Everyone, other thaN lunatics, troublemakers and the economically illiterate, is supposed to know that the demand by the striking platinum workers for a starting basic wage of R12 500 is plainly unaffordable. Indeed, anything even near R12 500 is supposedly so...
increases
The 2013/14 Budget: One step forward, two steps backwards
This budget takes one step forward, only to take two steps backwards. It is delivered in a deepening economic and social crisis. In our country, this is highlighted by desperate struggles for basic needs. We have seen this in Marikana and the mineworkers' and...
Farm strikes: Radical changes needed.
Farm workers began the centennial year of the 1913 Land Act with a continuation of the most militant industrial action in the sector in decades. On January 9th, various Western Cape farming towns were turned into warzones as protestors demanding an increase to a...
Michael Moseki, strike leader
Michael Moseki, an elected strike leader at Samancor Western Chrome Mine, sits inside his tin shack and talks about the challenges of raising his five children on R4,700 a month. Just like other mine workers, strike leaders at various mines in the North West province...
South African mining unrest spreads | by Helen Thomas
Labour unrest engulfing the South African platinum industry spread on Wednesday, prompting fears of a broader mining crisis in one of the main commodity-producing countries. Platinum and gold prices continued to soar as investors braced for supply disruptions after 44...
Canada’s `maple spring’: student strikers against austerity | by Chris Webb
The student strike wave that swept through the Canadian province of Quebec the past several months, now beginning to spark in other Canadian provinces and campuses, is a watershed moment in the struggle against neoliberal austerity in Canada. What began as a revolt...
Attacks on wages: the case of the construction industry | by Amandla! editorial staff
Average real wage within Construction (contractors), 1994-2011 1. Wage increases above inflation? Yes, of course! The wage Bargaining season is here again and the media will again complain about "wage demands are inflationary". Read: "Wage demands are too high". But...
The growth paradigm: a critique | by Gareth Dale
In respect of climate change, the hurricane that tore into New York was the game changer. The floods it unleashed forced the authorities to organise a mass airlift evacuation of much of the city’s population, and to begin planning the relocation of the city’s stock...
Modelling the affordability and distributional implications of future health care financing options in South Africa by Di McIntyre and John E Ataguba
South Africa is considering introducing a universal health care system. A key concern for policy-makers and the general public is whether or not this reform is affordable. Modelling the resource and revenue generation requirements of alternative reform options is...





