Cosatu joins SACP in calling on ‘negligent’ Zuma to resign
Cosatu has placed the blame for Standard & Poor’s downgrade of South Africa’s sovereign rating to junk status on President Jacob Zuma
Trade unions in South Africa
Eskom managers commit crimes against humanity – union rage at national “darkness”
Eskom managers commit crimes against humanity – union rage at national “darkness”
SA Labour Minister tells NUM: “We need unions that are strong, comrades”
Unions need to be more vigilant when doing their work and talk about the state of labour relations, Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant told the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
President of new Cosatu affiliate Limusa killed in car crash
Sifiso Maphumulo, president of new Cosatu affiliate the Liberated Metalworkers Union of SA (Limusa), has died in a car accident on the N3 in KwaZulu-Natal.
Solidarity GS Du Plessis: The good, bad and future of labour relations
NUMSA’s general secretary Irvin Jim has a weird view of the world. He denies his members are involved in blindly obvious intimidation, violence and downright thuggery. Despite the perpetrators being clothed in NUMSA uniforms. Then Jim snarls on television that if employers dare lock out NUMSA members, they should expect a “strong reaction”. His constituency … Read more
Must read: Solidarity’s Gideon du Plessis on the games unions play
The most apt description for Gideon du Plessis’ excellent piece is, ‘must read’. The quagmire of variables that dictate South Africa’s unionised labour force is complex. It is the very reality of competing forces, with hidden agendas and politicised motives that has created a dangerous environment where unions have ended up holding the South African economy … Read more
Mailbox: NUMSA strike is not just about wages
From Dewald Janse v Rensburg, HR Manager, Novatek Drills (Pty): The report in Biznews.com on the pending NUMSA strike is clearly written by someone who does not understand labour organisation and the relevant structures very well. The MEIBC is not an employer group. It is a bargaining council founded in terms of the Labour Relations … Read more
AMCU’s hidden agenda: First a Socialist State, then we’ll worry about jobs
Through history, great damage to societies has been wrought by charismatic leaders who refused to countenance that much exists outside their field of understanding. In their ignorance, these egocentric narcissists were incapable of looking beyond their simplistic views, of embracing the complexities of our reality. These forces of destruction didn’t even start to know what … Read more
Strike Looms in the South African Metal Sector
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A federation of companies in South Africa’s metal and engineering sector said wage talks with unions deadlocked on Thursday, raising the threat of a strike by almost 200,000 workers. Three employer organisations declared a dispute with the country’s largest union, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), the United Association of South Africa (UASA) and two smaller … Read more
Pragmatic trade union leadership exists: meet Solidarity’s Gideon Du Plessis
One of Karoo hamlet Prince Albert’s finest, retired labour consultant Bokkie Botha, took a swing at me in the latest Financial Mail – criticising my column on SA’s labour crisis as “peddling a facile view”. Perhaps he’s right. But living at the sharp edge of business for a couple decades exposes one to realities and unintended … Read more