Cape Town - "We did not go on a rampage - those were skollies who did it. They are blaming the wrong people," says a security guard who took part in a march to parliament that turned violent.
The march to hand in a memorandum turned into a frenzy of vandalism with people running through the streets, breaking windows, damaging cars and robbing shops.
Shopkeepers who were affected by the vandalism said security guards had a right to strike, but not in a way that was damaging their own cause and other people's property.
Shop owners in Plein Street said they were battling to keep their businesses afloat and some of them were ready to quit.
Bill Herbert, 82, of Dante Restaurant and Coffee Shop, confirmed that about R20 000 damage had been done to his shop.
Large window panes and the glass of a cool-drink fridge were shattered.
His six employees fled to the kitchen with some of the goods and locked themselves in.
'Acting like skollies'
"The government must step in. Ordinary people cannot take up arms," he said.
"It's understandable that security gaurds want more money, but animals act more civilly.
"They are supposed to protect the people, but they act like skollies. Would you like them to protect your property?"
Ebrahim Laher complained that police ran away instead of protecting his property after strikers had damaged his mother-in-law's car in Plein Street.
Sharon Nash of Connex Travel Agency said they had locked their gates just in time.
Strikers armed with sticks, sjamboks and bricks tried to kick in the windows.
A doctor's consulting rooms also were damaged, and staff at a new coffee shop in Spin Street described the vandalism as "frightening".
Amanda Lan of Primal Needs said she was ready to quit after only six months.
Her shop displayed the clothes and jewellery of six designers, including those from township projects.
Strikers broke the shop windows, causing about R10 000 damage and ran away with jewellery.
Filipe de Abreu, 45, of Crispies Fish and Chips, was sweeping away broken glass after the march and estimated the damage to his shop as about R3 000.
The windows of a new Peugeot 407, which was parked in front of the shop, were shattered and the side mirrors broken off.
"So far, I have been supporting them, but not any more.
"They might have a reason to strike, but I won't appoint one of them as a security guard.
Siyazisola Jamani, one of the security guards, said: "They treat us as if we are animals. We don't want to fight.
"Tsotsis are doing these things. We are not undisciplined, they are taking a chance by blaming us."
'We can't feed our families'
"I earn R1 100 a month and work 25 days a month, 12 hours a day, rain or shine."
Sibuyisele Nongqotho, another guard, said: "I'm hurt that people think we are doing these things."
Puleng Willem said: "The skollies are doing this. We received our last salary in March. We can't feed our families.
"But, it is better to die today so that things will be better tomorrow.
"The leaders are unfair. They don't want to help us, although we are all citizens."
Johannesburg - Thousands of workers heeded a call by the Congress of SA Trade Unions to down tools on Thursday in protest against South Africa's high levels of unemployment and poverty.
Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven said the strike was still gathering momentum by 11:00 on Thursday, with marches planned across the country.
The mining and car manufacturing industries appeared to be hardest hit.
Chamber of Mines spokesperson Elize Strydom said at some mines there was as much as 100% absence.
While AngloGold Ashanti had full attendance at their West Wits mine, three of their Vaal River mines experienced 100% absence. Great Noligwa mine near the Vaal River had a normal attendance, said Strydom.
She said Gold Fields' Driefontein mine was operating as normal, with the usual number of employees, while two thirds of the workforce stayed away from the Kloof mine. There was a similar situation at the Beatrix mine in the Free State where only one out of four shafts were operational.
Carmakers, Iscor targeted
Anglo Coal was experiencing a "mixed bag" with an average of about 50% absence at their mines.
Harmony Gold spokesperson Philip Kotze said most workers were staying away from its Free State operations. Most workers were on strike at Harmony's "big operators" - the Sepong, Bambanani and Masimong mines in the Free State. However in the Evander and Klerksdorp regions, most people had reported for work.
The National Union of Metalworkers of SA said many of its members had joined the strike.
"Metalworkers in their numbers today joined industrial protests in the Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Richards Bay, East London, George, Port Elizabeth, North West region, Limpopo, Kimberley and Bloemfontein," said Numsa general secretary Silumko Nondwangu.
The union is targeting Mittal (formerly known as Iscor), Denel, DaimlerChrysler, BMW, and Ford.
Eskom, airports not affected
Major hospitals said they were not affected by the strike as they fell under essential services.
Electricity utility Eskom, which also falls under essential services, was not affected by the strike, said spokesperson Fani Zulu.
Airports were also not affected by the protest.
Airports Company SA spokesperson Solomon Makgale said there had been no reports of disruptions in schedules as a result of the strike.
"Nothing has been reported that I am aware of," he said.
Metrorail spokesperson Thandi Mlangeni said commuter trains in Gauteng were running as normal.
She said the only problems being experienced by Metrorail were in the Western Cape where train services had been suspended in Khayelitsha.
No Telkom disruptions
The services were suspended on Wednesday after the Heideveld ticket office and a train coach were set alight.
In the capital Pretoria businesses, transport services, the municipality and communication giant Telkom said there were no apparent disruptions in services.
Meanwhile hundreds of commuters in Phuthaditjhaba in the eastern Free State were stranded on Thursday due to a total stayaway by bus drivers of the Maluti Bus Service.
In Bloemfontein most buses from Interstate Bus Lines, the biggest bus transport service in the area, were operating.
Company spokesperson George Mokgothu said five bus drivers of the more than 200 did not arrive at work on Thursday.
"The five drivers who did not report to work are union leaders," Mokgothu said.
There was a strong police presence in central Cape Town where city authorities denied Cosatu permission to go ahead with a march through the CBD.
Cape on alert
Mayoral spokesperson Robert Macdonald said strikers would not be allowed to hold an indoor rally at the Good Hope Centre either, as police felt the security risk was too great.
"We have maximum deployment in [central] Cape Town," said Western Cape police spokesman Captain Randall Stoffels.
The city withdrew permission for the Cosatu march after Tuesday's violent rampage through the city centre by striking security guards, who assaulted people, damaged property and looted shops.
Cosatu is calling on the government and employers to treat unemployment and poverty as a national emergency.
"We want to see far more of the country's growing wealth being ploughed into job creation projects, training programmes and the provision of basic services.
"We (are) demanding more protection for industries like clothing and textiles which face obliteration in the face of unfair competition from China," the union federation said in a statement.
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DAAR'S NET EEN PAD OM TE LOOP,EN DIS DIE BOERVOLK SE PAD,SAAM MET DIE SKEPPER
Johannesburg - Mineworkers heeded Cosatu's call for a national strike on Thursday in significant numbers, the Chamber of Mines said.
Spokesperson Elize Strydom said there was as much as 100% absence at some mines.
While AngloGold Ashanti had full attendance at their West Wits mine, three of their Vaal River mines experienced 100% absence. Great Noligwa mine near the Vaal River had a normal attendance, said Strydom.
She said Gold Fields' Driefontein mine was operating as normal, with the usual number of employees, while only two of their Kloof mine's five shafts were fully operational.
This meant at least two thirds of the workforce stayed away from the Kloof mine. There was a similar situation at the Beatrix mine in the Free State where only one out of four shafts were operational.
Financial implications
Anglo Coal was experiencing a "mixed bag" with an average of about 50% absence at their mines.
Strydom - on her way to collect a memorandum from the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in Rustenburg - said it was too early to speculate on the financial implications of the strike.
Harmony Gold spokesperson Philip Kotze said most workers were staying away from its Free State operations.
Most workers were on strike at Harmony's "big operators" - the Sepong, Bambanani and Masimong mines in the Free State.
However in the Evander and Klerksdorp regions, most people had reported for work.
Huge job cuts
Management expected between 50% and 60% of their workforce to support the strike.
On Wednesday, the NUM called on its 300 000 members to take to the streets to show solidarity with other workers and "demonstrate their disgust at insensitive and heartless capital".
NUM general secretary Gwede Mantashe said on Wednesday the mining industry had laid off between 40 000 and 50 000 workers over the last two to three years, under the pretext of a strong currency and a weak dollar price of gold.
Cosatu is making several demands including the creation of decent, well-paid and secure jobs on a massive scale.
It wants employers to stop casualising and outsourcing jobs, and retailers to develop local production instead of looking to imports.
'We want jobs'
Meanwhile, thousands of workers gathered at the Beyers Naude Square in Johannesburg on Thursday, chanting slogans and singing struggle songs. Some carried posters that read: "We want jobs".
They intend marching to the Anderson Street offices of the clothing bargaining council at 11:00.
Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is expected to address them there.
There was a heavy police presence at the scene.
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DAAR'S NET EEN PAD OM TE LOOP,EN DIS DIE BOERVOLK SE PAD,SAAM MET DIE SKEPPER
Johannesburg - Business Unity South Africa is concerned about the effect of Thursday's national protest action on economic growth and job creation, Busa said.
"While we recognise and respect the rights of employees to strike, we believe that our economy, which is now beginning to grow, requires all of us to work towards ensuring that we avert any action that may have a negative impact on our objectives of creating jobs and halving unemployment by 2014," said Busa chief executive Jerry Vilakazi.
The strike is part of the campaign by the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) to highlight the continuing loss of jobs and mass poverty.
Busa said in a media statement it was more appropriate to maintain dialogue to resolve the issues giving rise to the protest action.
"Cosatu's protest action will have a negative impact on the economy and job creation. It is a pity that Cosatu is proceeding with its national stayaway instead of using all possible avenues, such as Nedlac, to try to resolve the underlying issues," said Vilakazi.
Nedlac is the National Economic Development and Labour Council.
Several trade unions have come out in support of the national strike.
The SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu), the National Union of Metal Workers of SA (Numsa) and the SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) on Monday called on their members to join the one-day strike.
On Tuesday the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) also called on its members to join the strike.
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DAAR'S NET EEN PAD OM TE LOOP,EN DIS DIE BOERVOLK SE PAD,SAAM MET DIE SKEPPER
Buses torched in Cape Town 18/05/2006 09:07 - (SA)
Cape Town - Two buses were set on fire by a mob and about eight others damaged by stone-throwing in Cape Town's Khayelitsha before dawn on Thursday as Cosatu's national strike got under way.
Golden Arrow Bus Services spokesman Vuyisile Mdoda said the incidents were reported to the company at 06:00.
He said the motive for the attacks wasn't clear "but we gather those who were responsible were wearing Cosatu T-shirts.... it surely has a connection to what we see happening in Cape Town".
He said windows in the stoned buses were shattered.
Though there had been passengers in the vehicles, there were no reports of injuries.
Mdoda said it was too early to say whether passenger volumes had been affected by the strike.
"We'll only be able tell this afternoon when we assess the situation," he said.
Metrorail Western Cape spokesperson Riana Scott said services on three lines - Kapteinsklip, Khayelitsha and Bishop Lavis - remained suspended on Thursday.
A carriage on a train carrying passengers was set alight at Philippi station on Wednesday morning, and arsonists also attacked the Heideveld station ticket office.
She said Metrorail was monitoring the situation, and would restore services as soon as it appeared prudent to do so.
She said train services hadn't been disrupted by Thursday's strike action.
"Predominantly our drivers belong to other unions, not Cosatu affiliates, so our staff position is quite good," she said.
Hoekom klink die soos die dae van apartheid
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DAAR'S NET EEN PAD OM TE LOOP,EN DIS DIE BOERVOLK SE PAD,SAAM MET DIE SKEPPER
Johannesburg - A nationwide strike on Thursday could have cost the economy over two billion rand and defeated the aims of striking unions, business and economists said.
The strike would have had a negative impact on job creation and poverty alleviation, said chief operations officer at the Business Unity of SA (Busa) Vic van Vuuren.
These issues brought thousands of workers to the streets around the country for a one-day-strike, organised by the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu).
Van Vuuren said the size of the stay-away should not be underestimated.
Mining industry hit
"There hasn't been a national massive stay-away, but there have been large numbers in certain industries, in particular the mining industry," he said.
Chamber of Mines spokesperson Elize Strydom said there had been as much as 100% absence at some mines.
Van Vuuren said: "If one talks about that sector [mining] you are talking about over a billion rand lost to the country, including the workers and companies themselves. That is lost in production time, wages, revenue."
He said nobody could win in this situation, as the strike was, inter alia, about the strength of the rand.
"Neither government or business is in the position to suddenly influence this."
Cost the economy
Van Vuuren expressed Busa's disappointment about strikes of this nature which cost the economy large amounts of money.
In the retail sector, Woolworths had lost less than one percent in productivity.
Woolworths chief executive Simon Susman said it was supporting the local industry and helping to create a powerful economy for South Africa.
According to Van Vuuren the strike would have a negative impact on job creation.
"Those who can't afford the losses [financial] will have to lay off workers...Workers will lose money and that doesn't make anything better in terms of poverty alleviation," he said.
Economist Richard Downing said could not see how the strike would alleviate poverty and unemployment.
Officially South Africa had an unemployment rate of about 26%. The unofficial figure was closer to 42%.
Employable people
"The only way to solve the problem is to have employable people. When the economy is progressing very fast you need training and education," he said.
Woolworth's Susman concurred: "We firmly believe that the key to beating unemployment is growing successful, sustainable South African businesses, providing ongoing education and training and challenging local business to improve technology and productivity to compete with the best in the world".
Downing added that the cost of labour should also be looked at, as South Africa could not compete with countries such as China which were "very productive in terms of labour".
He said unions made constant wage claims which were above the inflation rate, making it difficult for businesses to keep up.
"If the cost per employee is too high then less people will be employed."
Estimated R1.7bn lost
He estimated that about R1.7bn had been lost on Thursday in the production of goods and services. He said this loss of capacity would lead to job losses.
Downing said government had tried to help these issues by implementing economic policies such as the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa.
Cosatu is calling on the government and employers to treat unemployment and poverty as a national emergency.
"We want to see far more of the country's growing wealth being ploughed into job creation projects, training programmes and the provision of basic services," the union federation said in a statement.
"We (are) demanding more protection for industries like clothing and textiles which face obliteration in the face of unfair competition from China."
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DAAR'S NET EEN PAD OM TE LOOP,EN DIS DIE BOERVOLK SE PAD,SAAM MET DIE SKEPPER
Johannesbubrg - The SA National Editors Forum (Sanef) on Friday condemned an attack on a journalist during a march by security guards earlier in the week.
Sapa reporter Wendell Roelf was assaulted during a chaotic march near Parliament on Tuesday.
Roelf was sjambokked and sustained several injuries.
He is back at work.
"While his attackers were stopped by trade union members, Sanef notes that this is the second attack on journalists covering union marches this year. During the municipal workers strike, journalist Ben Maclennan, also of Sapa, was hurt," Sanef chairman Joe Thloloe said.
"Journalists are committed to covering labour as a sector but their safety must be guaranteed in the course of industrial action. In both instances, the journalists were attacked because they were clearly reporting. This suggests they were targeted.
"Sanef will seek a meeting with the leadership of the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union to discuss the incident and future practice," Thloloe said.
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DAAR'S NET EEN PAD OM TE LOOP,EN DIS DIE BOERVOLK SE PAD,SAAM MET DIE SKEPPER
Zille warned of attack plot 19/05/2006 21:09 - (SA)
Theuns van der Westhuizen and Ziegfried Ekron, Die Burger
Cape Town - A visit to friends and voters in Khayelitsha by mayor Helen Zille on Friday night had to be cancelled following threats that striking security guards were planning to attack her.
Her personal protection has since also been boosted.
A clearly upset Zille said on Friday night that she had wanted to visit a restaurant in Khayelitsha to discuss matters with friends and voters.
Late on Thursday evening a senior member of the police, who didn't want to be named, warned her not to go as confirmed intelligence existed that striking members of Satawa were planning to ambush and attack her.
"This is happening now, after I have been in and out of Khayelitsha every week during the past 30 years. Now that I am mayor and able to do something for the people, I am not allowed to go there.
A 'tragedy' in the face of the constitution
"It is tragic that there are people who deny others their constitutional rights during this tenth year of the existence of our Constitution," said Zille.
Zille was attacked in Crossroads last month by people who got out of hand at a meeting and threw chairs at the stage. Zille suffered a blow to the head as she was leaving the hall.
Zille apparently heeded the latest warning as it came from Western Cape police commissioner Commissioner Mzwandile Petros. He was apparently informed by the national intelligence agency (NIA).
Police spokesperson Superintendent Billy Jones said police were not able to comment on who had warned Zille or where the information had originated. "We can neither confirm, nor deny the rumours," Jones said.
Lorna Daniels, spokesperson for the NIA, also didn't want to comment, but said if the NIA had received such information, it was their duty to share it with the police.
Condemned by ID
Independent Democrats member on the city council, Simon Grindrod, strongly condemned the situation, saying the police should investigate the matter and act against the alleged perpetrators.
"I condemn any threat against the mayor. There is no justification for physical intimidation or even threats of physical violence against a chosen representative, despite political differences.
"The intelligence service must find out from police who had made the threat and ensure that the perpetrators are prosecuted. We cannot allow a situation where our mayor is being threatened and eventually has to cancel planned visits," he said.
Ja wel!!! meng jou met die semels...dan vreet die varke jou op.
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DAAR'S NET EEN PAD OM TE LOOP,EN DIS DIE BOERVOLK SE PAD,SAAM MET DIE SKEPPER
Strike chaos: Third Force claim 21/05/2006 09:23 - (SA)
Irene Louw
Johannesburg - Satawu has justified the violence by its striking members, saying the violence "came with the terrirory."
Satawu general secretary Randall Howard said that although the union did not condone violence, the kind of action from security workers also came with the territory.
Howard said the environment within which security workers found themselves had in some cases made them vent their frustrations violently.
He said violence did not justify anything "but we must recognise that workers who work in a criminal environment, when they do go out on strike, that their frustrations will find expression in the manner we have seen".
Anger also arose from a long struggle over the most basic of rights for workers in the security industry. The industry is well known for its paltry salaries, long hours and unfair labour practices.
More than 20 people were reported killed in several incidents associated with the strike by Satawu members.
Negotiations between representatives of striking security workers and their bosses deadlocked again on Friday. Employers called on the labour minister to intervene.
Employers refused to continue with negotiations if the union did not call off the strike.
The Combined Security Sector Employers' Organisations called on the minister to intervene "and start as a matter of urgency, an employment conditions commission investigation to legislate through a sectoral determination increase for security officers".
Cosatu's response to this "intransigence" was to make good its earlier threat to call on all its affiliates "to embark on an immediate campaign of rolling mass action in solidarity with the strikers".
"Cosatu strongly condemns the employers in the security industry for their stubborn refusal to resume negotiations on the current wage dispute with the security guards. The whole nation is crying out for this bitter long-drawn-out dispute to be resolved and will be disgusted at the employers' intransigence," Cosatu said in a statement.
Labour department spokesperson Mokgadi Pela said the minister, however, did not have the power to do so.
"In terms of the Labour Relations Act (LRA), the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration commissioner has to conciliate in matters of national interest," Pela said.
He said direct intervention by the minister would set a "dangerous precedent" for other disputes.
Marred by violence and intimidation not seen for more than a decade, the two-month security strike was widely criticised following the rampage workers embarked on in Cape Town last week.
The latest critical voice has been that of President Thabo Mbeki who strongly condemned the violence and called for peaceful engagement between the warring parties.
Though everyone agreed that the sector was a highly exploitative one, there was consensus that violence was not the route to eradicate the problem.
Analysts joined the president in his sentiment and started to question the wisdom of the strike that has left scores injured and 20 people dead.
Call for probe
Industrial Development Corporation economist Lumikile Mondi said the "ugly" turn of the strike was very disappointing because it meant that the union was playing into the hands of the employer.
If employers and workers did not find an amicable solution soon, the body count could rise.
Cosatu has deplored the violence but this week also pointed fingers at a possible external force at work in the Cape Town clash.
Cosatu Western Cape general secretary Tony Ehrenreich blamed agents provocateurs and said the federation would call for an investigation into the looting and police brutality in the city centre last week.
He said he personally witnessed police turning a blind eye to vandalism and looting.
What is fundamental is that workers feel extremely unappreciated. The point is there has got to be a recognition by both employers and government that we have got to radically improve conditions of workers ," said Howard.
Last week's security strike in Cape Town's central business district saw the arrest of senior union officials, including Ehrenreich.
Howard blamed police, saying they had acted in a "high-handed and provocative" manner which prompted members into action.
The violence led to the city council and the provincial government banning Cosatu's march against job losses and poverty which was to be staged the next day.
The city also plans on claiming damages from Satawu.
The union will continue to press for its 11 percent wage increase and four month fully-paid maternity leave demand but employers refuse to continue negotiations while the strike persists.
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DAAR'S NET EEN PAD OM TE LOOP,EN DIS DIE BOERVOLK SE PAD,SAAM MET DIE SKEPPER
Johannesburg - The Congress of SA Trade Unions-led strike on Thursday was a powerful statement by workers, the SA Communist Party said on Sunday.
Briefing the media on the outcome of a SACP central committee meeting over the weekend, party secretary general Blade Nzimande said the strike to highlight the plight of the working class and poor was very well supported.
Nzimande said: "Workers will not stand passively by while the rich become richer and workers remain stranded, as if they were second class citizens, in another world of poverty and underdevelopment.
"While there has been sustained economic growth for over a decade, while prices for many of our primary commodity exports are soaring on global markets, and while the bosses have been reaping unprecedented profits - millions of workers are barely experiencing any benefits, if at all, from this post-apartheid dividend.
"The wage gap has widened, and the share of GDP accruing to capital has been increasing while that to workers has diminished.
"Township and rural village communities, particularly women in these communities, bear the brunt of an inadequate response to the HIV/Aids pandemic.
"While domestic car sales have soared, it is workers and the poor who find themselves in the cross-fire of taxi wars, or stranded on stations by an under-capitalised and unreliable Metrorail system, or bundled into over-crowded and unsafe buses and minibuses," Nzimande complained.
His deputy, Jeremy Cronin, added that the rich were benefiting disproportionately and disgracefully.
"This is what the general strike said. Millions of people are in distress."
For this reason, the central committee welcomed the government-led joint initiative on priority skills acquisition (Jipsa), a project undertaken in the broader context of the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative of SA (Asgisa).
"We welcomed the JIPSA initiative, which seeks to correct, not just the skills imbalance left from the apartheid era, but also the devastating impact in the recent past of austerity policies that have grossly neglected training and professional morale in key public sector professions like teaching and nursing.
"The skills development responsibilities of our parastatals have also been neglected in the erstwhile enthusiasm for right-sizing and privatisation.
"In the past, these parastatals trained tens of thousands of artisans every year. Today the average age of artisans in South Africa is 54.
"In engaging with the main Jipsa proposals, the (central committee) called for greater emphasis on the development of skills to sustain effective land agrarian reform and cooperative programmes," Nzimande said.
Huh......Tot wanneer......net die volgende keer...en elke keer is dit erger.
-- Edited by Piett at 21:53, 2006-05-21
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DAAR'S NET EEN PAD OM TE LOOP,EN DIS DIE BOERVOLK SE PAD,SAAM MET DIE SKEPPER
