2 May 2022: Eswatini textile strike

2 May 2022: Eswatini textile strike

From On This Day in Working Class History by Working Class History

May 2, 2026 · 2 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the Eswatini textile strike that began on May 2, 2022, involving around 8000 workers demanding a living wage amidst police harassment.

On this day, 2 May 2022 approximately 2000 striking garment and textile workers gathered in the Nhlangano manufacturing hub in Eswatini for a mass meeting. Some had walked more than 8 km to get there. The strike of around 8000 workers in total had begun five weeks prior, demanding a living wage of at least E15 per hour or E2983 (US$183) per month. Representatives of the striking union, the Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland, complained that police and government troops had been harassing strikers, visiting their homes, tear gassing them and threatening them with eviction if they did not go back to work. Around 30 workers at the meeting got up to speak in favour of continuing the strike, and despite the repression, the strikers resolved to continue their work stoppage. On May 9, strikers agreed to return to work pending further negotiations with employers. Upon their return to work, the employers attempted to force workers to sign documents stating the reason for the absence, which most workers refused to sign. The result of the dispute is unclear. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/11054/eswatini-textile-strike Our work is only…

People in this episode

Host: Working Class History

Topics covered

  • labor strike
  • textile workers
  • living wage
  • Eswatini
  • worker rights

Keywords

  • Eswatini
  • textile strike
  • garment workers
  • living wage
  • Amalgamated Trade Union

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Amalgamated Trade Union of Swaziland

Places: Eswatini

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