The Durban Ricksha Pullers' ‘Strikes’ of 1918 and 1930

Abstract

The Durban ricksha pullers' strikes of 1918 and 19302 have thus far not been the subject of detailed investigation. It is true, of course, that they were part of the larger phenomenon of African resistance in Durban during that period, and it is in that context that they have been dealt with en passant in two studies in particular, on Durban's history.' While the militancy of workers at that time carmot be doubted, it is argued in this paper that, in the light ofthe pullers' marginal class position, it is a mistake to see their strikes as being cut from that same cloth of working class activity, as do Hemson (1979) and la Hausse (1984). Considered in their own right, the parameters within which the pullers' strikes occurred will be clarified. But in order to deal with the obvious questions of why the strikes occurred and what the outcome was in each case, it will not be sufficient simply to focus on their immediate antecedents. For what must be borne in mind is the anomalous position ricksha pullers occupied within Durban's labour market. While, from the turn of the century, the Durban Corporation struggled to cope with the consequences of ever-increasing African urbanisation in the face of growing impoverishment by attempting 'to keep the growing African population diligent and docile by day, and invisible by night'? ricksha men enjoyed a relative freedom from control. Employed neither by the ricksha owners, from whom vehicles were hired on a weekly basis, nor by the Corporation, ricksha pullers were however liable for monthly registration fees. And as transport operators they enjoyed considerable freedom of movement as well as exemption from the curfew regulation^.^ The rickshas* growingpopularity, which ensured their integral place within Durban's transport system. at least during the first few decades after their introduction, had as its concomitant the profitability of that business both for the Corporation and the rickshaawning companies. These gains tended sometimes to mitigate against the rigour with which the system of traffic controls imposed by the authorities to regulate ricksha pulling was enforced. As the volume of motorised traffic increased, the Corporation was obliged for some time to perpetuate a mode of transport which constituted a severe hazard to a smooth traffic flow. But schemes to limit and/or abolish rickshas from all or some of Durban's streets had to be weighed against the vested interests of the ricksha companies.' From the pullers* point of view, the popularity of pulling was due, in part, to the relative autonomy that that type of work offered.' The opportunity for profit was also there, at least for some pullers, although changes in the pullers* working conditions rendered them vulnerable, as was the case in 1918 and 1930. The popularity of ricksha