The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last week that if South Africa wants to achieve higher growth and cut unemployment “a social bargain” is needed that would pull together trade unions, business and the government to implement the NDP (National Development Plan). It also suggests that trade unions moderate wage demands and that the State implement its massive infrastructure spending plans. The IMF flagged "escalating labour tensions" as a "key domestic risk".
Jack Lewis
Opinion | 10 October 2013
For the first time since its inception in 2006, the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) conference was held on the African continent during the first week of October. This event brought together a wide variety of stakeholders, from banking groups to mining giants, as well as consultancy and investment firms from around the globe.
Delphine Pedeboy
Opinion | 9 October 2013
On September 30, the government announced the second increase this year in disability grants, old age pensions, care dependency grants and war veterans' pensions. These increases will come in addition to the child support grant and grant-in-aid increases, which were already budgeted for in March. Although the increase is only R10, it will equate to a R41 million increase in government spending per month.
Gabrielle Kelly
Opinion | 7 October 2013
At the centre of South Africa’s economic inequality and resulting poverty is a lack of access to economic opportunity. Small and medium enterprises have a pivotal role to play in accelerating economic growth for poor and working class communities.
Sibusiso Tshabalala
Opinion | 1 October 2013
The Neil Aggett Memorial lecture was delivered by Jay Naidoo at Kingswood College, Grahamstown on 13 September 2013.
Jay Naidoo
Opinion | 17 September 2013
“It’s the same, the whole world over, it’s the poor what gets the blame.” So starts the chorus of a well-known British music hall song. Today it could be a two-line anthem for the international labour movement as the economic crisis continues to bite and disillusionment with the existing political order grows.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 16 September 2013
The debacle around Dali Mpofu's fees at the Farlam Commission is an important moment.
Jack Lewis
Opinion | 11 September 2013
AngloGold Ashanti, one of South Africa’s biggest mining multinationals, is currently concerned about their investment of over US$255 million in Colombia. Chris Lodder, president of explorations of AngloGold Ashanti for the Americas, has described Colombia as a ‘diamond in the rough’.
Camila Osorio
News | 11 September 2013
Critical elements of the long-awaited and debated survey of the attitudes of Cosatu shop stewards were finally made public in Johannesburg last night. And they are likely to cause a considerable stir within labour and political circles, especially about the possible future launch of a union-backed labour party.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 2 September 2013
“One is workers’ unity and evermore shall be so.” So goes an old labour movement song summarising the prime goal of trade unionism. It is also captured in the slogan: An injury to one is an injury to all. Equally, however, a disruption to one usually means a disruption to all.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 26 August 2013
Financial freedom is but a dream for most South Africans. Statistics from the Credit Bureau Monitor (CBM) show that at the end of March 2013, credit bureaus held records for 20.08 million credit-active consumers, an increase of 0.6% from the previous quarter.
Nwabisa Pondoyi
News | 21 August 2013
Four days after the bloodletting that has become known as the Marikana massacre, this column supported the call for a comprehensive and independent inquiry. And it noted, reflecting a widespread view within the labour movement: “The Lonmin tragedy is a wake-up call that South Africa will ignore at its peril.”
Terry Bell
Opinion | 20 August 2013
Today the fuel price goes up 32 cents per litre. This means diesel, which drives our big trucks that distribute food and other goods across the country, will be over R13 a litre. Commuter transport will become more expensive as will the price of paraffin used by by the poor for cooking and lighting.
Jack Lewis
Opinion | 7 August 2013
The discussion of socialism and nationalisation in this column last week has upset some trade unionists and at least one academic. They felt that the demands of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) of Julius Malema were equated with those of movements of the traditional Left.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 29 July 2013
I think about land matters quite a bit, especially now that I’m living on a small holding in the Karoo. In 1999, I was invited to make a video showing the "challenges" (yes that was still an acceptable word back then) of land reform in the Free State.
Jack Lewis
Opinion | 24 July 2013
“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived. But, if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” So wrote American author and poet Maya Angelou; providing an insight that seems highly pertinent to the South Africa of today, especially when considering the fraught situation in the mining sector.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 16 July 2013