Abstract
M.A.
During the 1930's industrial expansion which marked the rise
of industrial trade unions also precipitated the process of
urbanization and proletarianization of large numbers of rural
Afrikaans-speaking migrants, resulting into acute poverty
and unemployment. The Labour Party, dominating the established
trade union movement during this period, drew its support from
the craft unions in the Trades and Labour Council-structure
which strongly opposed the new rural migrants clustering
around the least skilled and lowest paid occupations in the
rising industrial unions. At the same time foreign and communistic
influences also prevailed in the existing trade
unions.
National-minded leaders who became increasingly concerned with
the serious effects of proletarianization set out to smash the
ideology of class which threatened national unity. Thus their
endeavour to capture working class support for Afrikaner na-
tionalism by means of organizing the Afrikaans-speaking workers
in right wing inclined trade unions which they labelled 'Christian
National'. As control over trade union funds also proved
to be a valuable source of income, the mobilization of the
Afrikaner worker provided both the means of developing Afrikaner
capital and gaining political power.
In October 1936 the Nasionale Raad van Trustees (NRT) was
formed to provide the financial backing for Afrikaner trade
unions and to act as liaison body with the Afrikaner nation.
It's aim to break the power which the Labour Party had gained
in South African politics led to the organization of Afrikaans speaking
mine workers in the Trades and Labour Councils'
largest non-craft affiliate, the Mine Workers Union (MWU).
This resulted in the formation of the Afrikanerbond van Myn-
werkers (ABM) as a alternative union to the MWU during November
1936.