Public Force
The reforms led to unrest among workers in the Public Works Department (PWD). The final trigger for the strike was a decision to alter the working hours of employees of the PWD. The strike broke out on 9 August 1897 and involved nearly 3,000 workers. The colony's police, the Public Force, experienced a minor mutiny on 10 August, meaning that McCallum was unable to repress the workers by force. The strikers' demands were opposed by the indigenous, Europeanised middle-class.