Browsing All posts tagged under »Cosatu«

A tale of two funerals

April 8, 2011

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Both funerals were conducted with military pomp and included the flag of the African National Congress draped over the coffins. One was for a hero of the anti-apartheid struggle, the other for a reputed racketeer killed in a gangland drive-by shooting. Media publicity concentrated on the latter.

Resistance grows as the political edges fray

April 3, 2011

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Trade unions around the world are being forced to fight back as a consequence of what many bankers claim is the “gradual recovery” of the word’s “fragile economy”. But, as the unions tend to point out, such improvements are paid for largely by the unemployed and working poor. “We are paying for their crisis,” is a common labour movement cry.

Playing the race card as polls loom

March 18, 2011

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(First published 11 March, 2011) Whenever an election looms, the rumour mills tend to grind away, often fuelled by ill-considered comments by politicians.  It’s the same the world over, compounded by media manipulation, distortions of fact and outright falsification being all too often the order of the days leading up to polling time. But there […]

Casual work and ‘a man for all reasons’

March 1, 2011

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This column resulted in Phillip Dexter MP maintaining that it consisted of "lies, innuendo and journalism for hire" and that I was "an alleged apartheid agent" and that I quoted "dubious sources". I leave it to you to decide.

Schisms open up in the SA Alliance

January 27, 2011

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Whither South Africa's macro-economic policy? The government has taken its New Growth Path framework to the Wor4ld Economic Forum in Davos, but the unions on the home front, along with the SACP, are deeply divided. Is the NGP another Gear or Asgisa or is it something really new?

Time to both walk and talk the talk

January 25, 2011

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A new bout of verbiage concerning labour brokers and the nature of jobs erupted as the country got back to work after the new year break. And the confusion it created was compounded by proposed changes to the labour laws produced last month by the government. According to one set of interpretations, the ANC has […]

Why labour’s battle is far from over

December 5, 2010

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South Africa has a justly lauded Constitution and Bill of Rights. It also has some of the best labour laws anywhere. These are victories largely attributable to the labour movement, but they remain paper victories that have constantly to be fought for to ensure that they are applied.

Lessons to be learned from Cosatu’s 25 years

November 30, 2010

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The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) turns 25 in December. But the birthday celebrations around the country will be dampened by heightened tension and some mildly acrimonious outbursts resulting from the content of the government’s New Growth Path (NGP) for the economy and the manner in which it was announced. Like the 1996 […]