in an attempt to demand higher wages and better working conditions. Beginning on 9 January 1973, mass strikes broke out in Durban and continued for three months until the end of March. The strikes involved roughly 60 000 African workers and impacted more than 100 firms. The highest number of strikes occurred on the outskirts of Durban in textile, metal and chemical plants. Although the number of strikes declined after March, 100 000 African and Indian workers were reported to have taken some form of industrial action by the end of 1973.
As a response to South Africa's apartheid policies, the international community adopted economic sanctions as a form of condemnation and pressure. Jamaica led the movement by being the first country to ban goods from apartheid South Africa in 1959.
