Labour
COSATU says Metrorail blocked their members from travelling to protest
On Saturday, 12 July, COSATU held a demonstration at Cape Town Station to demand improved train service and that Metrorail lower fares to the same as before the recent ticket price increase.
Joy Shan
News | 14 July 2014
Over-population is not the problem
“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
“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