By tomorrow afternoon (Saturday, October 20) it should become clear whether Britain is about to join the growing tide of European rebellion against economic austerity that has become particularly vociferous and violent in Greece and Spain. A traditional stiff upper lip will have been replaced by a powerful and angry snarl.
October 5, 2012
A world wracked by crises seems on the cusp of radical change, one way or another — reactionary or progressive — and the role of trade unions is thrown into sharp relief as a result. Whatever the outcome, even tougher times are likely.
September 21, 2012
The media came to the 11th national congress of South Africa's major trade union federation, Cosatu, expecting metaphoric blood on the floor. It never happened because, for all the often bitter divisions, all factions seems united in believing that the governing, ANC-led alliance is the only true was forward.
September 5, 2012
What happened at Marikana should not be seen in isolation. It is merely the most tragic of many unrest incidents around South Africa, but it is a wake-up cll the country will ignore at its peril
September 2, 2012
To see the tragedy at Lonmin in isolation from the other, almost daily, upheavals around the country would be a mistake; they all stem from similar causes. All unions need to join this chorus because the desperate poverty among many miners and their families is the same desperate poverty that afflicts millions, mainly in the rural areas and squatter camps of South Africa. Democratic unionism may hold one of the keys to solving these problems.
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.
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.
October 19, 2012
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