Percy Fisher (1891 – 14 March 1922) was an English-born South African syndicalist and trade union leader. Born in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

in England, Fisher emigrated to the

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand () (locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which ...

at the start of 1912. He worked in the mines, and also became active in the trade union movement, joining the

South African Industrial Federation The South African Industrial Federation (SAIF) was established in 1914 as an amalgamation of the Industrial Federations in the provinces of South Africa. The federation attracted most of the trades unions in the country. It had a policy of suppo ...

(SAIF). He chaired the strike committee in 1920 at the City Deep gold mine, then in 1921 was elected as general secretary of the Mine Workers' Union. However, his focus on industrial action led to conflict with the union's executive. It claimed that there were irregularities in his election, and removed him from office. In 1922, Fisher was the most prominent leader of the

Rand Rebellion The Rand Rebellion ( af, Rand-rebellie; also known as the 1922 strike) was an armed uprising of white miners in the Witwatersrand region of South Africa, in March 1922. Jimmy Green, a prominent politician in the Labour Party, was one of ...

. He was one of the members of the Action Committee which asked Labour Party and National Party MPs to seize control of the state and overthrow capitalism, but the politicians had no interest in doing so. He later tried to meet

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...

to negotiate an end to the strike, but Smuts refused to do so. Fisher persuaded the SAIF to call a

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

, and the government then declared martial law. Fisher fortified the

Fordsburg Fordsburg is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region 8. Fordsburg is a residential suburb, although housing numerous shops and factories. Today, Fordsburg is a major centre of Indian and Pakistani culture, with a larg ...

City Hall, but was found dead there after it was assaulted by government forces.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Budd, Ray 1891 births 1922 deaths British emigrants to South Africa People from County Durham South African trade union leaders