And they strike again!

This is becoming quite popular in South Africa. When we are goin through tough times and hundreds of people are losing their jobs, this happens. It seems to set off a chain reaction through workers of different fields.

First, the municiple workers all over the country striked, walking down the suburban and city streets ripping open rubish bags and 'toi-toi'ing. I'ts quite scary seeing hundreds of black africans jumping around in an outrage banging on peoples cars and throwing rubish around. Until they get their 15% salary increase.

I find it quite a cheeck that not even a month after, the Telkom (communications company) workers decide to strike too. They know they will get exactly what they want, and wont stop until their demands are met.

This is the current strike that has just started. And it's only the begining.

Around 4 000 striking Telkom workers gathered at the Union Buildings on Wednesday to prepare to march to their employer's offices in Pretoria.

CWU spokesperson Pheane Ramoadi said employees were pushing for Telkom to meet their salary increase demands of eight percent.

mybroadband.co.za...


This is what happened in their strike of 2006 when they didnt get their way....

The second phase of the national strike, which started this week, coincides with the recent vandalism of Telkom infrastructure in the greater Durban area.

Some Telkom customers have claimed the vandalism is the work of striking Telkom workers.

The Durban Chamber of Commerce said they had received calls from irate members whose businesses had been affected.

Prof Bonke Dumisa, chief executive of the Durban Chamber of Commerce, said that although the chamber had received calls regarding the vandalism of Telkom infrastructure, the number of calls received had been "fairly low in comparison to other areas in KwaZulu-Natal".

The effects of the Telkom cable breakage have been minimal within the eThekwini area, as the number of complaints received are not on a large scale," he said.

On Wednesday the Daily News reported on the vandalism of street distribution cabinets and on the large scale theft of cables in Durban.

www.iol.co.za...

So I would love to see how this one playes out.

In all honesty, I have little problem with workers striking and demanding better pay and conditions.

It may seem arrogant and an "inconvenience" to some, but most of us intelligent people know that while they are fighting and demanding a basic pay to cover living costs, the fat cats at the top are taking home seven figure salaries, a immense pension at the end and living off of expenses accounts. And all for sitting at a desk and pushing a pen for eight hours a day.

The only difference between the guy at the top and guy on the floor is the scraps of expensive paper their parents could guarantee them through education.

It's a cycle. Rich parents afford to buy their kid a world-class education, that kid grows up to be another scum bag pushing a pen and earning millions, and pays for their kid to have a world-class education...

That kid is no more intelligent at ten years old than the kid of a factory worker, their only difference is access to what is accepted as proof of skill and ability.

We absolutely have to get past this period of elitism and personal wealth, and move into a stage of fairly distributed wealth.

I fully support the workers rights to a pay increase, and it should come out of the pockets of the elites who do less and earn far more simply because of the education their parents could afford to buy them

[edit on 13-8-2009 by detachedindividual]

reply to post by detachedindividual


I fully agree with you sir. The part I have an issue with is the manner in which it is done. If the one is no more intelligent the next, then why do they act like this? There are better ways of dealing with these issues thsn demanding it by vandalism and inducing fear into society if you dont get your way immediately. Allot of working and middle class people have lost their jobs, pentions and severence packages through companies going bankrupt but you dont see them ripping hundreds of rubish bags open in the street and tying to csare the public to get their way.

reply to post by detachedindividual


Not everyone can be a boss. Don't you think that these people (boses) have earned their right to a large salary, being repsonsible for hundreds of workers and bringing in work?

Just because they do their work with a pen and not their hands doesn't make their job less worthwhile.

A job's only paid what its worht, otherwise we'd all be millionaires.

If these people don't like their pay, go get another job instead of holding a company to ransom, especially in a recession.

They can strike but I wouldn't encourage violence or other destructive acts. They need to get their reps to the bargaining table with the Telkom reps.

Originally posted by jinx880101
reply to post by detachedindividual

 

I fully agree with you sir. The part I have an issue with is the manner in which it is done. If the one is no more intelligent the next, then why do they act like this? There are better ways of dealing with these issues thsn demanding it by vandalism and inducing fear into society if you dont get your way immediately. Allot of working and middle class people have lost their jobs, pentions and severence packages through companies going bankrupt but you dont see them ripping hundreds of rubish bags open in the street and tying to csare the public to get their way.

It's mob mentality, nothing more. Even the most peaceful Human can succumb to anger and mob mentality when put into that position.

It's Human nature.

Originally posted by Thebudweiserstuntman
reply to post by detachedindividual

 

Not everyone can be a boss. Don't you think that these people (boses) have earned their right to a large salary, being repsonsible for hundreds of workers and bringing in work?

Just because they do their work with a pen and not their hands doesn't make their job less worthwhile.

A job's only paid what its worht, otherwise we'd all be millionaires.

If these people don't like their pay, go get another job instead of holding a company to ransom, especially in a recession.

So the bankers taking home millions in pensions after sinking a bank and having to depend on government hand outs, they were doing their jobs properly and deserved all that?
How about the bonuses paid by the banks to their senior staff, even after claiming billions from the public "to safeguard the business", the business that their bad decisions ruined.

As I said, Education is the key here. If education were free and fair, equal and thorough, there wouldn't be a problem. But it isn't.

There is no justification, in my mind, for one man to be paid obscene amounts of money for sitting at a desk and making a few decisions. Especially not at the expense of the people who actually work for them.

They wouldn't have that business if it were not for the hundreds, or thousands, of people on the ground who actually make something or supply the service. Where would that business be then? They would just be a guy behind a desk with a few meaningless certificates on their wall.

And no, we wouldn't all be millionaires, because there isn't enough to go around. There would be fewer billionaires, controlling markets and using their wealth to further enslave the planet. There would be fewer corporations wielding so much power that they can change laws and affect leadership.

And I would be very happy with that.

Has the arrogance of the banking elite recently already been forgotten?

Edited for schpelling!

[edit on 13-8-2009 by detachedindividual]