80. In the 1920s and 1930s, social, religious and recreational organizations began to be developed by black miners which, although not primarily industrial in nature, became involved in the strikes and industrial unrest in the mines in the absence of registered trade union organizations. 15 These have been described as “the logical precursors of a trade union movement”. 16 Industrial unrest escalated in the years following the First World War, with strikes taking place in various mines. A five-day strike in 1927 at the Shamva gold mine involved 3,500 black workers; it collapsed after police and army intervention and its leaders were arrested, tried and deported to the neighbouring countries from which they had originally come. 17 81. At the same time, a new trade union movement among black workers began to develop in Bulawayo and Salisbury (now Harare). In the early 1920s, urban tribal and regional mutual aid societies existed. The desire for a “secular and pan-tribal organization” led to the development of the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union of Rhodesia in 1927–28, the contemporary “voice of radical discontent”. 18 The division between white and black workers remained and the union failed to establish widespread support from mineworkers and workers on whiteowned farms, despite this being the major employment sector in the country. The union largely fell apart in the mid-1930s. 82. A nationwide strike by 8,000 black railway workers in 1945 led to an inquiry into “matters affecting Africans employed in industry”. The resulting Native Labour Boards Act, 1947 laid down conditions of employment for African workers in all industries except agriculture and domestic service, and African workers could still not negotiate directly with their employers. The African Workers’ Trade Union was formed following the strike in 1945, later changing its name to the Federation of Bulawayo African Workers’ Union; the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union was revived in 1946; and the British African National Voice Association was founded in 1947. 83. In 1948, a general strike took place throughout the country, covering many sectors and lasting about eight days. Native labour boards were established as a result. The Subversive Activities Act, 1950 was intended to control trade unionism. Nevertheless, there were numerous strikes during the 1950s, often broken up by force. In 1954, all 9,000 miners at the Wankie Collieries, supported by domestic workers working for the 375 white labourers at the colliery, went on strike and, in 1956, a strike by 22,000 workers organized by the Railway African Workers’ Union went ahead despite a previous declaration of a state of emergency. Black workers’ experiences with the State during this time “reinforced their views about the brutality of the colonial State” 19 and unions and workers started to become linked with nationalist politics. 20 Additionally, unions for African workers started to form national federations such as the 15 Ranger, T.O., 1970, The African voice in Southern Rhodesia 1891–1930 (Heinmann), p. 141. 16 Phimister and van Onselen, op. cit., p. 9. 17 Ranger, op. cit., p. 147; Phimister and van Onselen, op. cit., pp. 34–35. 18 Ranger, op. cit., p. 163. 19 Mothibe, T.H., 1993, “African labour in colonial Zimbabwe in the 1950s: Decline in the militancy or a turn to mass struggle?”, in Labour, Capital and Society, 26:2, pp. 226–251, p. 250. 20 32 Phimister and van Onselen, op. cit., pp. 72–3. 26:2, Meetings-2009-Zimbabwe C of I-2009-12-0035-3-En.doc/v3