In recent columns I have mentioned the frightening statistic from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that, on a global level, more than 120 million men and women are now without work — and will probably never work again. This week, an updated figure arrived from the ILO: there are now more than 200 million people who are jobless and with little hope of their circumstances changing.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 27 May 2013
The trade union movement is in a state of flux, with concepts such as centralised bargaining and the “winner takes all” approach of majority — 50 per cent plus one — unionism now being challenged. “Agency shop” agreements whereby majority unions take a slice of the subscriptions paid by members of smaller unions, let alone the much bigger question of party political alignments are also being seriously debated.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 21 May 2013
At the best of times, grassroots democracy, without sound communications infrastructure and the distribution of accurate information, can be a messy business. Add to this, dollops of rumour, some perceptions bordering on paranoia, various interest groups promoting different agendas, a history of distrust and memories of recent bloodshed and you have Marikana and much of the platinum belt today.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 20 May 2013
The exile experience of women in the liberation movements — a largely neglected aspect of recent South African history — will feature this year at the Franschhoek Literary Festival in a discussion involving the octogenarian feminist writer, Lauretta Ngcobo.
Terry Bell
News | 16 May 2013
That private club of super-rich men, the World Economic Forum (WEF), was back in town this week. In Cape Town to be exact, to persuade, buy up and bully politicians and opinion makers to adopt policies that many trade unionists say are based on the myth that there is no alternative to the present crisis-ridden economic system.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 15 May 2013
May Day last week should have been a time for reflection, not celebration; reflection about the potentially dire situation the labour movement now finds itself in. It is a situation brought about by tensions largely resulting from the ongoing global economic crisis that has impacted on every aspect of society. To help with this reflection, Business Report is this week making available copies of my book, Right to Fight, to the first five correct answers drawn from responses to the question below.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 8 May 2013
Politics and personal ambition compounded by some sloppy journalism have clouded and confused the issues surrounding the bitter internecine feud within Cosatu and the governing ANC-led alliance. This has also confused the legitimate complaints that teachers have about the state of education in South Africa and the way the system is being administered.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 30 April 2013
From a trade union viewpoint, Margaret Thatcher will never be mourned. But her impact on global politics and economics cannot be denied. She rode the crest of a wave of liberal economic policies that swamped the consensual balance of the post World War Two years. In the process, she highlighted as few have done before or since, the inherently hostile relationship between labour and capital.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 12 April 2013
The causes of the poor and the dispossessed continue to be manipulated by politicians
and unscrupulous individuals bent on accumulating power, personal wealth or both.
As a result, there is much cynical use and distortion of the evidence and of statements
emanating from painful occurrences such as the deaths at Marikana or the conflict in
the Boland winelands.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 27 March 2013