Summary
Summary Internal Resistance to Reforms (Grade 12 IEB)
- Course
- History
- Institution
- Elkanah House
Detailed summary, easy to read and understand, created by pupil who got an 'A' in history for final Matric exam 2019.
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Internal Resistance to Reforms:● Response to government's attempts at reform (attempts to make change)
● widespread protests held
● Mass resistance continued throughout 1980s
● Involved:
- Trade unions
- Civic organizations
- communities
- Students + church leaders
- Mid 1980s: turned into determined and sustained national uprising
Growing Power of Trade Union Movement:
● workers/trade unions played key role in protests
● Growth of trade unions started at time of 1973 strikes (continued throughout 1970s)
● Trade unions grew rapidly (early 1980s) after black trade unions legally recognised in
1979 (first time)
● At first: unions concerned with workplace issues + wages and working conditions
● Also worked alongside community organisations to organise boycotts and stray-aways
(+ other forms of resistance)
● Encouraged community organisations to support workers (E.g: boycotting products of
companies with poor labour practices, stopping people from community doing scab
labour)
● Scab Labour: temporary workers brought in to do work of striking workers
● 1983: trade unions became actively involved in wider politics
● Many joined United Democratic Front (union members played role in persuading people
to boycott elections for tricameral parliament)
● 1987: COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions) adopted Freedom
Charter + aligned itself with non-racial democratic perspective of UDF (united democratic
front)
● Called for:
- Unbanning of political parties
- Release of political prisoners
- One vote constituent assembly
- End to racism and apartheid
● 1985: trade unions involved in increasing number of strikes to put pressure on employers
and government
● COSATU launched living wage campaign: called for higher wages to meet increasing
cost of living (inflation)
● 1980s: 1 May not public holidays as it was in many other parts of world
, ● Unions called for stay-away in 1 May 1985 to mark the importance of labour
● By 1987, 2.5 million people supported action of stay away
● Government introduced legislation to curb this action, COSATU + other unions, launched
a campaign of stay-aways and boycotts to oppose it.
Response to Botha’s Reforms: New Methods of Mobilisation:
Mobilisation: Act of marshalling and organising/making ready for use or action
● Response to Botha’s reforms: not what NP expected
● Black Local Authorities Act (1982) and tricameral constitution (1983) had
far-reaching results
● Started off mass protests countrywide
● Government failed to win the support of moderate coloured, indian voters (as
hoped it would)
● Clear that government was trying to restructure apartheid, not trying to dismantle
it
● Many democratic organisations joined forces to resist restructuring of apartheid
by urging voters to not register and vote in elections
● These Organisations helped form United Democratic Front
● Despite campaign by government to encourage people to register,less than 20%
coloured + indian voters voted in first election for tricameral parliament (1984)
● Reaction to botha’s reforms in black townships = dramatic
● Reforms led to uprising (“township revolt”) - 1984 to 1986
● Protests started in townships of Vaal triangle, Sharpeville, Sebokeng and
Boipatong
● Protests triggered by school boycott, by students and a rent boycott by township
residents (who protested against rent increases at time of economic hardship and
high unemployment)
● Protests + demonstrations soon became mass uprising with workers and
students
● They joined mass stay-away (marked new kind of resistance)
● Rather than focusing on specific issues in past (pass laws/ rent boycotts/trade
unions/ local civis) new political organisations called for ‘rolling mass action’
(sustained pressure and resistance on government)
Role of Civic Organisations in protests:
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