During the month of November last year, the world watched farm workers strikes, particularly those working in vineyards in the Western Cape Province, in South Africa. They were protesting against exploitation and poor working and living conditions on farms, demanding...
living
Letter From Haiti: Life in the Ruins | by Amy Wilentz
Sometimes you can't help but be sickened by the behavior of certain international organizations helping Haiti recover from the devastating January 2010 earthquake—hit, that is, by a wave of real physical nausea. The other day, I spent an afternoon in the displaced...
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...
Harvesting discontent
"I earn R800,00 per month and with this money I have to feed, clothe and fend for my family of eight. We barely survive; I cannot even afford to buy school shoes for the children. I cannot take it any longer"- Gertie Beukes, Ashton farmworker. "We produce the food...
Neoliberal land & agricultural policies at heart of farm strikes | by Mazibuko K. Jara
The heroic and historic strike by thousands of farm workers in the Western Cape has struck at the heart of the ANC government's neoliberal policies on land reform and agricultural policy. The strike marks the beginnings of much-needed mass struggles to challenge white...
Embryos of working-class power and grassroots democracy in Marikana
The formation of a workers' committee is an act of power by the working class. It has shaken capital by advancing far beyond trade union bureaucracy. The workers' committee in Lonmin had only been in existence for a week when the Marikana massacre took place on the 16...
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...
The spectre of equality Platinum: the politics of a simple wage demand | by Amandla! editorial staff
For two months Angloplats refused to negotiate over the minimum demand for R16,500 per month before tax and deductions – a variation of the demand for a living wage of R12,500 in hand that spread like wildfire in the mining industry. The bosses repeatedly sent...
Cape Town Marikana Solidarity Committee Press Statement
05 September 2012 We, the members and representative of 19 community organisations based in the greater Cape Town area; Condemn the massacre of the Lonmin mineworkers and the continued efforts by the state and the Lonmin bosses to smash the strike. These efforts...








