Holding the country ransom

Striking in South Africa seems to be the country’s favourite past time lately. Striking over work conditions, regulations passed that the workers feel are unfair, not getting paid or not getting the increase they ‘deserve’ and the list goes on…there are many reasons for people to throw their toys out of the cot.

Investorwords.com define the term ‘Strike’ as a work stoppage undertaken in support of a bargaining position or in protest of some aspect of a previous agreement or proposed agreement between labour and management.

Now I realise that in order for a strike to be effective, it needs to felt by the economy but where do we draw the line??? There are University of KwaZulu-Natal students out of control protesting about fees. Aurora's Orkney mine workers downed tools regarding not being paid for March.

How many times have the taxi’s striked and burnt tires on the N2 motorway, putting commuter’s lives in danger. The recent strike by a union burnt three carriages of a Metrorail train, costing millions to replace and days before tourists will flood Cape Town. Today’s front page of the Cape Times is about hundreds of Malmesbury students protesting about overcrowded class rooms, these protestors (not forgetting that they are still children) then set the classrooms alight…now what good would that do for the situation? How is it possible to forget basic human conduct and to resort to the boys in the novel ‘Lord of Flies’…are we all barbaric just looking for a reason to act out?

The SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) strike which is said to continue after agreement could not be made over salary debates. Could this continue till the much anticipated event, 2010 Soccer World Cup? How long can they hold a country at ransom when we should be working together to be building a stronger nation so that we are recognised internationally as being able to hold our own?

With the World Cup coming…I dread to think how many people will use this opportunity to hold the country hostage and milk it for all it is worth and manage to discredit it all at the same time. So many people are thinking of the now as opposed to what the future could hold for this country which has so much potential. While I am not saying that people should just accept unfair conditions, I am saying, why can we not agree to halt strikes, protests, violence, racial conflict and act like the ‘Rainbow Nation’ we claim to be….even if it is just for one month…