Labour

“I love what I do, but there are many problems as well.” - a community health worker’s story

A Delft South community health worker (CHW) had no choice, but to take two weeks unpaid leave after sustaining a serious back injury while bathing a patient earlier this year.

Barbara Maregele

News | 9 July 2014

Rank and file make their voices heard

There seems to be renewed confidence and determination abroad among organised workers at rank and file level. Increasingly, there are fresh demands for a “living wage”, for the historic wage gap to be closed, and for the voices of the members to be heard.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 7 July 2014

I’m worth twice what I earn, says NUMSA member

Over 4,000 National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (NUMSA) workers stopped working and hit the streets of Cape Town city centre to demand a 12% wage increase effective from today.

Thembela Ntongana and Zintle Swana

Brief | 1 July 2014

Lessons from the platinum strike: the poison of inequality

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

AMCU victory is more than just about the figures: A response to Gilad Isaacs

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

Workers say Metrorail endangers their livelihoods and lives

Every morning at the TCI Apparel factory in Epping, shop steward Mymoena Williams writes down the names of the textile workers who arrive late. In this notebook are entire pages filled with employees being late for the same reason: the trains.

Joy Shan

News | 30 June 2014

The social catastrophe that threatens South Africa

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

Who won the platinum strike? The figures speak

After the historic five-month long platinum strike, mineworkers and corporate executives are retreating to their tin shacks and BMWs respectively. The country is left wondering: who won?
What the increases mean for the lives of the workers and the fortunes of the platinum producers is difficult to quantify. However, it is possible to compare the implications – for workers and company costs – of the various offers, demands and the final settlement.

Gilad Isaacs

Analysis | 26 June 2014

An urgent need for economic solutions

The platinum strike has correctly been categorised as a national crisis, but it is only one aspect of a much more severe crisis that confronts the country. This was highlighted on Tuesday by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation (SoNA) address in which he stressed the economy.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 23 June 2014