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News & Views by Terry Bell
Browsing All posts tagged under »politics«
The forgotten legacy of workers’ Olympics
Once again, as the summer Olympiad comes to an end, the Ganes are shrouded in some very modern myths that ignore their real origins — and fail to give credit where credit is due. Much of the credit for the fact that women now compete and that men and women from every background are generally included on the basis of ability alone, goes to the labour movement, mainly in Europe, but also in the United States.
Know clearly what you want — and will fight for
August 2, 2012
That there is widespread and apparently growing cynicism within the South African labour movement about politics and politicians is perfectly understandable. Perhaps the lesson to be learned is not only to be careful what you wish for, but to be perfectly clear about what you want and are prepared to fight for.
Hope amid the horror of joblessness and exploitation
July 19, 2012
For all its contradictions the annual Spring Queen pageant, staged by workers in the badly battered Cape Town garment industry, retains a social bite; it is a Cinderella moment that exopresses the hope of a better fife for all — and perhaps the determination to see change happen.
Cry the Beloved Country — again
July 6, 2012
In an incredible irony, copies of Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country were among the thousands of books shredded and dumped in what can only be described as an orgy of destruction in Limpopo. Yet it was only the sheer scale of the destruction that surprised members of the Cosatu-affiliated SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu).
Rewriting history and mangling facts
June 29, 2012
Historical distortion and emotive rhetoric characterised the ANC policy conference that ended this week. In fact, it could be argued that the new transition or phase is along the lines advocated by the labour movement 16 years ago in the Social Equity and Job Creation document.
SA Inc and the search for a real alternative
June 21, 2012
South Africa Inc is a “fronting” exercise in which the people of the country are the hapless stooges giving credibility to a governing elite. That is one of the reactions within the labour movement following the announcement of the government’s $2 billion pledge to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Missed chance as our Rome starts to burn
June 15, 2012
When the governor of any central bank starts a speech by acknowledging that the global economic crisis is not only continuing, but is getting worse, every trade unionist should sit up and take notice. That Numsa delegates did not when SA Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus spoke at their congress might be described as the Nero syndrome, after the Roman emperor who supposedly fiddled while his city burned about him.
Of nationalisation, land grabs & vanguards
June 8, 2012
Nationalisation and the expropriation of land without compensation are back on the South African political agenda. However, these demands seem to entail a one-sided interpretation of the contradictory clauses in the Freedom Charter and a misreading of the relevant section in the Constitution.
Terry Bell Writes 
August 10, 2012
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