In an attempt to prevent further unrest, the apartheid government arrested several leading members of trade unions affiliated to the United Democratic Front (UDF). The move followed nationwide unrest which broke out on 3 September 1984. The Vaal Civic Association organised a stay away, school boycott and protest marches over rent increases. This led to clashes between police and residents that left thirty people dead. By the end of the year almost 150 people had been killed in political violence. This number increased to 600 by September 1985, a year after the initial outbreak of unrest. The unrest spread across the country and the government declared a State of Emergency.
eventREF E-0094045Revised
14 November 1984
Several leading members of trade unions affiliated to the UDF are arrested
- Updated
- 30 Sep 2019
How we know this
- 01O’Malley P. ‘1984’, from Nelson Mandela Center of Memory and Dialog, [online], available at www.nelsonmandela.org.za (Accessed: 03 October 2012)
- 02South African History Online, ‘Township Uprising, 1984-1985’, [online], available at www.sahistory.org.za (Accessed: 03 October 2012)
Last updated · 30 Sep 2019
South African History Online. (2012, November 7). Several leading members of trade unions affiliated to the UDF are arrested. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094045
South African History Online (2012) 'Several leading members of trade unions affiliated to the UDF are arrested', South African History Online, 7 November. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094045 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).
South African History Online, Several leading members of trade unions affiliated to the UDF are arrested [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094045, (accessed 22 October 2026).
"Several leading members of trade unions affiliated to the UDF are arrested." South African History Online, 7 Nov. 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094045. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.
South African History Online. "Several leading members of trade unions affiliated to the UDF are arrested." South African History Online. November 7, 2012. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094045.
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