Tuberculosis and Migrant Labour in the High Commission Territories: Basutoland and Swaziland: 1912–2005

Abstract Basutoland came under British rule in the late nineteenth century. By the 1930s, the Territory’s transformation into a labour reserve for South Africa’s mines decimated its food production, impoverished its population and brought about a TB epidemic. The mines paid uneconomic wages and refused to pay compensation for occupational injury. In addition to those repatriated with tuberculosis or silicosis, the mines produced such a steady stream of sick and injured workers that mine accidents constituted the largest single cause of disability amongst men of working age. Swaziland was the smallest of the three protectorates. Land alienation to white settlers under British concessions meant that by the early 1930s, the territory produced only a fifth of its food needs. As in the other HCTs, tax collection and occupational lung disease posed serious problems. However, commercial agriculture and large deposits of asbestos generated local employment and foreign exchange and made Swaziland less dependent on migrant wages. In each of the HCTs, migrant workers faced even greater barriers in accessing compensation for occupational injury than black South Africans did. No circulars or instructions on the subject had been issued, miners were unaware of their rights, local officials did not understand the application process and travel to Johannesburg for medical examinations was not feasible for men who were dying. In all, the lack of medical capacity, the ongoing refusal to pay pensions to injured miners and the systematic failure to collect health statistics made the extent of the risk invisible. While the situation improved somewhat after independence, the mining industry continued to displace the burden of disability onto households and local communities.