Browsing All posts tagged under »labour«

The most exploited — and largely ignored — workers

July 29, 2011

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Fancy being able to walk to work and to pay just 10% of your wages for accommodation? Sounds idyllic? Perhaps. Unless you are a farm worker in South Africa where the latest pay increase of 4.5% made the minimum wage just R1,375 a month and where between R400 and R700 could be charged for electricity alone.

The role of unions — and threats they face

July 10, 2011

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The labour movement has always professed — and has the potential — to be the bulwark against authoritarianism, a standard bearer of such concepts as liberty and social justice. Unfortunately, there are many instances where these goals have been subverted, where governments, political parties and organised crime, sometimes as overlapping entities, have dominated, corrupting or badly weakening organised labour.

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 […]

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Unknown's avatarCape Town, South Africa-based journalist commentator and author specialising in political and economic analysis and labour matters.

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