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News & Views by Terry Bell
Browsing All posts tagged under »South Africa«
Wal-Mart and the nature of the system
We live in a world system known as capitalism. About that there seems to be no disagreement. But what this means seems to create considerable confusion. And the rows surrounding the intended incursion into South Africa by Wal-Mart illustrate this clearly. Amid all the arguments and the blowing of vuvuzelas, only a few trade union […]
An SA winter of industrial discontent looms
May 13, 2011
Promises and appeals to political loyalty secured industrial peace in the run-up to South Africa's May 18 local government elections. But it could be a lull before the storm if the government, as employer, cannot honour all its promises.
The Concourt, the military and arson
May 7, 2011
A 12-year-old case of arson in the SA Navy, based on the controversial doctrine of common purpose, finally makes its way to South Africa's Constitutional Court. The result should have considerable impact, both within and outside the military.
A critical — largely ignored — wage battle looms
April 22, 2011
South Africa's annual battle over wages and conditions has this year been all but obscured by reports of political infighting focussed largely on the May 18 local government elections. Troubling news from Swaziland, Libya and Côte d’Ivoire has also tended to push this yearly tussle between bosses and unions into the background. Yet the 2011 wage round is arguably more critical than any in recent years — and will almost certainly have a direct bearing on the outcome of the May 18 poll.
Farewell to an unassuming hero
March 27, 2011
Henry Gordon — ‘Squire’ — Makgothi 1928 – 2011 One of the most humble of a fighting generation of ANC leaders died this week (on 24/03/2011). Henry Gordon — “Squire” — Makgothi, teacher, defiance campaigner and treason trialist was perhaps the most unassuming of the leading figures in the liberation movement. Loyal, often to a […]
Union hopes for education for all
March 27, 2011
Education in South Africa, with few exceptions, is in a shambles and in dire need of major repair. That much was made clear in the mass demonstration outside parliament this week by thousands of school students supported by parents, teachers and the teacher unions. They were calling for equal, quality education for all. A few […]
Playing the race card as polls loom
March 18, 2011
(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 […]
Sensational slogans and reformist reality
March 18, 2011
(First published 25 February, 2011) Never judge a book by its cover. Nor, for that matter, the prospect of revolution by the labels given to mass protest, the radical tone of slogans or the harshness of repression. In a South African context, it also means not jumping to the conclusion that our liberal parliamentary democracy […]
Terry Bell Writes 
May 25, 2011
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