On 16th August 2012, thirty-four black mineworkers were gunned down by the police under the auspices of South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) in what has become known as the Marikana massacre. This attempt to drown independent working-class power in blood backfired and is now recognised as a turning point in the country’s history.
The Spirit of Marikana tells the story of the uncelebrated leaders at the world’s three largest platinum mining companies who survived the barrage of state violence, intimidation, torture and murder which was being perpetrated during this tumultuous period. What began as a discussion about wage increases between two workers in the changing rooms at one mine became a rallying cry for economic freedom and basic dignity.
This gripping ethnographic account is the first comprehensive study of this movement, revealing how seemingly ordinary people became heroic figures who transformed their workplace and their country.
Tabella dei contenuti
Glossary of South African Organisations
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
List of Leaders
Timeline of Key Events
Acknowledgements
Maps
1. Introduction
2. The Spark Underground
3. The Spirit of Marikana is Born
4. Amplats Carries the Torch
5. The Rise of the AMCU and the Demise of Worker Committees
6. Insurgent Trade Unionism and the Great Strike of 2014
Postscript
Appendices
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Circa l’autore
Siphiwe Mbatha is a co-ordinator of the Thembelihle Crisis Committee (TCC), a socialist civic organisation in South Africa which fights for basic services for all. Siphiwe is also an assistant researcher at the University of Johannesburg. He first visited Marikana the day after the massacre to provide solidarity to the striking mineworkers.
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