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News & Views by Terry Bell
Browsing All Posts published in »2018«
Wages & the need for financial disclosure
May 13, 2018
It is not in the interests of either employers or employees to have profitable enterprises collapse. Which is why exemption clauses exist in cases of legislated minimum wages. But for such a system to operate honestly, requires full financial disclosure by employers.
Banks, bonds & rip-offs
May 6, 2018
If you owe a bank R50 000 and cannot repay on time, you have a problem. But if you owe a bank R1 billion and cannot pay, the bank has a problem. This, in monetary terms, sums up the relationship of rich and relatively poor. A sad example of this fact in practice relates to housing and forced sales.
So much talk, so little sense
May 4, 2018
South Africa has experienced a veritable cascade of words from public platforms over recent weeks — not least on May Day — that seemed to reveal that, while so much has been said it has all contributed very little to any real understanding. A lack of honest, open, discussion seems to have reached crisis proportions.
The democratic centralist curse
April 30, 2018
Democratic centralism is one of the most abused concepts within the South African political and labour arena. It has come to the fore again in debates around the strike protesting a proposed minimum wage and amendments to the labour laws. Hopefully, such debate will lead to the democratic reforms needed in much of the labour movement.
SA labour: tension, turmoil — and some hope
April 28, 2018
The mass turnouts on the protest strike called by Saftu on Wednesday in major centres around the country revealed that the newest federation is probably here to stay. And the sniping from the sidelines by Cosatu and Fedusa did nothing to boost their fortunes. However, amid the tension and turmoil there was some hope.
Sagarmatha & Survé: yet more questions
April 20, 2018
Controversial media tycoon Iqbal Survé's investment management company, 3 Laws Capital, stood to gain more than R50 million had the now postponed Sagarmatha Technologies listing — in which he is the major player — gone ahead. While there are questions about the listing, more questions have been raised about Survé. His profile on the 3 Laws website makes claims about Independent News Media head that, like several other claims in the recent past, are unsubstantiated.
SA govt’s public sector pay gamble
April 16, 2018
The SA government — the biggest employer in the land — has effectively reneged on its own proposals for a settlement with more than 1 million of its employees, gambling that ANC aligned unions will accept the new, austerity measures. This has caused growing anger at rank and file level and may mean the government has overplayed its hand.
Terry Bell Writes 
The reality of white privilege in SA
May 13, 2018
77
There were hostile reactions from several quarters in South Africa following Democratic Party leader Mmusi Maimane's statement that white privilege still persists. But the statement was logical and an honest reflection of reality. The reactions tended to reveal a worrying level of blinkered arrogance.