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News & Views by Terry Bell
Browsing All posts tagged under »unions«
A glance at SA labour’s state of flux
(Inside Labour – first published in City Press 04.04.2018) South Africa’s trade union movement is in a state of flux. But, largely at a bureaucratic level at this stage, a battle is raging, between the various federations competing for both affiiiates and wider support. Focus over the past week has been on the tripartite National […]
A glance at SA labour’s state of flux
April 8, 2018
The South African labour movement is in a state of flux, with a largely unnoticed internecine war for members and influence going on. Three of the competing federations are on the back foot over minimum wage proposals, but there may be hope of some union unity over controversial labour law amendments that seem to entrench a system of growing inequality.
Potential SA strike turmoil & the 2019 elections
March 31, 2018
The response to the April 25 general strike call by the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and the turnouts and attitudes expressed at coming May Day rallies should provide a good indication of the mood of a widely disgruntled labour movement. It may also provide a clear union response to President Cyril Ramaphosa's newly announced Youth Employment Scheme.
4th Industrial Revolution: the underlying question
March 24, 2018
Many of the arguments about the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) are simplistic and often crude, despite the wealth of information and analysis available. What underlies all this "noise" about 4IR is the question of what economic system will be required for "the machines" to operate to the benefit of all.
The “hymn of labour” that still survives
March 17, 2018
The Internationale, that labour hymn of protest and call to action has survived being appropriated by that grotesque parody of socialism in the former Soviet Union. It should be celebrated on Sunday, March 18, the anniversary of the start of the 1871 Paris Commune that provided the inspiration for it.
Worker hope for SA public broadcaster
November 13, 2017
The corporatisation of trade unions and the development of an almost symbiotic relationship between union leaders and employers, pubic and private, is a major problem for the labour movement. It can lead to an industrial relations mess such as that in the SABC. But the hope — and the remedy — still lies with united workers.
The poison of unprincipled unity
October 7, 2017
The poisonous belief that unity of an organisation must be maintained at all costs is the primary cause of the present crisis in South Africa's governing ANC. It is a concept that became embedded in that organisation from its earliest years in exile and it allowed corrupt elements to thrive.
SA’s looming winter of discontent
June 25, 2017
The South African government expects public sector workers and the public at large to pay for the incompetence and larceny carried out by its kleptocratic faction and their cronies. This could mean a winter of discontent as pay and conditions talks loom.
Terry Bell Writes 
April 8, 2018
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