I'm listening to a lecture by Kenneth Vickery and he mentions that Africa in the years preceding and following the Second World War saw waves of labor strikes that were unmatched by anything before or since.
I'm curious if there are institutional reasons for why nothing comparable has happened since. Obviously economic conditions around 1940 (a very urgent need for raw materials by the Allied powers) helped shape a push for increased labor action in Africa as well as around much of the rest of the world.
But were these African strikes wildcat strikes? Led by labor unions? Did something change in the power of unions after this period? Or did decolonization significantly alter the relationship of unions and the government. Vickery is a specialist on Zambia and mentioned strikes by copper miners, if that helps to narrow an answer to one specific country.
The most significant change was the revolutionary period after WWII. Many countries in Africa fought and gained independence from colonial powers from the 1950s-90s. Overwhelmingly these project were lead by African socialists and communists, and once empowered very quickly changed the dynamics of the economy to better support workers.