Labour
“It’s no one’s dream to clean bucket toilets”
Thandekile Madikane tells his children that he works at the airport. He does not want his children to laugh at him for the job he does. But his job is vital. He is part of the city's operation to clean portable toilets.
Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik
News | 31 July 2015
COSATU still divided after national congress
Behind a very flimsy screen of unity and cohesion promoted over the past week by Cosatu president S’dumo Dlamini, the divisions in the country’s largest labour federation have become even greater. And, amid a welter of contradiction and debates about constitutionality, it is not surprising that so much confusion reigns.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 20 July 2015
Good Hope Construction: workers’ demands still being probed
The Building Industry Bargaining Council is investigating employees’ claims that money is still owed to the Council by Good Hope Construction (GHC), target of a protracted strike during which one employee died.
Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik and GroundUp staff
News | 14 July 2015
Workers ride in cattle trucks of the gravy train
We are constantly being told, as the economy stutters and stumbles, that “we are all in it together”; that we have a “shared future”; that we have a patriotic duty to “build the nation”. And, for all the tub-thumping rhetoric about the evils of capitalism, this will almost certainly be the underlying theme of the Cosatu special national congress next week.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 14 July 2015
No sympathy for metered taxi companies protesting against Uber
I have taken thousands of trips in metered taxis in Cape Town over the last ten years. In the last year or so I’ve switched to predominantly Uber taxis. Since I can’t legally drive due to poor eyesight, these are my primary ways of navigating the city. I therefore have a very significant interest in the battle between metered taxi companies and Uber. The aim of regulating an industry must ultimately be to serve the public interest. In the case of the metered taxi industry, the aim must be to ensure that a safe, reliable and affordable service is provided to the public, whilst of course ensuring that drivers are working under fair conditions of employment.
Marcus Low
Opinion | 13 July 2015
Building a business out of old bricks
At Sweet Home Farm in an area known as Etheni near Brown Farm in Philippi, a number of families are making a living by selling recycled bricks for R1.50 a brick. New bricks retail for around R6.95.
Siphesihle Matyila
News | 13 July 2015
Union goes to highest court in fight for survival
The Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural & Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU) has approached the Constitutional Court to overturn decisions by the Labour Court ordering the union to pay legal fees amounting to R600,000.
Mariska Morris
News | 7 July 2015
Is it the end for popular Cape Town circus?
As part of the City of Cape Town's plans to rationalise municipal facilities, the South African National Circus School (SAN Circus) will have to vacate their premises in Observatory, after their lease was terminated before it was set to expire.
Mary-Anne Gontsana
Feature | 3 July 2015
Sick miners: time for the mines to share the burden
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