The last month has been historically and politically significant for South Africa. The student protests have – and continue to – present a great opportunity for citizens to hold their government accountable. Although this social movement represents the potential of our politics to mature and become meaningful, this potential will be squandered if we do […]
strike
Posted inNews/Politics
Mining strike: Ominous clouds of history
Working as a miner is a filthy, frightening and dangerous occupation. Death and dismemberment are the spectres lurking every moment at your side. And that’s while you are still above ground, as was demonstrated during the Marikana massacre in which police fire killed 34 miners and left another 78 injured. Actually go below ground and […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Why workers can survive on peanuts
By Roshila Jarosz At around 12.20pm last Wednesday afternoon I was stunned. Actually, for a brief moment I thought my ears were deceiving me, then I realised there was no such luck. In part it was my fault — I was listening to student radio station Tuks FM (what’s an alternative rock girl to do?). […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Marikana: Political or economic unrest?
No one can argue that South Africa will never be the same again after the Marikana massacre. What remains arguable, however, is how the country moves forward in the aftermath of the incident. For business, the sooner everything dies down and workers go back to work the better. For workers, in sharp contrast, this is […]
Posted inNews/Politics
If Brazil can do it, we can
These are not happy times for our country. Political violence is becoming normalised, the strike wave shows no sign of letting up, education remains in crisis and corruption has reached the point where people are making comparisons between contemporary South Africa and Mobutu’s Zaire. And our economic crisis, with mass unemployment, seems more or less […]