An open letter to all South African trade union leaders:
INSTEAD of your continual strike action with unrealistic and unsustainable demands on commerce/industry and the mining sector, for higher wages which ultimately lead to cutbacks in labour, thus escalating unemployment, resulting in ever-increasing hardship for the poorer and less qualified workers in South Africa, why don’t you do something constructive for your members.
Here is a suggestion which I believe will have an impact in uplifting the financial well-being of your members.
You are expected (because of your position as elected leaders) to be knowledgeable about economic principles and factors which affect the economic wellbeing of a country – this includes such matters as the country’s balance of payments on the current account, the country’s credit rating in the eyes of the outside world, thus portraying South Africa as a desirable haven for foreign investors’ capital (on a long-term basis), and so on.
As alliance partners of the ruling party, you are obviously well aware of its disastrous obsession to open trade opportunities with countries which manufacture goods to export to South Africa, which historically were manufactured right here.
In many cases the imported articles are of grossly inferior quality, being vastly cheaper because of “slavelabour” practices in their countries of manufacture, which your unions would not tolerate here.
This has caused the collapse of many local industries such as the textile industry and its affiliated clothing sector, the boot and shoe manufacturing industry, the electrical component industry and many others, all resulting in the massive loss of employment to our local working population.
How do you feel about this betrayal of your responsibilities to our labour force?
With the great number of people in this country relying on you for direction/advice, I believe that you can turn the above situation around by recommending that with their huge purchasing power, our population immediately demands to be offered only South Africanmade articles.
This will encourage local entrepreneurs to invest in a revitalised manufacturing to the advantage of our labour force.
Just go into any of the stores in our shopping centres and examine the goods on display – you will find a very small percentage are made in South Africa.
Errol Hicks
Hillcrest
54 months later and still no ‘change’
HOW MANY Standard Bank managers does it take to change a light bulb, or in my case, to get my correct physical address on my bank statements?
Well, it has taken numerous branch and area managers four-and-a-half years, and as with Eskom, still no light on the subject. This means that for 54 months I have received (or not received) bank statements sent to the wrong address or e-mailed to me with the wrong address.
In order to correct this problem I have on several occasions visited Balfour, Hyde Park and Rosebank branches with proof of my correct address. I have seen numerous branch managers, written about 40 e-mails and made at least 30 phone calls. I have had 54 months of promises and yet this matter remains unresolved.
Brian Helsby
Corlett Gardens
A better way to deal with labour issues
THE ARTICLE “MD’s ‘Darkest Days in Labour Unrest’,” refers.
As David Bowel correctly notes, South Africa has to find a better way of dealing with labour issues, and, specifically, synchronising the negotiations of labour agreements.
The time has come to re-imagine and revisit the negotiation process in order for employers and labour to better understand and appreciate each other at a more fundamental human level.
Storytelling and Story Work have the potential to act as a catalyst for change at a functional, cultural and emotional level.
The reason for this is simple:
The manner in which individuals fundamentally engage on relevant issues and concerns is often superficial.
The common approach to engagement involves meetings where negotiation points are discussed, according to an agenda.
The negotiation paradigm does not constitute looking at, or listening for, what is behind the demands put on the table.
There is disappointingly little empathy or compassion, let alone an appreciable exploration of values and mutual inspiration.
One-sided engagement leads to limited results. Now, more than ever, it’s time to learn how to move forward together. It’s time to share stories and learn.
Andrew Fletcher Cole is a senior associate at Roth Communications, a communications consultancy that uses Story Work and Social Science to deliver innovative communications solutions.
Stuart Rothgiesser
Chief Story Gatherer and Managing Director