Massive Strike Takes Place in South Africa

A massive number of South African workers, many of them government employees, are taking part in a strike which has brought many government services to a standstill. There appears to be little chance that the strike will soon come to an end, unless the union demands are met.

According to a Thomson Financial report carried by Forbes on Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of workers have joined the strike, bringing public transportation, courts, and trash collection to a halt.

The report also indicated that most of South Africa's public schools have been shut down since the beginning of the month, and many hospital workers have gone on strike as well. It indicated that South African President Thabo Mbeki gave a speech at the parliament, saying that the dispute with workers demanding a pay raise could be resolved at an early date, and calling for an end to violence and intimidation being applied to non-striking workers.

Meanwhile, the secretary general of a teachers' union said that the government is "dreaming" if it thinks the strike will end soon, and stated that no serious measures were taken to meet the unionists' demands.

A Reuters news story, also issued on Wednesday, indicated that the downtown area of Johannesburg was brought to a "standstill" as unionists denounced the South African government. It stated that unionists marched in the streets of Cape Town and other major cities as well. Taxis and buses ceased operating in the city of Durban, and piles of garbage sat uncollected in some cities.

The government has fired some nurses who have gone on strike, with one union responding by demanding that this be reversed. The news story pointed out that analysts are suggesting that the ruling party might be considering more leftist economic policies, because free market economics have failed to solve "economic disparities" which originated during the apartheid regime. Additionally, it stated that the unions are continuing to demand a ten percent pay raise for government employees, and indicated that the spokesman for a police and prison union had threatened to disrupt police and prison services if the demand is not met.

According to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia, South Africa has the largest economy in Africa, but incomes are more inequal there than in most other countries of the world. It indicates that most people in the white minority still have more wealth than the rest of the people, and there is a high unemployment rate among the poor.

Sources:

1. Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2007/06/13/afx3816504.html

2. Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1310830120070613

3. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa