Brace yourself – the cash-strapped utility is implementing load shedding around the country, with today’s efforts kicking off at 11:30 this morning.
Yesterday, about 400 miners at the Nkaneng informal settlement in Photsaneng near Rustenburg resulted to violence in order to voice their frustrations. In the process, a man was burned to death, and another was shot dead. Several security guards were also assualted by strikers.
Members of the transport industry are marching in the Johannesburg CBD today to protest their current salaries. Earlier this morning, in related activities, two trucks were set alight in Boksburg outside the Jerusalem Informal Settlement. To make matters worse, reports are starting to come in that petrol pumps around Gauteng and other provinces are starting to run out of fuel fast.
Today is the fourth day that approximately 20 000 workers across South Africa from the freight transport sector are on strike over wages. They rejected the latest offer of a staggered 9% increase, and asked for a 12% increase instead. They have promised to “bring the economy to its knees” if their demands are not met.
A lot of questions are being asked after the most recent shootout between police and mineworkers at Marikana. By using various camera angles, including this new footage obtained from Al Jazeera, a miner can be seen firing a hand pistol towards authorities first. The police then responded by unleashing a volley of fire into the crowd – gunning down 34 people in the process.
Today is the first day that no incidents were reported from the violence-stricken Marikana mine in the North West. Chaos erupted on Friday when thousands of Lonmin rock drill operators started an illegal work stoppage and protest march. Since then 10 people – two police officers, two security guards, three protesters, and three others – have been killed.
Jeremy Clarkson appeared earlier this week on the BBC’s “The One Show”. During his interview he said that public servants who are taking part in a strike “ought to be executed in front of their families”. But Clarkson says it was only a joke and that producers of the show were warned in advance and approved of the comments.
Nice one, guys! South Africa has the highest rate of strikes in the world, a labour analyst said yesterday. We’ve had 1 000 working days per 1 000 workers lost in 2010 – and it is expected to be even worse at the end of this year.
Last week we told you that the National Union of Mineworkers were planning a “massive strike”. Lesiba Seshoka, their spokesperson, has now confirmed that 200 000 gold workers will down their tools at 6pm this afternoon and that “there is no chance of negotiations to halt the strike.”
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said yesterday that workers in the coal sector would go on strike following failed wage negotiations. These are the people that have to make sure Eskom has enough coal to keep on providing electricity to the country. Their bosses offered a seven percent increase, while they thought 14% was fairer.
SA’s union-in-chief has threatened strike action against the US retail giant before a single Walmart brick has been laid. That’s the way we do it here, Yanks. You don’t come to our country with your big ass shops and just put them up everywhere. We have rules. And Cosatu.