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Why demands for higher pay won't stop

Labour Q&A with Terry Bell

Fin24 user Raymond Tloloane says the demands for higher salaries will not stop until the tendency of enriching and benefiting the few is looked at. He writes:

"Mr Bell, my only concern is with our government promoting the enrichment of individuals as opposed to workers (the majority). Looking at tenders, for example, I'm a security guard working at a hospital. The money we earn is too little, but the people who do nothing and worse of all know nothing about security earn millions.

"The demands for higher salaries will not stop until this tendency of enriching and benefiting the few is looked at.

"Next year the security sector will also go on a strike."

Terry Bell responds:

In my experience, Tloloane, the security sector contains some of the worst examples of the abuse of labour. One problem being the large number of companies and the lack of monitoring and control.

Ironically, it is the growth of this non-productive industry that gives a boost to the figures for the South African economy. The unfairness of the system in which we live and the growing - and gross - inequality in terms of wages and conditions is certainly a recipe, not only for more strikes, but for wider social instability.

But this is something individual strikes are not going to cure. Perhaps we should all be looking beyond immediate battles to a better, overall system.

*Have a question for Terry? Drop us a line.
 
- 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 Fin24 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.
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