HL Deb 17 June 1963 vol 250 cc1097-100

3.14 p.m.

THE EARL OF LISTOWEL

My Lords, I beg leave to ask Her Majesty's Government a Private Notice Question: Whether Her Majesty's Government will make a statement about the situation in Swaziland.

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COLONIAL AFFAIRS (THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE)

My Lords, I presume the noble Earl is really addressing his Question to the disturbances which have recently taken place. On May 20, 1,400 workers at the Havelock Asbestos Mine which, as I think noble Lords know, is the most important industry in the territory, went on strike for a minimum wage of £1 a day. The mine has, in fact, just increased the minimum wage from 3s. 9d. per day to 5s. 4d. a day. This rate is paid in addition to rations, and also to housing which is provided. Under Swaziland law, once a labour dispute has been reported to the Labour Commissioner by either party to the dispute, strikes are illegal for a period of 21 days thereafter. During this period there is machinery for conciliation and arbitration. On May 24 the strike leaders were warned by the Government that they were in fact in breach of the law, and on May 29 a board of inquiry was appointed to consider the cause and the circumstances of the strike, the wage structure and the machinery for settlement which existed immediately before the strike. Despite this, the strike continued and the Government, in face of a clear breach of the law, had no alternative but to arrest twelve of the strike leaders. This action was followed by attacks on the local police station and upon police property and a call by the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress for a general strike for a territory-wide minimum wage of £1 a day. The attacks were repulsed by means of tear smoke.

On June 10 the leaders of this new political Party, the National Liberatory Congress, led a procession of 1,500 Swazis armed with sticks towards the Secretariat at Mbabane. They were halted without much difficulty or the use of force, but a general strike developed in Mbabane, and later the entire labour force of 1,700 workers at the Big Bend Sugar Plantation also came out on strike. In view of the uncertainties of the situation and the strain under which the small police force have been working, it was decided to fly in a small contingent of police from the Bechuanaland Protectorate to help stabilise the situation until a battalion of troops could arrive from Kenya. The announcement that troops were arriving had a reassuring effect. The situation is now calm. There has been no loss of life, or serious damage to property. Order has been restored throughout the Mbabane area and there has been some resumption of work there and at the Havelock Mine. At Ubombo, which is the Big Bend plantation, the strike continues, though half the workers, I learned this morning, have expressed the wish to return to work. That is the situation up to the present time.

THE EARL OF LISTOWEL

My Lords, I am much obliged to the noble Marquess for his statement. May I ask him two questions? First of all, have there been any acts of violence against the person? The noble Marquess says there has been no damage to property, but has there been any damage to any persons, either strikers or police, who have been involved in these disturbances? Secondly, does the noble Marquess consider that, in view of these disturbances and the desirability of restoring peace and quiet in Swaziland, there should be an inquiry into the causes of these disturbances, which of course may be political as well as economic?

THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE

My Lords, as regards the first question, so far as I am aware there have been no serious acts of violence against the person. There has been no damage to property and no loss of life. There has been a little scuffling, but nothing more serious than that. As regards the second question, the board of inquiry to which I referred is in fact looking into the reasons for this strike, and I think I should remind your Lordships that there is also another board of inquiry which has been sitting on the question of the strike at the Ubombo sugar refinery, so the findings of these two boards of inquiry will be very helpful to us and when we have them we shall see what is behind these disturbances. The noble Earl suggested there might be some political content in this. My information is that the strike has in fact been a strike for more pay, but this new Party which has only recently come into existence, the Liberatory Congress, is strongly opposed to the constitutional arrangements which were announced by my right honourable friend at the end of last month. It has in fact linked these two things together in its opposition to the constitution in the form which we put forward.

THE EARL OF LISTOWEL

My Lords, do the terms of reference of the board of inquiry cover political as well as economic grievances? I think that is important.

THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE

No, my Lords, they do not. What they do is to ask the board to look into the whole situation, and to confine itself (I think I am right in saying) primarily to the question of labour conditions and so on. I do not think it has been instructed to look into the politics of workers. I do not think that would be a normal thing.

THE EARL OF LISTOWEL

That is unsatisfactory because if, as the noble Marquess says, one of the reasons for the disturbance is that a new Party has been formed which does not agree with the constitutional arrangements, is it not desirable that all causes of unrest should be examined by the board of inquiry and not merely the economic claims of the workers?

THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE

I take the noble Earl's point. I do not think I said that it was one of the reasons. What I said was that the strike is a strike for increase of pay, and that this Liberatory Congress in fact is trying to link this strike for increase of pay to dissatisfaction which it is expressing with constitutional reform. I hope I have made that clear.

LORD COLYTON

My Lords, I should like to support the noble Earl opposite in his request for an examination of the political aspects of this matter, because I think there is another issue. These present troubles are also to a certain extent due to the fact that the views of the tribal authorities, the views of the traditional authorities of Swaziland, were very largely ignored in the imposition of a Constitution which seems to have satisfied no one but in fact seems to have played into the hands of some of the more extremist leaders such as Dr. Zwane and Mr. Dlamini.

THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE

My Lords, I think this discussion is ranging rather wide. If noble Lords wish to put down a further Question on this point, I shall, of course, be only too pleased to reply to it. I take the points made both by my noble friend and by the noble Earl opposite. I would just say this to your Lordships: that so far as I know from all the information I have, this new Party, the Liberatory Congress, is a very small Party indeed. It is very difficult to assess the actual size of these things, but it is a very small Party, and it appears to be using this industrial strife, perhaps, as a political vehicle. That is the impression I have.