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News & Views by Terry Bell
Browsing Archives of Author »Terry Bell«
Political blunders & nationalisation prospects
Political blunders over South African transport policy have raised again the prospect of returning to public ownership the extremely profitable coal-to-oil liquid fuel producer, Sasol.
Wage gaps, Depressions and war
April 24, 2012
South Africa may not have the largest wage and welfare gap between chief executives and the average pay of workers. That distinction, says Richard Trumka, president of the major labour federation in the United States, the AFL-CIO, belongs to the USA.
Lies, damned lies — and statistical promotion
April 21, 2012
Lies. damned lies and statistics. This is a valid enough comment because statistical data is often readymade for use as propaganda. But now the argument is about "bogus statistics" used primarily as a shrewd, cost-effective, marketing exercise.
The key to ending the race to the bottom
April 13, 2012
A spectre starting to haunt the international labour movement — a spectre of a descent into barbarism. It is the image of a possible future, reflected in signs such as South Africa’s Olympians marching proudly in London in national colours, made in China, and in the ongoing pressure internationally on jobs, wages and conditions. However, […]
Doing dirty work, exposing dirty tricks
March 30, 2012
At the forefront of the fight against local government corruption and maladministration in South Africa are municipal workers, many of them doing dirty, socially necesary labour for wages that are a tiny fraction of what is paid to many managers. This is one aspect of what local trade unions see as a growing social, humanitarian and economic crisis that urgently needs dramatic and radical remedial measures.
Where enforcement, not relaxation of laws, is the way forward
March 22, 2012
Unlike many countries where trade unions face similar battles, South Africa has good labour laws. The problem is a lack of enforcement at a time when there are calls — and moves around the world — to relax or dispense with legislation protecting the wages and conditions of workers.
Unions challenge govt — and the opposition
March 9, 2012
The mass strike in South Africa on Wednesday, March 9, was only nominally about e-tolling on public roads and the problem of labour brokers. It was, in fact, a challenge to both the government and the parliamentary opposition who both support a system that allows for road tolls and creates an environment in which unscrupulous labour brokers can thrive.
Terry Bell Writes 
May 5, 2012
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