South Africa’s rulers have blood on their hands
Written by Shawn Hattingh Tuesday, 16 April 2013 10:37
Many people in South Africa were shocked by the death of at least 13 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops when rebels overran their base in the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR). Amongst the public and within the media questions soon started arising around the possible reasons why troops were in CAR to begin with. When it emerged that troops were possibly partly deployed to protect businesses in CAR linked to top African National Congress (ANC) officials, there was widespread outrage. The fact that South African troops were involved in protecting the political and economic interests of wealthy people linked to the South African state in CAR, and other African countries, should perhaps, however, not come as a surprise. Throughout its history, whether during apartheid or post apartheid, the South African state – which is controlled by the ruling class and headed up by members of this class - has been most willing to deploy troops in parts of Africa to protect the political, economic and strategic interests of the South African ruling class.
Reaping what you sow: reflections on the Western Cape farm workers strike
Written by Shawn Hattingh Thursday, 11 April 2013 11:02
The series of strikes and protests that recently took place in and around farms in South Africa’s Western Cape Province was fuelled by the deep-seated anger and frustration that workers feel. On a daily basis, farm workers face not only appalling wages, bad living conditions and precarious work, but also widespread racism, intimidation and humiliation. The extent of the oppressive conditions run deep and it is not uncommon for workers to even be beaten by farm-owners and managers for perceived ‘transgressions’. Indeed, life for workers in the rural areas has always been harsh, but over the last two decades it has in many ways gotten even worse and poverty has in many cases grown.
ILRIG April Conference 2013
New Forms of Organising: Challenges and Possibilities for movements after Marikana
26 and 27 April 2013
The April Conference is an annual gathering of about 100 activists and a space for activists and analysts in South Africa to debate contemporary challenges facing the trade unions and social movements in South Africa, and elsewhere.
In April 2013 ILRIG will be hosting a special conference of the new strike committees and other self-organised initiatives which have emerged after 2012’s Marikana massacre together with activists who have been involved in the ongoing community protests of the last 10 years.
Worker organising during the farm worker strike
Written by Ronald Wesso Tuesday, 12 March 2013 12:25
The workers who initiated the strike and the vast majority of those that joined them did not belong to a trade union, but it does not mean, as some have suggested, that they were not organised. In order for us to understand the question of worker organising during the farm worker strikes, we have to focus on the substance of organisation, on what it is and what it does in principle, even if it does not conform to the prevailing norms that characterise organisations in general. In other words, the fact that worker organising were not taking place in a framework of offices, monthly subscriptions, professional organisers and a denoted hierarchical distinction between leaders and followers, does not negate the fact that there were agreements between people to work together in more or less clearly defined ways towards common aims.
AngloPlat: The Economic Propaganda War and the Battle for Democracy
Written by Leonard Gentle Tuesday, 12 March 2013 12:11
This article was first published online here: http://sacsis.org.za/site/article/1544
How soon we forget…When the striking workers were killed by the police at Marikana there was a universal sense of shock and horror. How could it have come to this? Just 18 years after apartheid and here we go again - the police mowing down demonstrators. Now AngloPlat has announced that it will retrench 14 000 workers and the mood amongst the commentariat is, "Well, what did they expect?"
Angloplat’s announcement seems to confirm our most dismal perceptions that the markets will ultimately have their way and we must all behave accordingly. But beyond this myth, a much larger battle for public opinion is being waged over the post-Marikana strike wave. Either we see this as a movement that inspires us to expand the notion of democracy and citizenship or we join the ANC-alliance and big business in their chortling at striking workers receiving their comeuppance.
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