South African Labor Party

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The South African Labor Party (short Labor Party, LP, afrikaans : Arbeidersparty , German for example: South African Labor Party ) was a party in the South African Union . She was part of the government from 1924 to 1933 and from 1939 to 1945. It temporarily formed a coalition with the nationalists who were responsible for the escalating racial policy .

history

The LP was founded in 1910 by union members and members of the Independent Labor Party of Transvaal . All left-wing groups in the country that had been inspired by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), founded in the USA in 1905, were invited to the founding in Johannesburg . The LP initially only represented the interests of the “white” workers and was thus a forerunner of apartheid politics . The LP quickly broke away from the currents of syndicalism . In 1915 the International Socialist League split from the LP, which also represented the line of the IWW.

From 1910 to 1958 it provided members of the National Assembly, but was never the strongest ruling party or the strongest opposition party. In 1924 it received its highest number of voters with 45,380 votes and around 14 percent.

The 1929 cabinet under James Barry Munnick Hertzog , with F. Creswell (ol) and H. Sampson (lower, 2nd from right)

From 1910 to about 1933 the LP was headed by Colonel Frederic Hugh Page Creswell (1866-1948) of British descent. In addition, there was a “chairman”, initially Henry Sampson. After the First World War there were strikes by white workers like the Rand Revolt, which were put down by the Jan Smuts government ( South African Party , SAP). The supporters of the LP then allied themselves with the National Party (NP) and formed a coalition government with it after the 1924 elections, called The Pact , which included LP member Thomas Boydell as defense minister alongside Creswell. The LP managed to improve the standard of living of white workers and provide jobless whites. This was done through the Civilized Labor Policy with laws such as the Industrial Conciliation Act No. 11 of 1924 (for example: "Industrial Conciliation Act") the Minimum Wages Act No. 27 of 1925 ("Minimum Wage Act") and the Mines and Works Amendment Act No. 25 of 1926 ("Mines and Works Supplementation Act").

In 1928 there was a split after the LP Minister Walter Madeley wanted to recognize the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), which also included non-whites. The National Council Labor refused to accept Madeley's dismissal. The Madeley wing then left the government, the Creswell wing remained in government after the 1929 elections, although the NP had received an absolute majority of the seats. In 1933, however, the NP ended the Pact and merged with the SAP, with which it formed the next government as the United Party . When this broke up in 1939, the remaining United Party under Jan Smuts formed a coalition with the LP that lasted during World War II. For the 1943 elections, the LP under Madeley made a pact with Smuts, but in 1945 Madeley left the government. For the elections in 1948 and 1953, the LP also made a pact with the UP, but they could no longer form the government. In 1953 LP chairman John Christie died during the election campaign. His successor Alex Hepple tried to transform the LP into a socialist party with ties to the opposition African National Congress (ANC), but the LP quickly lost its importance. In the parliamentary elections in 1958, she won no more seats. The successor Conservative Workers' Party won no seats in 1961 either.

Party leader

  • 1910–1928 (or 1933): Frederic Hugh Page Creswell
  • 1928 (or 1933) –1946: Walter Madelay
  • 1946-1953: John Christie
  • 1953-1958: Alex Hepple

Others

In 1965 or 1966 the Labor Party was founded in South Africa to represent the Coloreds within the apartheid system. Its best known member was Allan Hendrickse .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Labor Party and Socialism at sahistory.org.za , accessed on May 12, 2013
  2. ↑ a b c O'Malley's Archive on the IWW in South Africa (English), accessed on May 12, 2013
  3. ↑ a b c History of the LP at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on May 12, 2013
  4. ↑ Civilized Labor Policy at africanhistory.about.com (English), accessed on May 12, 2013
  5. ↑ Newspaper article from 1928 (English), accessed on May 12, 2013