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Labour Q&A with Terry Bell
A Fin24 is pleading with union leaders to be considerate and let the workers return to work to support their families. He writes:
It is totally unfair for the so-called union leaders to keep on refusing what the
employers are offering in the name of mine workers who never came up with the
decision to embark on a strike action. It's the leaders who took that decision.
Yes, indeed half a loaf is better than nothing... I would advise that the offer on the table be accepted and honestly it will be accepted with wide open arms by the people on the ground as they will have something to support their families.
The leaders must stop leading by telling lies, they take decisions in the name of workers and the workers follow those decision without putting thought to them. Look who's suffering now?
The so-called leaders have food on their tables everyday of their lives, their children go to school everyday without having to worry as to where will their next meal come from.
Leaders please be considerate. (Anonymous)
Terry Bell responds:
I think you are mistaken Anonymous. The decision to strike was taken by mass meetings and, over the many weeks of the strike, there have been a series of such meetings at which decisions have been taken. The leaders in this case seem beholden to the striking worker members. The offer on the table has remained basically unchanged since the start of the strike and amounts to percentage increases of around 9%.
Strikes are usually a last resort by workers and this one is no exception.
What is the exception is the iconic demand, first voiced at Marikana in August 2012, for R12 500. I have watched this strike closely and have not yet come across any instance of the union leaders telling lies to the workers.
As for the argument that half a loaf is better than none: I would agree only in circumstances where there is not enough bread for everyone and half loaves are shared.
We are dealing here with a situation where directors and shareholders have been receiving and increasing number of loaves over the past decade while the workers have received very little.
Regards
- Fin24
* Terry Bell is an independent political, economic and labour analyst. Views expressed are his own. Follow him on twitter @telbelsa.
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyFin24 have been independently written by members of the Fin24 community. The views of users published on Fin24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent those of Fin24.
A Fin24 is pleading with union leaders to be considerate and let the workers return to work to support their families. He writes:
It is totally unfair for the so-called union leaders to keep on refusing what the
employers are offering in the name of mine workers who never came up with the
decision to embark on a strike action. It's the leaders who took that decision.
Yes, indeed half a loaf is better than nothing... I would advise that the offer on the table be accepted and honestly it will be accepted with wide open arms by the people on the ground as they will have something to support their families.
The leaders must stop leading by telling lies, they take decisions in the name of workers and the workers follow those decision without putting thought to them. Look who's suffering now?
The so-called leaders have food on their tables everyday of their lives, their children go to school everyday without having to worry as to where will their next meal come from.
Leaders please be considerate. (Anonymous)
Terry Bell responds:
I think you are mistaken Anonymous. The decision to strike was taken by mass meetings and, over the many weeks of the strike, there have been a series of such meetings at which decisions have been taken. The leaders in this case seem beholden to the striking worker members. The offer on the table has remained basically unchanged since the start of the strike and amounts to percentage increases of around 9%.
Strikes are usually a last resort by workers and this one is no exception.
What is the exception is the iconic demand, first voiced at Marikana in August 2012, for R12 500. I have watched this strike closely and have not yet come across any instance of the union leaders telling lies to the workers.
As for the argument that half a loaf is better than none: I would agree only in circumstances where there is not enough bread for everyone and half loaves are shared.
We are dealing here with a situation where directors and shareholders have been receiving and increasing number of loaves over the past decade while the workers have received very little.
Regards
- Fin24
* Terry Bell is an independent political, economic and labour analyst. Views expressed are his own. Follow him on twitter @telbelsa.
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyFin24 have been independently written by members of the Fin24 community. The views of users published on Fin24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent those of Fin24.
