South Africa Strike Action - June 2007

by David Ryan

Reading the US Department of State’s warning to American citizens on the current strike action in South Africa, I thought I would provide an on-the-ground perspective of the situation. The public sector strike which began at the beginning of June, as a result of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) wage demand for a 12 % increase not being met by government, has resulted in large disruptions to government hospitals, schools and transport.

Not one to get involved in a political debate, as a graduate of economics it is important to note that as South Africa’s democracy strengthens, the current strike action and standoff between government and its workforce is somewhat inevitable. As South Africa tries to cement its status as the continent's economic powerhouse ahead of the 2010 World Cup, economic stability and achieving the countries inflationary target of between 5 and 7 % is critical. With government’s single largest expense being the public sector wage bill, it is essential that annual increases fall within the inflationary targets if we are realistically able to achieve our economic / inflationary objectives.

It is an age old game– unions make a demand, government says no, strike action occurs, government puts talks on hold. The longer the strike, the longer the masses suffer from the “no work no pay policy” and ultimately a compromise is reached. At the moment we in the ‘talks are on hold” phase, but as is customary in these matters, it will no doubt resolve itself sooner rather than later.

Our offices are situated about 400m from parliament, and hence we have been right in the middle of the well planned mass action and demonstrations - all of which have been peaceful in nature, despite the risk that mass action has the tendency to sometimes get out of hand.

Where does this leave our foreign guests? As a visitor to South Africa, most people would be none the wiser that there is a public sector strike underway. The reason for this is that all the services and facilities we use and endorse in our Itineraries form part of the private sector, and hence the public sector strike has had little to no effect on the operation of these establishments.

We along with our suppliers are aware of any planned mass action, which has been relatively infrequent and not particularly well supported to date, despite Union claims, and as a result our services are scheduled seamlessly around any protests.

It is important to note that Strike action is not endemic to South Africa - it is something that occurs the world over and in many respects is an essential ingredient to the development and sustainability of a democracy.

While there is no doubt that the current strike damages the reputation of South Africa, there is no additional threat to health or security. All mass action to date has been well planned, policed and undertaken in a peaceful, albeit sometimes rowdy manner.

If you have any specific concerns, please do not hesitate in talking to either myself or your Travel Expert.

2007/06/14 | permalink |

Name:
E-mail:
Url:
Comments:
Remember personal info?
SPAMCHECK:

South Africa Strike Action - June 2007

by David Ryan

Comments

Post a Comment

Subscribe

Categories

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Authors

Links