The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
Anna Majavu -
The mines and the farms are two enduring symbols of old white colonial theft, of the minerals and land. Because of the monopoly of the National Union of Mineworkers, whose leaders and officials have long preferred compromise and co-determination over worker control, it has been difficult for mineworkers to strike – until the Marikana massacre.
It has possibly been even harder for farm workers to strike.
Human Rights Watch estimated recently that less than 3% of South African farm...
Richard Pithouse -
The National Union of Mineworkers has informed us that workers organising their own strikes are being covertly 'manipulated' and their strikes and protests 'orchestrated' by 'dark forces' and other 'elements' that amount, of course, to another manifestation of the infamous 'third force'. 'Backward' and even 'sinister' beliefs in magic consequent to the rural origin of many of the workers are, we've been told by an array of elite actors, including the Communist Party, central to this...
In Britain, up to two million workers marched in the streets this week during the largest mass protest in generations. Teachers, hospital staff, garbage collectors, firefighters and border guards are participating in a 24-hour strike organized by a coalition of 30 trade unions. About a thousand demonstrations and rallies were held across the country.
Public sector workers say proposed pension “reforms” will force them to pay more and work for longer before they can retire....
Militant protests have erupted across Europe over governments' austerity programmes. The European population is angered that they are being forced to pay for a crisis that they did not create.
The news that jobs would be cut, pensions frozen and wages lowered, fired up the masses in Europe. Europeans have overcome their cultural and language differences in a common struggle against austerity programmes.
In a historic event, coordinated strikes and demonstrations have occurred in...
