Examines the role of the control over labour in plantation production.

Despite variation in ethnicity, age and sex, the labour force in Cameroon has displayed considerable solidarity. Trade unions were active but after independence came under state control, whereas the informal labour organisations retained their solidarity in the disputes of the 1960s and 1970s. North America: Africa World Press; Cameroon: Editions Cles

Review
'The strength of the volume lies in the detailed presentation of case material and the implications this has at present for debates on the modernisation of smallholding enterprises in Africa. It clearly demonstrates the weakness and the strength of the CDC and shows it could have a clearer advisory role with better trained management. Equally the discussion is not limited to a narrow view of the economy and discusses these issues in terms of changes in the Cameroon state...It is an extremely valuable case study and has lots of implications for comparative work in Africa.' - Michael Rowlands, University College, London '... represents a very important and illuminating contribution to the study of power relations within what, in effect, is a microcosm of Cameroon, often referred to as “Africa in miniature”.' - Jean-Emmanuel Pondi in Journal of Modern African Studies '...descriptions of industrial actions, including strikes such as those in 1974, 1976 and 1978, hardly known outside Cameroon and, because of state control of the media at the time, little known within Cameroon too.' - Jonathan Derrick in African Affairs