Between 1,500 and 2,000 miners a year still apply for compensation for silicosis and TB contracted on the gold mines - yet the mining industry is doing very little to share the burden of these deadly diseases, writes Pete Lewis.
Pete Lewis
Opinion | 2 July 2015
Phakisa, from the Sesotho word meaning "hurry up", has been touted by government as the silver bullet that would “fast track the implementation of solutions on critical development issues.”
Christopher Rutledge
Opinion | 1 July 2015
Trade unions — as democratic organisations of the sellers of labour — are probably more relevant now than they have ever been. Especially for anyone who feels that democracy is an important concept. Unfortunately, however, most of the unions remain narrowly focussed in a manner better suited to fighting the battles of an earlier era.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 29 June 2015
The Californian-born transport company, known as Uber, first came to Cape Town in August 2013. Two and a half years later, it has approximately 2,000 drivers in South Africa’s three main cities, many more thousands of users, and ambitious plans for expansion. The company is rapidly reconfiguring the metred taxi industry in the country.
Ben Stanwix
Feature | 22 June 2015
Are we on a slippery slope to authoritarianism? It’s a valid question to ask since both the Cosatu and the national constitutions have been undermined. And they were both, in their own way, flag bearers of the democratic promise of the new South Africa.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 22 June 2015
There is just the faintest breeze of renewal and democracy wafting through the bureaucratic corridors of Cosatu and disturbing the cobwebs of dogma that have tangled up due process in the country’s largest labour federation. It comes in the form of the election of David Sipunzi as general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
Terry Bell
News | 15 June 2015
Human rights lawyers have been engaged for ten years in a bid to secure massive damages for former gold miners who suffer from silicosis and TB. As the case heads for the courts, the mining industry is scrambling to offer its own and much less comprehensive solution.
Pete Lewis
Analysis | 11 June 2015
The terrible tragedy of the earthquake in Nepal has been swept off the front pages and news leads by the bribery scandal and arrests at FIFA. But they should be linked because it is the blood and suffering of many Nepalese workers that is a major cause of soccer now being seen as the ugly game.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 8 June 2015
“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