I have no choice but to agree with your comments, in the solutions are difficult or impossible to implement. Also understand. I am opposed to violence, but consider this
Beliefs/ attitude/mindset are the cause of all behaviour. The powers have and are still are taking a soft attitude towards all this bad behaviour, and it has only grown stronger and more disruptive over the years.
Problem solving means dealing with the cause, everything else is waste of time and energy. Currently we have too many people running about with visions of power. Is it too late? I don’t know.
Gone are the days where we could have used TV drama’s depicting the benefits of having a good attitude
What I do know. Unless some hard decisions are made to curtail this bad behaviour... and soon. We also need to communicate this on a level they can understand. We will no longer be considering if the decisions we are making are reasonable, in the not to distant future
My 50cents worth of opinion.
The relinquishing of ‘minority rule’ and replacing it with ‘majority rule’ whilst excluding the transfer of financial rule, except to the chosen few, has led to our country having an enormous gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. We are highly ranked (top three) as a country with such a gap. A gap that keeps on growing wider.
As such, a situation is created that is ripe for further exploitation of the masses. While ulterior motives are behind this exploitation, the masses are led (misled) with promises and lies. This is called Politics.
A hungry, homeless and unemployed person will easily align with any movement making oft repeated promises to improve their lot in life. Promises of wealth and abundance made to the poor act as a flame does to a moth. The call to arms is presented as optional but manifests itself as mandatory. This is called Political Reform.
Once the masses are mobilized and armed, their leaders are coerced into committing acts of violence and further acts of sabotage. This is called Civil War.
Africa is rife with examples of this strategic model. AFRICON, umm AFRICOM is very active in Africa and more so by the day. Below are two snippets from an Anti-war group in the USA.
Africa has no choice between private capitalism and socialism. The whole world, including capitalist countries, is moving toward socialism, inevitably, inexorably. You can choose between blocs and military alliances, you can choose between political unions; you cannot choose between socialism and private capitalism because private capitalism is doomed!” (The World and Africa, p. 307)
Such wars could very well be carried out with greater determination in Sudan, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, South Africa and Somalia which would be against the interests of the peoples of Africa and working and oppressed peoples throughout the world
http://www.phantomreport.com/the-war...conomic-crisis
This Exercise started on the same day that BRICS started their meeting at which the ratification of a new International Bank was ready to signed.
[/I]In addition to Soldiers from USARAF and the 4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, other participants include officers from the German Bundeswehr Geospacial Intelligence Division, civilian instructors from the British Peace Support Team -- Pretoria, and military personnel from Malawi, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Namibia[/I]
http://www.africom.mil/Newsroom/arti...hern-accord-14
Who is our choice, BRICS or AFRICOM?
I guess my take on the current and recent strikes is that they are/were largely politically motivated and driven by power hungry factions or individuals. This could explain the heavy handed pre-meditated massacring of striking miners. It could also explain the heavy handed manner in which that strike was organized (enforced).
The NUMSA strike was organized with power and politics being the driving force behind the scenes.
The curtailing and prevention of future strike action on a scale we’ve recently witnessed is a priority of National importance. The delivery of services to all sectors of society, the creation of sustainable employment and training of skilled workers are basic building blocks without which we will be hard pressed to avoid the emergence of a growing ‘political’ movement rising up to challenge the Status Quo.
I fully realize the contradictory nature of the goals and the methods employed to achieve these goals, I’m merely stating my opinion, based on what I perceive to be unfolding. The items in italics are cut and pasted.
Last edited by Trickzta; 31-Jul-14 at 03:37 PM. Reason: attempt to reinstate italics
I think many posters have touched on many of the contributing factors to the current situation:
* Unions competing with one another for membership
* Union bosses lining their own pockets at the expense of the workers they're claiming to represent
* Crazy disparity between CEO salaries and workers' wages
* A lack of investment from both unions and companies in infrastructures and systems to uplift the communities and the workers
What amazes me is that no one has mentioned the government in all of this.
Why hasn't the government built decent schools and hospitals? Why hasn't the government provided decent housing for these people? What is the government doing to curb the constant rise of just the basic cost of living? If the government was doing its job, the workers wouldn't feel so helpless that they would fall for the unions' lies.
The government is failing the country in spectacular fashion.
Just my opinion.
The ANC eats its way through SA's wealth, one day at a time. No time to help those who need help. Too busy helping themselves.
In search of South African Technology Nuggets(R), for sale & trading in South East Asia.
tec0:
1. I know of a "mega corporation" that USED to function for more than 20 years but between BEE constraints, government taking months to pay accounts & strikes... they have closed doors.
2. Compare apples with apples... in other words if you want to compare South African minimum wage with Australian minimum wage, then also consider the cost of living in South Africa compared to Australia. We do not get paid in "first world money", we are paid in rands and we pay in rands.
As Justloadit & adrianh said it so eloquently: workers work for the company, the company works for investors who invested their own hard earned money.
Sure a union is there to "protect" the interests of the worker. But when they hold the employer to ransom to the point that small struggling businesses are forced to shut down, where are the unions when the workers are left without work? Besides who wants to be forced to retain employees who willfully destroy company property & violently intimidate other employees?Unfortunately the only suggestion I can come up with at this stage (which no doubt has been thought about it) is that we need to find a way/happy medium where unions may continue ensuring employees are not exploited, without having absolute power to the detriment of the employer and in effect the demise of our economic future.
I think that the union leadership are the ones to blame. They created a deep rift between management and workers and although they claim to want to bring the two together their aim is to keep them apart. The reason I say this is simply because labour unrest is a direct result of union meddling. When last did you hear of a company strike where only non-unionised workers were involved. When last did you hear of non-unionised workers beating unionised workers when the go to work. When last did you hear of a union approve of anything that a company does or work together with the company to provide a better service or overcome a hurdle.
The problem is that union bosses see themselves as military leaders and their members as their soldiers to do with as they see fit. In military terms the union bosses are low ranking non-commissioned officers who hold their own soldiers hostage by means of their rhetoric and their thugs. They are able to play in the big leagues, not because of their abilities but because they have a large army at their disposal. Please keep in mind that the vast majority of those soldiers simply wish to be left alone but they are unable to because they have been coerced into joining the party for the "greater good" ...Think about Germany and the second world war, the Nazi's stayed in power not because people loved them, hell no, they stayed in power because they used the SS to intimidate and exterminate anybody who tried to oppose them.
How do you fix the problem...one needs to find a way to remove the wedge that union bosses hold between management and workers. Increasing worker salaries will not do it because the fundamental problem lies in the wedge and the wedge will simply think up other reasons to stay put. Maybe the answer lies in educating young people to understand that they are responsible for their own wellbeing and that union bosses do not represent them but rather use them as pawns to be shifted around their own little empires.
Hi Everyone, I've been away from the forum for a while, and it looks like I've chosen a duzy of a topic to herald my return... so diving right in...
The striking is as Dave A says, "A power struggle", and it is politically-powered. It has little, if anything to do with the workers' salaries, contentment, etc. Quite frankly, the Unions don't give a s**t about their members, they seem more intent on overthrowing Governments and creating their own "world order" for the benefit of their own greed. But they do realise that they need the "workers" to fuel their efforts, so they will use propaganda and racism to get the workers on their side, under the pretext that they are doing it for the workers. The fact that the workers they represent are 99.0% poverty-stricken, sub-educates is no coincidence???
We are all aware of our history, and most of us are not proud of it, but we've had a 20-year "democracy?" in which to start putting things right, but instead of working to achieve, we have been working to destroy. We have been led by a clown-government that has allowed unions to grow, and most of those unions have grown under the ANC banner. Now we have a situation where these Unions have become a SA-Mafia (for want of a better description). It seems that we now have too many Unions, with each Union deciding which other Union they are going to support and thereby increasing their masses, so now you have workers striking from unrelated industries, mine-workers strike for a steel-workers cause and so on, ad-infinitum... What happens when the masses become too large, violence, intimidation, hate, etc. Entire cities can be shut down by this, and entire economies will collapse (Zimbabwe, Mozambique, almost the entire African continent... Indonesia, and some others outside Africa).
So how do we fix it? Assuming, of course, that it can be fixed... My simple answer, I don't know, it's not just a financial, political, racial, or even a personal issue, it's all of these and even more. The best minds of our country need to get around the same table with the sole purpose of proposing fixes in only their respective fields, The Financiers need to present the best solutions for financial stability, the Politicians must present their best solutions for political stability, even the best Criminal minds must present the best solutions to crime free society. Black, White, Rich, Poor, Young, and Old must be represented at this table. It is past time for all South Africans to take responsibility and do what we said we could back in 1986, and started in 1994. And in all of this, discriminatory policies, must be completely scrapped, companies must be allowed to hire whom they want, when they want, with a few parameters to protect against slavery, abuse, discrimination, etc. The idea is to create a country where people want to be, want to work, and are proud to be South African again.
PS. Having now read what I have just typed, it seems to be written as if by a child with Utopian sentiments, but maybe that is exactly what we need, the return to the re-birth of South Africa? To be children once again?
Today Defines Tomorrow
Errare Humanum Est Remitto Divinus
I was in an ongoing wage negotiation yesterday with my lawyer and obviously the Union guys.We are not prepared to give into their demands but have proposed other ways on getting the staff members to take home more money.We offered a 9% ATB increase which I feel is fair.We offered two other ways of increasing the take home pay:
1.Bonuses linked to staff productivity
2.Fluctuating increase/decrease percentage linked to company performance
The Shop Stewards immediately rejected these proposals saying that it could not work.I am on a commission based package for running the company I work for and the harder I work the more I get out,the more the shareholder get out.Both the lawyer and I tried to explain and they would not budge.South Africans (All colours) need to change their mind sets/attitudes and work together.I suspect that most of our unionised staff will be resigning from the union in the next month or two based on the Shop Stewards performance and attitude.
Firstly no person accept the unions can speak on the unions behalf and it is the union’s job to make sure that all laws are followed to the letter. All their actions must be by the letter of the law also their actions. If those that act illegally are not being held accountable then all South Africans must ask why as no one is suppose to be above the law.
Secondly Labour outsourcing created its own problems. Firstly a short term or temporary employee cannot get loans for cars, homes and find it difficult to maintain a medical aid and to establish a foundation and realistically things like investment and Pension is disappearing. I ask you HOW CAN IT BENEFIT THE COUNTRY IF OUR PEOPLE CANNOT INVEST LONG TERM? Without investment a country is a fish out of water. Without long term investment the poor especially must depend on government for their Pension because they never where able to invest. Now the tax payer must pay more and more. How can this be beneficial to all parties involved?
But our biggest problem is POWER and the reality is there millions upon millions of Rand that is outstanding from the municipalities. Now if we don’t pay we get cut off. This is normal for us. But why are the municipalities not paying their bill to Eskom? Obviously Eskom is also a business and need to pay for equipment, fuel and their employees and if they don’t get their money how must they function?
So it s clear that our Government have to ask the municipalities “WHERE IS THE MONEY” “WHY ARE SO MUCH OUTSTANDING” “WHY ARE YOU NOT PAYING YOUR BILLS” START INVESTIGATIONS AND SOLVE THE MANY PROBLEMS THEY HAVE” Because if they don’t the infrastructures will fail and when that happens well then it is game over and we will no longer have industry, commercial and private sectors all will be gone as if by magic.
The people must address the government and DEMAND ACTION against our many problems and there sources. If they don’t its GAME OVER.
peace is a state of mind
Disclaimer: everything written by me can be considered as fictional.
polpak (02-Aug-14)
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