African Mineworkers' Union
| Full name | Northern Rhodesian African Mineworkers' Union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1949 |
| Date dissolved | 1967 |
| Merged into | Mineworkers' Union of Zambia |
| Key people | Lawrence Katilungu, President; Matthew Nkoloma, General Secretary |
| Country | Northern Rhodesia |
The Northern Rhodesian African Mineworkers' Union (A.M.U.) was a trade union in Northern Rhodesia which represented black African miners in the Copperbelt. The AMU was formed in 1949, and campaigned actively to improve working conditions and wages for African miners, as well as opposing racial discrimination in hiring. The union amalgamated with several other mining unions in 1967 to form the Mineworkers' Union of Zambia.
Trade union organisation among African mineworkers was first initiated in 1935, when workers spontaneously struck over an increase in the native tax levied on Africans living in urban areas. In 1940 following a successful strike by European mine employees, violent clashes occurred in which 17 African miners were killed and 69 injured. The Forster Commission was established to address problems in the working conditions of African miners in response to the incident. In 1945 the new British Labour government decided to encourage the establishment of African trade unions in the British African colonies, and advisors from the British Trade Union Congress were sent to Northern Rhodesia to facilitate the process of establishing the unions. In 1947 the existing union representing European miners, the Northern Rhodesia Mine Workers' Union (NRMU), suggested that the African workers join, but this was rejected by the African miners. In 1947 and 1948 unions were formed at all four major copper mines in Northern Rhodesia, and these merged to form the African Mineworkers' Union in 1949, receiving recognition from the mining companies in the same year.
The primary issue during the early years of the union was the practice of reserving skilled jobs for white employees, known as the industrial colour bar. In 1947 the British government had established the Dalgleish Commission to investigate the colour bar, and the Commission recommended the gradual replacement of European workers with Africans, initially in low-skilled occupations, but gradually filling other positions after training. The Dalgliesh Commission recommended that positions be filled with African workers only when vacant, so that no European workers were displaced. The NRMU strongly resisted any attempt to transfer jobs to the African workers, relying on a clause in their agreement with the companies that prevented jobs being filled by workers not covered by the existing contract. In 1951 the NRMU signed an agreement with the AMU that any African worker replacing a white worker must be paid and housed to the same standard as the European employee. This effectively delayed the transfer of jobs to African workers, as the employers were not prepared to fulfil this condition.
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