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<v Speaker 1>On this term working class history. The thirty first of

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<v Speaker 1>December and on the thirty first of December nineteen twelve,

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<v Speaker 1>about one hundred and sixty out of one thousand African

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<v Speaker 1>workers at the Wanky coal mine in Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia

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<v Speaker 1>came out on strike. Workers were protesting against the poor

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<v Speaker 1>conditions they were being made to live and work in,

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<v Speaker 1>with dozens of workers contracting scurvy, which resulted in nine

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<v Speaker 1>deaths in the previous three months. Moreover, the mining company

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<v Speaker 1>response to the deaths was to force the remaining workers

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<v Speaker 1>to work harder to maintain productivity, thus exacerbating the issue.

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<v Speaker 1>The workers, both sick and healthy, called for a meeting

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<v Speaker 1>with the manager of the mine to discuss these issues. However,

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<v Speaker 1>when the manager arrived, his first act was to assault

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<v Speaker 1>one of the sick miners, which led to the workers

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<v Speaker 1>present walking out. On January third, one hundred and fifty

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<v Speaker 1>eight workers appeared in court and were found guilty of

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<v Speaker 1>insubordination and refusal to work. They were each find the

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<v Speaker 1>equivalent of one month wages. The judge declared that quote

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<v Speaker 1>the authority of the management must be maintained even in

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<v Speaker 1>the face of mismanagement. End quote by the following day

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<v Speaker 1>the strike was over. The sources, maps, and all of

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<v Speaker 1>our anniversaries each day, check out the on this Day

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<v Speaker 1>section of our stories at at stories, Stopworkingclasshistory dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>and if you value our work, support us at Patreon

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<v Speaker 1>dot com slash working class History. Links in the show

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<v Speaker 1>notes the music by a decade See you tomorrow.