Recent articles in GroundUp by Gilad Isaacs on the conclusions to be drawn from the long platinum strike have prompted a vigorous debate about the nature of inequality in South Africa. Here economist Mike Schussler argues that demands for higher wages will lead to more inequality, not less.
Mike Schussler
Opinion | 15 July 2014
“The misery of people here is very great, with beggars innumerable and increasing every day....pigs and calves live better than they.” That rhyming comment could apply to the legions of the poor in many parts of the world today. And South Africa is no exception.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 14 July 2014
Activist-cum-political contender Mametlwe Sebei says news editors are actively excluding socialist issues from the public discourse. Jane Duncan of Rhodes says editors squash or are threatened by socialist ideas. Mandy de Waal looked into their claims.
Mandy de Waal
Analysis | 10 July 2014
A 38-year-old fruit vendor in the city centre says it is not clear if he will be benefiting from the City of Cape Town’s proposed plan to allocate new trading bays.
Barbara Maregele
News | 2 July 2014
The timing, duration and intensity of the long strike on the platinum belt were fuelled by a familiar South African problem: persistent and very high inequality.
Gilad Isaacs
Opinion | 1 July 2014
Gilad Isaacs underestimates the scale of AMCU's victory. His analysis offers an indicator of winner/loser based on contrasting the final settlement with the initial demand and initial offer. But this is arbitrary.
Peter Alexander
Opinion | 30 June 2014
The South African economy is facing a rocky period. But don’t blame the platinum strike or the union or workers involved. That labour dispute was a symptom, not the cause, of problems that had developed outside of the control of the workers.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 30 June 2014
Last week, GroundUp witnessed law enforcement officers confiscating the fruit of two street vendors on the corners of Belmont and Main Road, Rondebosch. They are among thousands of informal vendors breaking city bylaws to sell their goods at traffic lights and intersections across the City in order to make their daily living.
Barbara Maregele and Adam Armstrong
News | 26 June 2014
Over 50 protesters huddled behind barricades outside parliament on 17 June before President Jacob Zuma arrived to deliver the State of the Nation address that opened South Africa’s fifth parliament.
Lara Sokoloff
News | 18 June 2014
More than 8.5 million people are receiving payments from the Unemployment Insurance Fund. If a bill before parliament’s labour committee is passed, benefits could be extended to a year.
GroundUp Staff
News | 17 June 2014
In the mining villages of Ga-Pila where Anglo Platinum continues to profit from land grabbed from the traditional communities just west of Mokopane, the appointment of the new Minister of Mineral Resources, Advocate Ngoako Ramathlodi, has been met with a sense of betrayal.
Christopher Rutledge
Opinion | 16 June 2014
Like any good question, the answer to whether the platinum producers can afford the demands made by striking workers is: “it depends”.
Gilad Isaacs
Opinion | 9 June 2014
Lufefe Nomjana used to bake 25 loaves of spinach bread a day and walk up to 25 kilometres to distribute them. Now he has launched the first green bakery in Khayelitsha, Espinaca Innovations.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
News | 3 June 2014
Tracey Davies explains how the Batlhabine community fought back against a mining company that ignored the law. She also argues that the Department of Mineral Resources should have done more to help.
Tracey Davies
Opinion | 20 May 2014
Hundreds of Sassa beneficiaries who have become victims of unlawful debt deductions from their grants are struggling to make ends meet.
Barbara Maregele
News | 19 May 2014
Human rights advocacy NGO, Black Sash, have launched a country-wide campaign in a bid to stop illegal debt deductions from the grants of South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) beneficiaries.
Barbara Maregele
News | 19 May 2014