- 17 Sep 2012 13:04
#14060191
The Marikana labour strike is a real test for the ANC and labour unions and the outcome may be interesting to watch.
For a start, many of these strikers are people with no or little education and easily being influenced with any fairy tale, especially if it concerns their well being. That said, some idiot start a smaller union and they went about promising people they will get them a ridiculous 270% or so increase over their current wages if they leave the biggest union NUM and join them. Not going into details about how this became about, it ended in tragedy with nearly 40 dead.
The police were within their rights to protect themselves from these heavily armed rioters - which incidentally were under a witchdoctor's "protection" after given a brew to drink that will make them invincible to the police . - whom actually shot at the police first as shown by TV coverage.
After the massacre some ANC outcast vulture came out of his shithole to start provoking things further by telling the strikers to stick to their guns. This person, Juluis Malema is known for his calls to have mines nationalized, singing "shoot the boer, kill the farmer" songs to crowds causing farmers to be murdered by the thousands to date and I do not need to go on.
After he did his poison with the platinum strikers at Marikana and other mines in the area, he went to Carltonville and get the gold mining employees whom also joined the strikes to follow suit demanding that ridiculous labor wage. Workers from other mines are also about to start striking and the mining industry heading towards anarchy and Malema keep feeding the fire with fuel.
If they get their way which I doubt strongly, this will spread to other industries and the result will be devastating and crippling to the economy - many businesses will close and the losers will be those who called for it to happen. Common people and the workers will have to pick up the tab with heavily over inflated prices on goods and foodstuff that surviving businesses will ask for to just break even.
The mining industry is currently only a distant memory of what it once was. I stay in the Goldfields which used to be the largest gold producing area in the world but it is just a skeleton now of what it used to be. About 70% of the shafts had been closed down and in many cases the head-gears brought down, shaft filled and rehabilitation of lands started. Thousands of workers were laid off, retrenched or put on early retirement, like your truly. This is also true to other large gold producing areas and this makes one wonder about the mentality of blacks and their unions. Work is truly scarce and many mines are marginal operations barely breaking it even, and still they call for these ridiculous demands for wage increases.
Some mines are making threads about shutting down completely with this labour unrest and it mystifies one's mind whilst workers still play with their jobs? International investors are taking note of these events and are shying away to safer/stable countries. This will result in no or very little job opportunities on the short and long terms.
They (striking workers) cannot fathom the idea a half loaf of bread is better than none, especially in a country where most of its people are unemployed because there simply are not jobs to fill... If the mines closes down, then they will be screaming murder about it, but perhaps that is what they want. Blacks have only short term visions and feed on what they can get now, not worrying about tomorrow. Much like the current government that is top heavy, raping the fiscal coffers of the country, regardless of how bad the country need that money for service deliveries and upkeep which is also on the boil with violent riots regularly. If the mines closes down, they (workers) can register for unemployment payments and receive good money doing nothing. It is also common fact in SA that young black women get children out of wedlock just to register and receive state assistance and most of the time leave the child to its own devices to survive. Street children are like the plaque in this country with many as young as four years old....
With anarchy on the horizon in the mining sector, the government finally stepped in to "create order" with help of the armed forces (army) and is condemned and made out as bad if not worse than the past apartheid government by leaders and opposition parties. The reality is that they cannot do much else and if the police cannot handle these riots, the next logical step would be to bring the armed forces in the picture. Pretty much the same happened during the old Apartheid era and they were crucified because of just that. Now the ANC is in the same position and doing just the same to its own people...a case of Deja Vu perhaps
In hindsight, in the old Apartheid era Mr Juluis Malema would have met an accident sooner that later before he could spread too much poison that would be deteriorating for government and economy. Funny the ANC don't have balls to do just that since he is embarrassing the ANC and its leaders
For a start, many of these strikers are people with no or little education and easily being influenced with any fairy tale, especially if it concerns their well being. That said, some idiot start a smaller union and they went about promising people they will get them a ridiculous 270% or so increase over their current wages if they leave the biggest union NUM and join them. Not going into details about how this became about, it ended in tragedy with nearly 40 dead.
The police were within their rights to protect themselves from these heavily armed rioters - which incidentally were under a witchdoctor's "protection" after given a brew to drink that will make them invincible to the police . - whom actually shot at the police first as shown by TV coverage.
After the massacre some ANC outcast vulture came out of his shithole to start provoking things further by telling the strikers to stick to their guns. This person, Juluis Malema is known for his calls to have mines nationalized, singing "shoot the boer, kill the farmer" songs to crowds causing farmers to be murdered by the thousands to date and I do not need to go on.
After he did his poison with the platinum strikers at Marikana and other mines in the area, he went to Carltonville and get the gold mining employees whom also joined the strikes to follow suit demanding that ridiculous labor wage. Workers from other mines are also about to start striking and the mining industry heading towards anarchy and Malema keep feeding the fire with fuel.
If they get their way which I doubt strongly, this will spread to other industries and the result will be devastating and crippling to the economy - many businesses will close and the losers will be those who called for it to happen. Common people and the workers will have to pick up the tab with heavily over inflated prices on goods and foodstuff that surviving businesses will ask for to just break even.
The mining industry is currently only a distant memory of what it once was. I stay in the Goldfields which used to be the largest gold producing area in the world but it is just a skeleton now of what it used to be. About 70% of the shafts had been closed down and in many cases the head-gears brought down, shaft filled and rehabilitation of lands started. Thousands of workers were laid off, retrenched or put on early retirement, like your truly. This is also true to other large gold producing areas and this makes one wonder about the mentality of blacks and their unions. Work is truly scarce and many mines are marginal operations barely breaking it even, and still they call for these ridiculous demands for wage increases.
Some mines are making threads about shutting down completely with this labour unrest and it mystifies one's mind whilst workers still play with their jobs? International investors are taking note of these events and are shying away to safer/stable countries. This will result in no or very little job opportunities on the short and long terms.
They (striking workers) cannot fathom the idea a half loaf of bread is better than none, especially in a country where most of its people are unemployed because there simply are not jobs to fill... If the mines closes down, then they will be screaming murder about it, but perhaps that is what they want. Blacks have only short term visions and feed on what they can get now, not worrying about tomorrow. Much like the current government that is top heavy, raping the fiscal coffers of the country, regardless of how bad the country need that money for service deliveries and upkeep which is also on the boil with violent riots regularly. If the mines closes down, they (workers) can register for unemployment payments and receive good money doing nothing. It is also common fact in SA that young black women get children out of wedlock just to register and receive state assistance and most of the time leave the child to its own devices to survive. Street children are like the plaque in this country with many as young as four years old....
With anarchy on the horizon in the mining sector, the government finally stepped in to "create order" with help of the armed forces (army) and is condemned and made out as bad if not worse than the past apartheid government by leaders and opposition parties. The reality is that they cannot do much else and if the police cannot handle these riots, the next logical step would be to bring the armed forces in the picture. Pretty much the same happened during the old Apartheid era and they were crucified because of just that. Now the ANC is in the same position and doing just the same to its own people...a case of Deja Vu perhaps
In hindsight, in the old Apartheid era Mr Juluis Malema would have met an accident sooner that later before he could spread too much poison that would be deteriorating for government and economy. Funny the ANC don't have balls to do just that since he is embarrassing the ANC and its leaders