South Africa has been in the grip of a strike for the past 15 days, and its not looking like its going to end soon. Government employees went on strike on 1 June when the negotiations with the government got caught in 'n deadlock.
I'm caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. On the one hand the meagre salary I'm working for and the struggle to get my budget to work out each month. Teacher salaries in this country are very low. Most of us earn less than $15 000 per year. On the other hand is the frustration of not being able to work the past 2 weeks. There were very few to no children at our school since the strike started. More frustration is aimed at the government that doesn't want to budge with their low increase offer of 7,25% when the unions initially asked for 12%.
The following is an excerpt from an email read on a local radio station this week.
"It feels like a daily routine these days, my breakfast date with a soapbox about something. Goodness knows, I've worn a few through completely, stamped a few into disrepair and demolished one or two on really bad days.
Today, again, I cannot help but feel overwhelmed by the limitless idiocy of just about everyone in some seat of power in this rainbow nation of ours. "Where to start?" is one question. "Where to find a soapbox high and strong enough?" - the other.
Have you ever heard of people going on strike out of sympathy? In what country, place, day and age. Where, but here? I cannot for the life of me understand what the concept means. Surely a strike that has no purpose or does not raise any real grievance is an illegal one? Surely the mineworkers can't go on strike because the metalworkers, public servants and such are? Since when is it acceptable for non-related industries to support each other in mass action? Since the 60's I suppose, and that's the thing. There has been zero evolution in modus operandi from the unions. Nothing.
The same daft, mindless, idiotic tactics - every damn year. I feel like we are trapped in a constant cycle of brain-bending monotony. Are we just supposed to sit back and accept common practice? "Common" is, at least, the right choice of word. Why don't we all the go on strike out of sympathy for some cause? I can think of a few noble causes that deserve my immediate release on "paid leave".
Jake White, for example. I have the utmost sympathy for a man who is employed by the biggest bunch of simpletons this side of COSATU. Between government, SARFU executives and the periodical yapping of the lapdog that is the ANCYL, it's a wonder we still win any matches and are competitive at all. Says a lot about the talent available to us. I have always wondered and maybe someone can tell me one day: "What is behind government's fascination with rugby?" What is the agenda Mr. Stofile (Minister of Sport) and Co? Why is it so important to you to "transform" a game that requires certain physical attributes and influence for a player to be successful at international level?
It's the only sport that has to deal with your juvenile tantrums on a daily basis and it also happens to be only sport where we are truly world class so please, someone, explain it to me - because I am more confused than those exercising their democratic right not to strike - and then getting beaten senseless for their efforts.
But wait happy campers, there's more.
In the most serious case in desperate need of my time and sympathy, SAB reports that there's going to be shortage of beer due to lack of available glass. The shortage, they say, is "due to an unusually high demand for their products".
That's just piss-poor planning as far as I'm concerned, considering the advent of the Tri-nations, countrywide mass action and the (daily) monumental acts of stupidity the average South African is asked to swallow. No wonder we are a nation of half-hammered-hopefuls, drowning in the "democracy" forced on us by the custodians of our national assets.
Blighme, I call on all South Africans to down tools, shut down PC's, park their cars, stop their watches and do absolutely f'all for the rest of the week. Out of sympathy for the situation we find ourselves in every day I say: "Today, comrades, we strike!"
We strike because our constitution affords us the right to do so. Because it seems that is the only way you ever get anything done in this country and because soapboxes, no matter how high you stack them, just don't seem to work anymore.
Now could someone please hand me a *&%$@$% ladder so that I can get off this godforsaken structure. I have a whole day of nothingness to look forward to."
Today, again, I cannot help but feel overwhelmed by the limitless idiocy of just about everyone in some seat of power in this rainbow nation of ours. "Where to start?" is one question. "Where to find a soapbox high and strong enough?" - the other.
Have you ever heard of people going on strike out of sympathy? In what country, place, day and age. Where, but here? I cannot for the life of me understand what the concept means. Surely a strike that has no purpose or does not raise any real grievance is an illegal one? Surely the mineworkers can't go on strike because the metalworkers, public servants and such are? Since when is it acceptable for non-related industries to support each other in mass action? Since the 60's I suppose, and that's the thing. There has been zero evolution in modus operandi from the unions. Nothing.
The same daft, mindless, idiotic tactics - every damn year. I feel like we are trapped in a constant cycle of brain-bending monotony. Are we just supposed to sit back and accept common practice? "Common" is, at least, the right choice of word. Why don't we all the go on strike out of sympathy for some cause? I can think of a few noble causes that deserve my immediate release on "paid leave".
Jake White, for example. I have the utmost sympathy for a man who is employed by the biggest bunch of simpletons this side of COSATU. Between government, SARFU executives and the periodical yapping of the lapdog that is the ANCYL, it's a wonder we still win any matches and are competitive at all. Says a lot about the talent available to us. I have always wondered and maybe someone can tell me one day: "What is behind government's fascination with rugby?" What is the agenda Mr. Stofile (Minister of Sport) and Co? Why is it so important to you to "transform" a game that requires certain physical attributes and influence for a player to be successful at international level?
It's the only sport that has to deal with your juvenile tantrums on a daily basis and it also happens to be only sport where we are truly world class so please, someone, explain it to me - because I am more confused than those exercising their democratic right not to strike - and then getting beaten senseless for their efforts.
But wait happy campers, there's more.
In the most serious case in desperate need of my time and sympathy, SAB reports that there's going to be shortage of beer due to lack of available glass. The shortage, they say, is "due to an unusually high demand for their products".
That's just piss-poor planning as far as I'm concerned, considering the advent of the Tri-nations, countrywide mass action and the (daily) monumental acts of stupidity the average South African is asked to swallow. No wonder we are a nation of half-hammered-hopefuls, drowning in the "democracy" forced on us by the custodians of our national assets.
Blighme, I call on all South Africans to down tools, shut down PC's, park their cars, stop their watches and do absolutely f'all for the rest of the week. Out of sympathy for the situation we find ourselves in every day I say: "Today, comrades, we strike!"
We strike because our constitution affords us the right to do so. Because it seems that is the only way you ever get anything done in this country and because soapboxes, no matter how high you stack them, just don't seem to work anymore.
Now could someone please hand me a *&%$@$% ladder so that I can get off this godforsaken structure. I have a whole day of nothingness to look forward to."
So there you see the other side: non-striking (and some that are forced to strike!) South Africans are totally fed up with the situation. It's causing more tension by the day and we could definitely live without it!
4 comments:
If you're not working because of the strike, does that mean that your salaries are getting stopped during that time? (If so, makes it really hard to cope when they were low to start with.)
Yup, no work, no pay. My union, SAOU required us to strike only on 1 June, and then we had to stay away from school. Since then we were at school every day, even though there were daily pickets and marches around our school. It is right next to the office building of Ms. Fraser-Moleketi, our minister of Administration.
All the marches that were held in Pretoria started across the street from our school and ended there as well. Often we cound't go home on time because of the masses of people in the street. Some days it took me up to an hour to get through the traffic caused by these marches where I usually get home within 20 minutes of time.
Last week Thursday some of my colleagues were threatened by a group of men with sjamboks when they tried to enter the school premises. There also was a strike related shooting incident one morning. We're relatively safe, but anything can happen anytime.
Another thing... we're still worried that the government are going to deduct more than one day's pay from us. 5 years ago when a similar strike occurred, 2 days pay were deducted from ALL teachers, striking or not, and it was up to them to convince the government that they were at school. Most of those teachers never got their money back. Right now it's a wait and see thing.
Sounds as if it's getting scary for you coming to school! And even when you do show up, practically no kids are there. Frustrating - that's a lot of school time for kids to miss.
BTW I've decided to rest my blog, so there's no link to it any more. I just couldn't think of anything to post. So I'll just be a visitor to blogs for now.
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