Workers' strike against contract labour shaped Namibia's independence fight
High school student expulsions in August 1971 sparked mobilisation against Namibia's contract labour system under the slogan 'Break the wire'. In December 1971, 16,000 contract workers across Namibia went on strike to protest the system, beginning with 3,200 workers at Walvis Bay fish canning factories.
5 May 2026 · The Namibian →