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News & Views by Terry Bell
Browsing All Posts published on »October, 2010«
UNION ROLE — AND SURVIVAL — IN ZIMBABWE (04.07.2008)
“They seem to have won. They claim to have won, but still the beatings continue.” That was the bitter reaction yesterday of a Zimbabwean trade unionist in Harare. He and several of his fellows also bewailed the fact that the contribution and suffering of the labour movement tends to be ignored. They argued, with justification, […]
BITTER IRONY OF SADC’s ZIM DEMOCRACY TALKS (27.06.2008)
October 2, 2010
Zimbabwe’s embattled trade unionists were aghast this week when they heard that a Southern African Development Conference (SADC) meeting, dealing with Zimbabwe, was convened in the royal palace in Swaziland. Without a hint of irony it was announced that the SADC “troika organ” comprising Angola, Tanzania and Swaziland would be hosted by King Mswati III […]
NATIONALISATION MOVES UP THE UNION AGENDA (20.06.2008)
October 2, 2010
Using statistical sleight of hand and a smokescreen of misleading rhetoric, Eskom and the government have created the impression that they are not responsible for the energy crisis; that a combination of wasteful consumers and forces beyond their control created the mess we are in. And that mess, in turn, justifies the massive increase in […]
‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ GETS MILITARY UNIONS MARCHING (13.06.2008)
October 2, 2010
South Africa’s defence forces are in a shambles, mismanaged, badly led and grossly underpaid. That is the view of the military unions which are threatening further protest action in coming weeks and months. And it is claimed mismanagement and lack of leadership leading to the waste of human and material resources that will be the […]
WHAT KIND OF ‘SOCIALISM’ IS DEMANDED? (06.06.2008)
October 2, 2010
The events of recent weeks in South Africa, followed by statements from Cosatu about plotting a new way forward, raise again the spectre of the past. And it is an international past. Especially when these events are looked at against the background of conflicts in regions such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia and the politely […]
TIME TO MAKE UNITY IN DIVERSITY A REALITY (29.05.2008)
October 2, 2010
The death of Walter Ntombela, worker activist, National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) shop steward and father of three has focussed trade union attention on the poison of xenophobia. For Walter, a senior shopfloor leader for the past decade, died because he was from Mozambique. He stayed and worked in Gauteng, an example of the unity […]
A MOST BITTER ‘WEEK OF TEARS’ (22.05.2008)
October 2, 2010
This week, South Africa experienced a week of tears as xenophobic violence shattered much of what remained of the image of this country as a beacon of peace and tolerance. Our transition to a liberal parliamentary democracy was seen by many as the harbinger of a new society, despite surging crime levels, unemployment and lingering […]
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS TO POWER, PRICES AND THE POOR (15.05.2008)
October 2, 2010
High powered delegations from all three main trade union federations were busy yesterday (subs: Thursday) “putting flesh on the bones” of their submission to the energy summit which convened in Johannesburg this morning. The summit brings together a wide range of interest groups to discuss and hopefully to plot ways out of the power crisis. […]
Terry Bell Writes 
October 2, 2010
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