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| protests |
The right to strike for the purposes of collective bargaining is one of the fundamental rights enshrined in Section 27 of The South African Constitution. The rationale behind collective bargaining is to maintain industrial peace. “It is one of the ironies of collective bargaining that its very object, industrial peace, should depend on the threat of conflict."
Just recently, more than 30 people were killed in clashes with police during a miners’ strike in Marikana platinum mine near Rustenburg, 100km northwest of Johannesburg. When we go on strike we lose wages, thus we use violence to make sure that the employer listens to our demands fast so that we can go back to work,” said one union member quoted in the report. "There is no other way that the workers can be heard. Violence and strike is the language they hear better” said another worker.”
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| violence can never be an answer! |
The police response has been compared to the brutalities of the apartheid era. It seems like South Africa is taking two steps back, what has happened to our democratic country?
- A called for structural solutions in order to level the playing fields between workers and bosses during strikes. This can be achieved by restricting the rights of bosses to employ scabs.
- We need restore workplace stability and labour peace. Violence cannot become a culture of our labour relations!
True, violence can not become a culture of our labour relations,but it was because of violence that made South Africa a democratic country it is today! I personally understand the miners' frastrations, as they are perfoming one of the most dangereous jobs in thw world. One needs to ask him or herself if that R12,500 is it well deserved? Their mistake is by asking the same wages as management whom went to school for their qualifications...Fact is we are not living in an ideal world, but a capitalist world...@MokD21
ReplyDeleteViolence can never be an answer, we need to opt for other solutions.
ReplyDelete