Die Spoorbond was an

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...

railway

trade-union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

formed in 1934 by , founder of the

Afrikaner Broederbond The Afrikaner Broederbond (AB) or simply the Broederbond was an exclusively Afrikaner Calvinist and male secret society in South Africa dedicated to the advancement of the Afrikaner people. It was founded by H. J. Klopper, H. W. van der Merwe, ...

, which advocated a policy of replacing all black railway-workers with Afrikaners. It rejected

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

s and called instead for loyal service to the

South African Railways and Harbours Administration The South African Railways and Harbours Administration (SAR&H) was established on 31 May 1910 with formation of the Union of South Africa by the amalgamation of the four colonial railways and all harbours in South Africa - about 11,000 kilometres of ...

(SARHA). The union had a membership of some 16,000 in the 1930s, considerably more than that of its rival, the National Union of Railway and Harbour Servants, which was forced to dissolve in 1937. In 1941, SARHA decided to recognise different unions for each section of workers. This restricted die Spoorbond to representing only those seen as the least skilled, mostly labourers. The union resisted this, leading SARHA to found a rival Railworkers' Union, but in 1949 it agreed to the group representation. The union joined the

Federal Consultative Council of South African Railways and Harbours Staff Associations The Federal Consultative Council of South African Railways and Harbours Staff Associations (FCC) was a national trade union federation bringing together unions representing white railway workers in South Africa. The council was established in 1928 ...

, and later affiliated to the

Co-ordinating Council of South African Trade Unions The Co-ordinating Council of South African Trade Unions (CCSATU) was a national trade union federation of white workers in South Africa. The South African Trades and Labour Council (SAT&LC) included all unions, but a minority of its affiliates opp ...

, then to the

South African Confederation of Labour The South African Confederation of Labour (SACOL) was a national trade union federation of white workers in South Africa. History The federation was established in 1957, as a loose body bringing together the South African Federation of Trade Unions ...

. By 1980 it had 6,300 members. In 1982, it amended its constitution to allow it to admit all workers, regardless of ethnicity, although it did not immediately start doing so.

References

Defunct trade unions in South Africa Trade unions established in 1934 {{SouthAfrica-trade-union-stub