Inequality remains the
biggest driver of labour unrest
in South Africa, political
commentator, author and
radio personality Eusebius
McKaiser said recently at the
RFA conference.
Urging the road freight
sector to become more
involved in the social
conversation around workers’
income and equality he said it
was this that was at the “heart
of labour discontentment” in
the country.
“If one looks at Marikana
it is very clear that it was not
just another simple labour
issue with workers protesting
for a higher income, but
rather a much broader set of
factors at play,” he said. “The
backdrop to the discontent
was not just wage inequality
but income inequality that
ultimately became the key
driver of the violence that we
saw. That does not mean it
was justified. It is illegal and
immoral, but it is too easy a
solution to just condemn what
the disgruntled workers did.”
He said the income
inequality at play was the
reason why strikes in the
country saw much more
violent behaviour than many
countries poorer than South
Africa.
The road freight sector
has for the past decade been
plagued by particularly long
and drawn-out strikes during
wage negotiations, with
the outbreak of violence a
common occurrence.
“The use of violence in
South Africa is part of the
grammar of being South
African and is as much a
part of our psyche as loving
koeksisters and rugby.
He said until South African
employers – and the country
at large for that matter –
found ways of addressing the
inequality that exists, strikes
would continue to be violent
and negotiations volatile as
they are not just about rands
and cents.
CAPTION
‘Strikes not just about rands
and cents.’
