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News & Views by Terry Bell
Cosatu: the end draws nigh
So the slow-motion disintegration of Cosatu seems likely to continue, whatever the efforts of the ANC, the decisions of the courts or the votes at whatever national congress is finally staged. After 30 years of sporadic squabbling about party politics, bureaucracy and worker independence, it now appears that an end of some kind is nigh.
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
Eskom: wake-up call to SA govt & unions
March 22, 2015
The generating and distribution problems at South Africa's power utility, Eskom amount to perhaps the greatest crisis ever to face the country's fragile, non-racist democracy, especially given the global economic climate. It provides a wake-up call to both government and the unions.
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
Treachery and the quest for truth
March 14, 2015
Book Review: Askari — an exceptional book that, to quote author Jacob Dlamini, "complicates how we think about apartheid and its legacies, and reminds us of the stories that still refuse to be told.....we would do well to examine the taboos, the secrets and the disavowals at the core of our collective memories".
Posted in: Book Reviews
South Africa: sliding toward authoritarianism?
March 9, 2015
South Africa’s teflon president Jacob Zuma, was at it again in February, slipping away from responsibility after the State of the Nation Address debacle in parliament. But no matter what transpires over the coming weeks and months, the country will not be the same again — and a state of emergency may yet be on the cards.
Posted in: Reports abroad
The Aurora factor & SA worker unity
March 8, 2015
Infighting, bickering and the pursuit of power and patronage have largely paralysed South Africa's largest labour federation, Cosatu, in recent years. But a politically charged court case involving President Zuma's nephew, Khulubuse Zuma, may trigger a rank and file move toward greater worker unity.
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
Real SA Budget: a frantic daily struggle
March 1, 2015
Wednesday was Budget day in South Africa. But the plaudits and the protests reflected in the media will not cause any excitement for more than half the population that has to deal with a daily struggle merely to survive.
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
Nationalisation, silver linings and the SA Post Office
February 15, 2015
Many postal workers and their trade unions seems to have learned a valuable lesson: nationalisation — state control — does not necessarily mean any improvement. But worker control, they feel could be the way frward.
Posted in: Inside Labour Column
Uncertain, rocky road ahead for SA
February 5, 2015
Looking ahead, South Africa seems to be in for a rocky — and perhaps momentous — period, both politically and on the labour front. But there are so many variables in play that what the situation will be at this time next year is anybody’s guess. Although it is more than a year away before […]
Posted in: Commentary
Terry Bell Writes 
April 6, 2015
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