Rand Revolt

Rand Revolt, 1922, strike by white South African coalminers in the Transvaal from January 2 to March 16, 1922, in protest against the lifting of the colour bar, the prospect of redundancies, and wage reductions. The union of Transvaal miners was the oldest and most militant union in South Africa and mining in the region was tough and dangerous work. Most white miners insisted on a strict colour bar by which blacks were paid less than whites simply on the basis of colour. Mine owners wanted to revise this policy which, they claimed, was unjustified on moral and economic grounds, especially after the black miners' strike of 1920.

Between February 1920 and December 1921 there was a major fall in the price of gold which led to the closure of three mines while another 21 worked at a loss or just broke even. The owners needed to find ways of reducing their costs, and while the union was prepared to consider various compromises in work practices, it rejected any change in the colour bar. On July 24, 1921 the miners established a Council of Action which in November recommended the creation of a body to coordinate the work of trade union militants. That month the mine owners gave notice that they intended to modify the existing agreement of 1918, abolish the contract system, and reorganize underground work.

On January 2, 1922, the first coalminers came out on strike over wage reductions and the refusal of owners to submit the issue to arbitration. The Communist Party supported the miners, despite their insistence on maintaining the colour bar, believing that the ensuing upheaval would bring down the ruling class. However, the coal mines, using black labour and a handful of white supervisors, continued to produce coal. The Labour Party and the Nationalists united in calling for a republic outside the British Empire. The main concern of Prime Minister Jan Smuts was to control the black miners in case they revolted, and even after the shooting of three white miners he made no pretence of dealing with the dispute on its merits. On March 6 the old moderate executive of the South African Industrial Federation declared a general strike and then abdicated. Control of the strike now passed into the hands of the Council of Action, which armed the miners and set up barricades. There was little support outside the Witwatersrand for a general strike and the Transvaal miners were left to struggle on their own. In their frustration white miners began venting their anger on blacks and the Transvaal African National Congress felt compelled to ask the government to proclaim martial law or give blacks the means of self-defence. Other black organizations also condemned the strikes. On March 10 Smuts declared martial law, and personally took charge of the government troops who rounded up 1,500 strikers. The police then arrested the entire strike committee while two newspapers, the International and the Transvaal Post, were banned. Bands of strikers attacked police stations to obtain arms, and the police and troops retaliated with air support, using bombs, artillery, machine-guns, and tanks. The armed strikes were driven from one stronghold to another and made their last stand at Fordsburg on March 14. Two of their leaders, Percy Fisher and N. Spendiff, either took their own lives or were killed by the troops after surrendering. On March 16 the miners' executive declared the strike over. Between 230 and 250 people had been killed, including strikers, members of the government forces, citizens, and blacks. A total of 4,758 people were arrested, of whom 953 appeared in court, and of these 46 were charged with murder and 18 sentenced to death, though only four were hanged. Another 67 were convicted of treason. Smuts was accorded a hero's welcome in parliament for his firm action in crushing the revolt.