African mine labourers and conditions of labour in the Rhodesia mining industry 1940/74

The mining industry of Rhodesia was an important component of the 'industrial complex’ that developed after 1940. However, the proletarianization of African mine-workers was influenced by conditions that differentiated it from other forms of labour mobilization typical of the urban-industrial economy. The features of proletarianization unique to this industry were promoted by the pattern of accumulation and the specific requirements of production. These characteristics were reflected in institutional arrangements, labour legislation and unionisation process. Labour mobilization under mining production differed too from domestic and plantation production, the other non-industrial sectors. The State recognized these differences in its designing of labour policies.

A journal article chronicling labour relations in the Rhodesian mining industry in the period 1940 to 1974.