What is ethical in a Socialist strike? Query from South Africa.

South Africa has been plagued by a week long strike organized under the Communist flag of Cosatu (Congress of South African Trade Unions).
It is hard to explain the full-effect, since there are so many regional articles.
They range from patients being left hungry in state hospitals, starving babies, the intimidation of working nurses (nurses being chased out of theatres) and school children fighting striking teachers.
Many feel the government's offer has been above inflation, and that the increases will drain service delivery for the poor. Yet, the Socialist unions are not happy, and they are planning even wider strikes.
The unions have also ignored a court order ordering them back to work.
Volunteers and the army are running essential services in some places.

Are nurses who refuse to strike sell-outs? Is it ethical to intimidate them because they care for their patients?

Do these things happen elsewhere? Is it the true face of Communism?
Would global Socialists condone this behavior for one measley percent?
For more, please see:
af.reuters.com...

In what has become a daily occurrence, strikers have blocked patients from entering hospitals, assaulted co-workers trying to break through picket lines and abused children showing up to schools hoping there will be classes.

HIV, TB and other chronic patients are having their meds cut off, and the rise of resistant strains of these diseases is growing.

For some horrendous detail from just one province, see:
www.jacarandarmfm.com... ffects

[edit on 25-8-2010 by halfoldman]

[edit on 25-8-2010 by halfoldman]

I have never been to South Africa. From reading the article it is a tough place to live. The African National Congress has been in power since 1994.
en.wikipedia.org...

The ideology of the government party is;
Socialism,
Democratic socialism,
and
Social democracy.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the biggest of the country’s three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions, altogether organising 1.8 million workers.
en.wikipedia.org...

Judging my the article it seems to me there is a lot of jobless people with very little to go around.

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel

I mean, just imagine 50 strikers bursting into an operating theater.
www.digitaljournal.com...
Although nurses, teachers and clerks struggle, they are not the worst paid people. A theme seems to be seeing the politcally connected in ANC living it up, while they are still living in shacks.
I think symbolically they want to take from these elite people, but they are "robbing" their own people.
It's already costing SA R1 Billion a day, and Comrade Vavi from Cosatu promised there's worse to come if their demands aren't met.

But, can one really trust a "nurse" who is willing to flood a hospital?
Here is another synopsis (minus the atrocities) from the World Socialist's Website: www.wsws.org...
They claim government does have the money.

I used to hear about strikes in 1970s Britain causing much harm, and strikers in the US being heroic themes of folk music.
So I'm wondering what their experiences are.
Doesn't this leftist chaos usually signal a swing to the right?



[edit on 25-8-2010 by halfoldman]

reply to post by halfoldman


When the rich is the minority and the poor is the majority I guarantee people are going to take notice and protest. Many people interpret classism different. Now in South Africa the Black leadership is in the same boiling pot of what the British South African's did before. Hopefully this won't get any uglier.

reply to post by Romantic_Rebel

The other side of the coin?
BBC visuals of police "brutality" against strikers:
www.bbc.co.uk...

Looks strangely like apartheid?

reply to post by halfoldman


Yea, I would think apartheid would have been abolished since Nelson Mandela became leader. Wikipedia said Apartheid lasted till 1994.
en.wikipedia.org...
Like I said I never been to SA so I can't say really bunch except for what's online.

Prem babies were left without food for a day. Some died. Just yesterday I read about where the ward was locked by strikers to a section where the prems are kept.
It is sad to see how many nurses and teachers do not care about their patients and students. Might I add that half of them do not have the education to be in the jobs they are in! They ought to be happy that they have jobs!
I can't provide a direct link, I'm on my cellphone, but it was on 24.com News.

Is it ethical that the elite and upper classes get all the profits whereas the middle and lower classes get puny wages?

I can't answer any of your questions, but they have also been weighing on my mind. You put this "issue" very well here, and i'm looking forward to hearing more objective opinions.

IMHO, SA is in breakdown. This is essentially ANC members against the ANC government. This is also a direct result of the billions that the govt has wasted on parties and bad administration and more.

What's next? I don't see the ANC doing anything that could be misconstrued as "positive".

Hate to break it to you, but nurses gotta live, too. I happen to work in a branch of health care (elder care, in fact) and I see firsthand the kind of things nurses put up with - not from the residents, that's expected, but hte hoops they're made to jump through by management, constant double shifts, short staffing, lack of supplies and low wages. I can only imagine things are worse off in South Africa.

Yes, nurses and teachers are integral to the operation of a society. Many of them feel that way as well - which makes them terribly easy to exploit via guilt. But there's only so much a person can take, and if people who voluntarily signed up to be nurses are walking out, something is wrong in the system and needs to be addressed. It's not because these people are greedy evil bastards. it's because their managers and supervisors are.

reply to post by TheWalkingFox

Right on. Most actually support the nurses and teachers in principle.
However, word has it that the Cosatu bosses aren't exactly poor either.

But some means don't justify the ends, INMO.