Unions and the ripple effect

Unions in South Africa are a strong force. Probably the strongest political force in the country. In the apartheid days they were a good tool against the government. Now they are a good tool to ruin our economy.

Unions should be formed to represent the people and to ensure that their members get a fair deal. A union should then have leaders who are able to negotiate as well as look at the opposition stance, when doing so. For example, when striking for better wages, they need people who can take an honest and intelligent look at the employer's financial position, before demanding a percentage that will cripple the employer. Leaders who put their members first and think long term.

Unions are political though, and we see the leaders basking in the media coverage and loving the miles they get for 'standing up' for the poor workers, when many are standing up for their careers. Bear in mind that many strikes are not recognised by the employer (or even banned by courts), and thus, the workers strike on a 'no work, no pay' basis.Having said this, they listen to the union leaders, who are not affected by this, as their salaries are paid by the union, who in turn obtain their fees from the very workers who are not getting paid while they participate in the strike the union bosses initiated. (My head spins at this thought)

We live in a supposed democratic country, where we all have the will to choose. During a strike though, this free will is confiscated by the striking workers. Poor workers, who would love nothing better than to continue working (as some peope are clever enough to realise that one needs to work to feed one's family), are bullied and threatened into striking against their will. Democracy,  think not.

As with the latest WITS strike. Students who want to continue with their classes are unable to do so, due the the complete self centred acts of the half witted strikers. This is pure selfish behaviour.

Not only do striking workers intimidate their collegues, but they have the good sense to be uncivilised and run amock like rabid madmen, looting, trashing, hurting and just generally being an unruly, destructive force, leaving nothing but ruin in their path. (Then of course, it is the Employer's fault, as well as the terrible police who tried to restore order and protect the innocent-but never the striker!)

Further to this, we have such a strike culture, that virtually every industry has been on strike this year. It is like a national past time. If it were a sport, we would be the un-challenged world champions.

The unions are the first to make their voices heard about any matters they don't agree with, from political to the painting of the fence in front of a politicians house. Sometimes they do make sense- for example, when they challenged the lavish and wasteful government luxury vehicle purchases. But other times, they speak nonsense- like demanding certain political appointments.

I think each union needs to take a step back. They need to divorce union matters from politics. They need to see how the economy suffers from strikes, especially those that drag on forever, over a quarter of a percent (and amounts to R5 extra)on a salary. Look at why you are in the union- are you there for the people, or to further your political career or to get rich. These are serious questions that need to be answered, because unions will one day be the ruin of South Africa.