“No man is an island entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent.” So wrote the English poet, John Donne although, for continent he meant planet. Today, this is something that can be applied equally to a village, town, country or continent. Just as it can be to a trade union, business or employer organisation.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 1 June 2015
My column last week, comparing the pay and conditions of nurses and teachers to those of cabinet ministers, seems to have touched a raw nerve. And mainly among both national and local government employees that I failed to mention.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 25 May 2015
Ndileka Biyo, owner of Rockasa Design in Masiphumelele, has set her sights on a place in the affluent Waterfront.
Bernard Chiguvare
News | 25 May 2015
The Provincial Department of Transport and Public Works has asked the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) to present proof of their allegation that Good Hope Construction (GHC) has been hiring gangsters to do their security.
Nombulelo Damba
News | 22 May 2015
National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) members encountered closed doors and security guards with dogs when they marched to the offices of Good Hope Construction (GHC) in Parow yesterday. The strikers are facing disciplinary action from GHC for alleged gross misconduct.
Nombulelo Damba
News | 21 May 2015
About 174 construction workers involved in building schools in the Western Cape have been on an unprotected strike for nearly five weeks. One person died when violence broke out between the strikers, who are members of the National Union of Mineworkers, and security guards.
Nombulelo Damba
Feature | 19 May 2015
South Africa is desperately short of nurses and many highly skilled practitioners are now over the age of 50 and nearing retirement. Yet there are estimated to be more than 30,000 South African nurses working abroad, everywhere from Dubai to Dublin.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 18 May 2015
A quote in this story was fabricated by the reporter. We have withdrawn the story and will not be using the services of this reporter again. We apologise to our readers. - GroundUp Editor.
Chris Makhaye
News | 12 May 2015
A few dozen Skyforce General Services employees picketed outside the Cape Town civic centre today, demanding to speak to Mayor Patricia de Lille about their salaries that have not been paid in full for months.
Pharie Sefali
News | 11 May 2015
Workers from Skyforce General Services company say they will picket today outside the Civic Centre to complain to Mayor Patricia de Lille that they have not been paid their full salaries for months.
Pharie Sefali
News | 11 May 2015
Don’t blame workers for poor management. And feel some sympathy for any competent managers, whether in a large school, a government department, or parastatal who often have to deal with a legacy of maladministration, all too often accompanied by levels of corruption.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 11 May 2015
Dr Virginia de Azevedo, the City Health Manager in Khayelitsha, has become a target of SAMWU strike action which affects ten City of Cape Town run clinics in Khayelitsha.
Lynne Wilkinson
Opinion | 7 May 2015
Protesters ululated, clapped hands and blew vuvuzelas in the Cape Town Civic Center, when Mayor Patricia de Lille promised to investigate allegations of racism by the City of Cape Town’s line managers.
Nombulelo Damba and Bernard Chiguvare
News | 6 May 2015
On Tuesday, striking health workers led by the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) closed six clinics in Khayelitsha, including Zakhele, Kuyasa, Youth, Mayenzeke, Matthew Goniwe and Luvuyo clinic. They will march to the Civic Centre in Cape Town tomorrow.
Nombulelo Damba
News | 5 May 2015
Today, 1 May, South Africa celebrates Workers’ Day. In the third and last in a series of articles, Leonard Gentle argues that a new labour movement will have to be part of a broader social movement.
Leonard Gentle
Opinion | 1 May 2015
Cosatu’s biggest union, Numsa with 340,000 members, has been expelled from the federation. Half of Cosatu’s affiliates have allied themselves with Numsa and are operating outside Cosatu’s fold. But does the crisis in Cosatu matter? Does it make any difference to class struggle in defending and promoting working class interests?
Martin Jansen
Opinion | 30 April 2015