Opinion
NUMSA plans revolutionary, working class party
Faced with what appeared to be a veritable swamp of ideology at a “socialist movement” conference in Boksburg last week, the National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) has embarked on the process of creating a “Marxist, Leninist, revolutionary working class” political party. However, Numsa also facilitated the Boksburg conference, where representatives from 11 political groups or parties and a number of trade unionists and individuals made up the approximately 150 attendees.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 27 April 2015
City’s water and sanitation budget not pro-poor - SJC
On 25 April, the Mayor tabled the draft budget in council, challenging residents to find evidence that it is not pro-poor.
Axolile Notywala
Opinion | 24 April 2015
The way we punish
South Africa is often branded as a country with a high incarceration rate. In certain respects, this is true. For with 290 people per 100,000 imprisoned, it has the highest incarceration rate in Africa. But there is much more to prison population rates than a national head count of bodies behind bars.
Clare Ballard
Opinion | 22 April 2015
Xenophobia: let’s avoid the easy answers
Much has been written about why the recent wave of xenophobic attacks took place. But it's more complex than the usual reasons given, argue the authors.
Matthias Krönke and Mpho Raboeane
Opinion | 21 April 2015
Some light amid the labour gloom
News on the labour front over the recent past — and the past week — has involved ongoing infighting, death threats, an assassination, and the petrol bombing of a union president’s house. Little wonder then that an important labour law development has gone largely unnoticed.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 20 April 2015
Will Phiyega survive? Parliament refuses to approve SAPS budget
Craig Oosthuizen describes the dramatic events in Parliament over the past two days that have put Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega's position under severe pressure.
Craig Oosthuizen
Opinion | 16 April 2015
South Africa’s questionable silence about human rights violations in Swaziland
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), campaigning groups and labour supporting members of the European parliament this month launched protests about the continued harassment and jailing of trade unionists and democracy campaigners in Swaziland. ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow has noted that, in Swaziland, “Violations against the fundamental rights of workers have become systemic.”
Terry Bell
Opinion | 13 April 2015
Land Affairs Director General could face jail
A Land Claims Court judge could opt to jail the Director-General of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, Mdu Shabane, for contempt of court. Such a decision, however, may still be too late for Zabalaza Mshengu, who turned 101 in January, and has waited 14 years for his claim to land as a labour tenant to be processed. The case also raises uncomfortable questions about how far government will go to push judicial tolerance in order to avoid implementing constitutional rights.
Donna Hornby
Opinion | 13 April 2015
Right to protest is under sustained attack
Equal Education’s recently concluded sleep-in protests in three cities have shown how disturbingly difficult it has become to hold legal protests, even for organisations fortunate enough to have access to resources and legal expertise.
Doron Isaacs
Opinion | 10 April 2015