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Thread: Unions and Business

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    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
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    Unions and Business

    Are unions playing a positive role role in our economy?
    As a young employee I have never joined a union as I was of the opinion that if you did a proper job, your employer would look after you. And many do just that. Unfortunately, there are too many employers who exploit their staff to fuel their own greed, hence the need for protection of workers.

    Unfortunately, the worker unions have been politicised and it has become an us and them issue where workers want to do as little as possible to earn as much as possible. This communist orientated attitude has been fuelled by the Ain't No Consequences party who also changed labour laws to such an extent that it is harmful to business growth and overall prosperity.


    John Freeman questions the role of unions, and why he has no sympathy for Post Office staff:

    I have heard and read a lot lately about how Post Office staff are annoyed that their PAYE, UIF and medical aid payments have been siphoned off. I regret to say that I have little sympathy for them. They had a monopoly on which many small but profitable operations like mine relied heavily. When they went on an extended strike they not only crippled the Post Office, their employer, as a business but stuck many of their clients out of business, like my 36-year-old publication The SA Turf Directory. Now they wonder how it all happened. The pain lingers on. Every week I open my mailbox to find items returned from that strike in 2016 “undelivered”.

    Throughout my 48 years in business, I have seen clients close down their factories and businesses as a result of unions pushing too hard – there is always a knock-on and job losses that they don’t consider. It’s clear that the fat cats that run these unions know nothing about business, let alone how to start one, but they know a lot about how to put people out of business.

    So that strike pushed all of us into the digital era, unwillingly. The people that we employed to set up each edition for print, the printers, the labour we used for packing, postal people who handled each envelope were all gone, never to return.
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    The post office in our area is a disgusting filthy germ infested dark hole.

    I had a post box there for 25 years ... I would collect my post once or twice a week ... I cancelled the box 2 years ago ... never mind load shedding they dont fix the lights so the place is like a cave.
    Comments are based on opinion...not always facts....that's why people use an alias.

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    I am yet to see a union do anything constructive.

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Some unions are better (as in more constructive in their engagements) than others

    Unfortunately the more constructive unions do not attract the news headlines. For that you need marches and drama

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    The stay away today by NUMSA, which includes intimidation of workers who do want to work, as heard on the radio 702 callers of workers who were threatened and beaten up because they want to work, reminds me a the following scene, in which I always enjoy using a metaphor, as I find it does help to paint the picture, especially when it comes to subjects which may be complex in understanding.

    Very hot day at my field full of mealies which are standing already a meter high, and saying I am not watering my field today because I am not happy with the speed at which they are growing.
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    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
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    Most of the bigger unions have been politicized and their focus is definitely not on the worker (except for his monthly contributions) but on power and money.
    Most of them resemble the mafia in their actions. Intimidation and corruption is the order of the day.
    Excellence is not a skill; its an attitude...

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    So COSATU did not get much support for their National strike and shutdown.

    How stupid can one be? The cadres (or is it cadavers?) were demonstrating against loss of jobs, poor service delivery and corruption (by the Ain't No Consequences party) in their ANC T-shirts and declared their support for the ANC in the coming elections despite all their wrongdoings.

    I can only wonder if the lights are on at all.
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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blurock View Post
    So COSATU did not get much support for their National strike and shutdown.

    How stupid can one be? The cadres (or is it cadavers?) were demonstrating against loss of jobs, poor service delivery and corruption (by the Ain't No Consequences party) in their ANC T-shirts and declared their support for the ANC in the coming elections despite all their wrongdoings.
    The not-so-merry band that wandered past my offices after having given up trying to block traffic in Chris Hani Road yesterday were definitely wearing COSATU T-shirts.

    There is a part of me that wonders if the call-out does have a connection with upcoming municipal elections though - even if just as a secondary objective.

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    The space for unions in sa with an employment rate of over 50% is very limited.We need to focus on getting more people employed and not squeezing more for the currently employed.

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    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    and less we forget, the ANC employees, 2 or 3 weeks ago had not been paid for 3 months and went on strike, not sure if that has been cleared, but not only that, the UIF and pension funds deducted from employees were not paid over to the respective departments. Interesting that the Unions did not support the aggrieved employees.
    Victor - Knowledge is a blessing or a curse, your current circumstances make you decide!
    Solar pumping, Solar Geyser & Solar Security lighting solutions - www.microsolve.co.za

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