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News & Views by Terry Bell
Browsing All Posts published in »2012«
Still dealing with symptoms rather than causes
October 19, 2012
By tomorrow afternoon (Saturday, October 20) it should become clear whether Britain is about to join the growing tide of European rebellion against economic austerity that has become particularly vociferous and violent in Greece and Spain. A traditional stiff upper lip will have been replaced by a powerful and angry snarl.
Exposing the race/class fault lines in SA society
October 5, 2012
The racial and class fault lines in South African society, papered over by rainbow nation platitudes and disguised for global consumption by the myth of a negotiated miracle, have been brutally exposed. When, as it has now emerged, special para-military units of the police opened fire on miners at Lonmin’s Marikana mine on August 16, the resultant bloodshed washed away the last traces of hypocritical camouflage; it also acted as a catalyst creating conditions in which dangerous and opportunistic political viruses thrive.
Unions, crises and tough times ahead
October 5, 2012
A world wracked by crises seems on the cusp of radical change, one way or another — reactionary or progressive — and the role of trade unions is thrown into sharp relief as a result. Whatever the outcome, even tougher times are likely.
Cold War echoes & trade union reform
September 28, 2012
Both the Cold War and the bitter battles between communists and social democrats in Germany of the Thirties found an echo at the 11th Cosatu national congress in Midrand last week. These came in speeches and in often angry comments from delegates in debates about international affiliation.
What about the workers?
September 24, 2012
There was considerable, unintended, irony in the statement by Cosatu president S'dumo Dlamini when he thanked the waiters and kitchen staff who had served the delegates at the federation's 11th national conference last week.
Marikana — and SA’s frayed social fabric
September 24, 2012
The mayhem at Marikana cast the spotlight on the platinum sector and on mining in general. But until and unless all the issues raised by the Marikana moment — and which apply to the country as a whole — are comprehensively addressed, the social fabric of South Africa will continue to become dangerously frayed.
Cosatu goes forward united in tactical diversity
September 21, 2012
The media came to the 11th national congress of South Africa's major trade union federation, Cosatu, expecting metaphoric blood on the floor. It never happened because, for all the often bitter divisions, all factions seems united in believing that the governing, ANC-led alliance is the only true was forward.
Terry Bell Writes 
The role of unions in a time of crisis
November 5, 2012
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In a world wracked by ongoing economic crises, what is the role of trade unions? These questions came to the fore again in South Africa in the aftermath of the bloodshed at Marikana on August 16. But they are also being asked around the world as unions become embroiled in increasingly fractious relations with employers, governments and, all too often, their own members.