trade unions | Terry Bell Writes

Browsing All posts tagged under »trade unions«

Another pre-school fairy story?

November 17, 2011

National planning minister Trevor Manuel and his commission consider early childhood development (ECD) and pre-school education vital to the future development of South Africa. However, the 20-year National Development Plan (NDP) released this week by Manuel does not even define ECD or pre-school education, let alone how it should be implemented, where, when and by whom. So the fear across the education sector is that the NDP may be yet another case of “just talking the talk”.

Sober reflection as SA’s CCMA turns 15

November 12, 2011

As the world teeters on the brink of a further slide toward what looks like economic chaos, South Africa's Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has marked 15 years of existence. Director Nerine Kahn proudly noted that there was much to celebrate, but there was no celebration.

A 13-year legal travesty

November 4, 2011

In a scene reminiscent of the apartheid era, the final act in a 13-year travesty of justice drama began shortly after midnight on Thursday last week. Although there is no evidence that Donovan Leibrandt was at the scene either before during or after a 1998 arson attempt by another naval rating who died in the process, he was taken into custody this week to serve a four-year sentence on the basis of "common purpose".

Labour thumbs down for SA medium-term budget

October 27, 2011

Overall, the South Africa's medium term budget policy statement has been given a fairly resounding thumbs down by the labour movement. And not just by trade union federations, officials, shop stewards and rank and file members; among the army of the recently retrenched are workers who gave a similar verdict as details of the statement became known.

Greed, capitalism and human nature

October 21, 2011

During social and economic crises over the past century and more, the same old argument about greed being the source of human ills has been trundled out.

Back to the future: workers & ‘optimisation’

September 17, 2011

From an employer and business perspective there is one major problem with workers: they are human. This is not a moral judgement, and to use a term generally ascribed to the pampered aristocracy of yesteryear, workers are “a necessary evil”.

Old lessons yet to be learned

September 10, 2011

Little more than a year ago, it was discovered, to clucks of disapproval and widespread expressions of horror, that even those most South African of all sporting noise makers, the vuvuzelas, had been imported from China. Now the same discovery regarding World Cup rugby memorabilia, has been made. But instead of tackling the real issues, trade unions and others continue banging the drum of patriotism.

A strike that could be a tactical blunder

September 2, 2011

If South Africa's major trade union federation, Cosatu, goes ahead with its planned one-day national strike on October 5 it could prove to be a major tactical blunder that will weaken, rather than strengthen, the labour movement.