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News & Views by Terry Bell
Browsing All Posts filed under »Commentary«
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.
A background to Marikana
August 23, 2012
The deaths at Lonmin amount to the bloodiest tragedy of the post-apartheid era. As a result, the blame game is in full swing and is likely to continue in the weeks ahead. But all the finger pointing, accusations and counter accusations only highlight the plethora of questions that desperately need to be thoroughly interrogated.
Lonmin: the need for a comprehensive, transparent inquiry
August 22, 2012
It will be a gross error if the proposed commission of inquiry into last week’s tragic events at Lonmin’s Marikana mine focusses solely on the violent incidents at the mine. It would also be a great disservice to the memories of the dead and the injured, as well as to miners and their families everywhere — let alone the country at large.
No angels in bloody SA mine clashes
August 15, 2012
The ongoing tension and violence at South Africa's Lonmin platinum mine is a much more complex and messy business than a simple turf war between unions in the Rustenburg region of the country. At this stage, all that seems clear is that there are no angels in this; no clear good guys and bad guys.
Why the law is often an ass
July 27, 2012
“Then the law is an ass,” said Mr Bumble in Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist when he was told that the law considered his wife to act under his direction. Few truer words have been said — or written. Because the law, that body of regulations that can shelter stupidity, pedantry, vindictiveness and sheer bloody-mindedness behind the veil of justice, is very frequently an ass.
Of spears, dicks and satire
July 13, 2012
The latest row over a "genital" cartoon of South Africa's President Jcob Zuma reveals an unwillingness to accept that respect has to be earned and that individuals, especially those in high office who behave in a manner contrary to the norms of society, lose respect and become legitimate targets for satire.
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.