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News & Views by Terry Bell
Who is really responsible for the economic mess
Workers and their organisations are not responsible for the debt trap and the economic muddle the country now finds itself in. And while sections of the public sector may be bloated, perhaps the excess lies in areas that do not impact on the facilities required by the majority of the population.
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
A fight for the many, not the few
November 15, 2019
Workers and their unions will once again be castigated as greedy, selfish and unpatriotic as they fight back against having to pay for the maladministratio0n, incompetence and corruption of the existing order. But they are, for all their faults, battling to protect the many from the increasing predations of the few.
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
The political voice labour must find
November 5, 2019
Riven by ideological squabbles and apparently unwilling to face up the technological realities of the 21st Century, the once militant South African trade union movement is in danger of becoming increasingly less relevant. Yet this was a m ovement that played a significant role in the anti-apartheid struggle.
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
SA unions: still seeking a coherent political role
November 2, 2019
Ever since making a tentative move toward principled unity 23 years ago, South Africa's modern and militant trade unions, once to the forefront of the struggle against apartheid, have steadily weakened, with a degree of fragmentation. Now, with the realities of the digital revolution being felt, time is not on their side if they wish to remain relevant and play a role of protectors and extenders of democracy.
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
Ireland’s Obama mania
October 30, 2019
The Irish legacy of US President Barrack Obama is an example of ostentatious vulgarity known as Obama Plaza. But it is also a masterpiece of marketing in a country known more for its wild beauty and its contribution, especially to literature and migration.
Posted in: Reports abroad
Johnson puts UK establishment & Ireland in the firing line
August 31, 2019
‘Make the most of October: a month of anniversary events, before the bank runs, food shortages and petrol queues start . . .’ (London Review of Books advert as demonstrations erupted in several UK centres) The decision by British premier Boris Johnson to prorogue (suspend) parliament has caused an uproar throughout Britain and Europe and […]
Posted in: Reports abroad
Race & the colour of money
July 28, 2019
Populist demagogues tend to emerge during times of economic and social crises. They use the age-old method of divide and rule to prey on the fears and insecurities of the working class battered by a system of exploitation that the demagogues fundamentally support. But at the root of the problems faced by the global majority is not race, religion, language or ethnicity: it is capitalism where the colour of money is all that matters.
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
November 17, 2019
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