labour | Terry Bell Writes

Browsing All posts tagged under »labour«

Austerity and the lack of a real alternatve

February 24, 2019

A social compact is not an alternative to the present social and economic system. It is a variation on the same theme — a bad one from the point of view of labour — and it does pose as an alternative. Time perhaps for labour to counter with a clearly costed and articulated route to a real alternative that would benefit the many rather than the few.

Labour’s view of SONA 2019, S. Africa

February 9, 2019

There is nothing new in the recipes proposed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to remedy the damage done over the past decade to South Africa's state institutions and the economy. They are recipes that trade unions across th board have already rejected.

Davos & the spectre of populism

January 26, 2019

Populism was a spectre haunting the super rich when they met in Davos, Switzerland. this past week. But while this emergence of nationalist, protectionist sentiment does pose a threat to global corporations, it does not threaten the system based on competition and the exploitation of labour. It also carries with it the poison of zenophobia.

Time for brief respite: 2019 is coming

December 15, 2018

Rough times seems certain to lie ahead in 2019., So perhaps the widely recognised festive season should provide a welcome respite, a time not only to rest and relax, but to contemplate the rigours of the year ahead; a time to analyse and to plan, since hope still exists that a better world is possible.

Pay people fairly for the work they do

December 2, 2018

South Africa can expect a deluge of bigoted pro- and anti-minimum wage propaganda from vested minority interests as the date for implementation draws near. Much of this may amount to wilful distortion of facts most people should be aware of, especially if the rhetoric moves into overdrive..

Looking to real alternatives

August 31, 2018

As the global economic crunch continues and seems to be worsening, perhaps it is time to look to the examples of democratic control manifest in the recovered factories movements of Latin America. There may even be sound lessons to be gained by researching what happened in Paris in 1871.

Marikana — and the wheels keep coming off

August 18, 2018

In 2010, as he was reaching the end of his days, Henry Makgothi, former South African treason trialist and former deputy secretary general of the ANC, confided sadly: “I fear the wheels are coming off.” He was referring to the apparent inability of the vehicle of government to act fairly and decisively as nepotism and […]

Thuma mina and social class

July 14, 2018

The more things change, the more they stay the same. That French expression certainly applies in South Africa where there has been major change in the legal deracialisation of society, but where the fundamental class divide is perhaps even more starkly evident.