In the last couple of months we have seen a wave of strikes hit South Africa like its going out of fashion. It began with the mine workers at Marikana, which saw 45 people die and a substantial number got injured. Then there was the truck drivers strike where one person died but there was a number of injuries and destruction of property. Gauteng prosecutors have threatened to go on strike if the National Prosecuting Authority fails to give them the seven percent wage increase promised in August; who's next? In addition to the Marikana strikers, there has been a wave of wildcat strikes across the South African mining sector.
Clearly going on strike is trendy, fashionable and it's in season. Who is up for the taking; the government? I mean apart from the President himself who got a 5.5% pay rise and is quite happy with his salary, everybody else wants to take to the street, right? So this is how to get the increase:
· Vandalize property, the more the destruction the better your chances for getting the increase.
· Ask for a slightly higher increase so that when the settlement comes, you get exactly what you wanted
· Make sure the strike drags on for weeks on end
· Sing and chant war songs so that you get sympathy from other company and they would assist in the strike
Yes all this can be done by anyone who wants a salary increase and they can be guaranteed an increase, at the expense of the economy. The rand fell to a 3-1/2 year low on Monday amid concerns about the impact to growth of mining and trucker strikes and shed nearly one percent against the dollar. Does anyone see what happening? Does anyone care? Are they that selfish that they don't see the impact that these strikes have to the economy in the next five (5) years?
Since it doesn't matter what happens to South Africa for the future generation; lets cause as much damage as we can now and tomorrow will take care of itself.
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