Unions condemn job cuts at Pick n Pay
Pick n Pay has announced that it is to shed 3,500 jobs in the Western Cape. Its announcement was met this week by condemnation from the union at the frontline, SACCAWU as well as COSATU and SAFTU.
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Western Cape Education wants schools to raise funds from the sale of alcohol
The proposal to amend a bill that could allow for the selling of alcohol on school premises, has not been welcomed by many in the Western Cape Province. This is after the provincial Department of Education proposed this bill as a means of raising funds for schools. Elitsha asked some of the different parties for their views on the matter.
Divisions over shale gas in Morocco
The return of prospecting companies is raising hopes, amongst some, of an economic upturn in this region hard hit by poverty, as well as fears over potential shale gas exploitation on this land dedicated to grazing
The future of work in the era of artificial intelligence
The premise that intelligent machines will perform tasks more efficiently and at a lower cost than human beings is by no means far-fetched. The challenges facing the workers of the future are multiplying before our very eyes.
Organisations and government disagree on decriminalisation of sex work
The recent debate on the decriminalisation of sex work, organised by Mail and Guardian and the South African National Aids Council (SANAC), provided no solution but a screaming match between those supporting it and those against.
Fort Hare SRC blames NSFAS on delayed student payment
Thousands of students from three Eastern Cape universities may not receive payments from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) this year. According to a report released by NSFAS, this is due to the fact that some students didn’t sign their agreement forms for funding.
River Park residents frustrated at long delay to complete the building of flats
An unfinished block of flats in River Park near Alexandra township north of Johannesburg has infuriated the local residents who scramble for every piece of land for human settlement. They recently invaded the flats that were built in 2009 but left incomplete. Now wanting to make their occupation permanent, they want to know who owns the flats and why they have been left in that condition.
Vavi reports to SAFTU in Cape Town
We want to professionalise the union”, said Vavi. According to him, 52% of the cases that are taken to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) are won by the employers. “You get chairpersons who were never trained on their duties and because of this, they surround themselves with corrupt organisers. When they go to meetings they don’t even have a pen or notebook so that they report back to the workers.”
Small businesses owned by foreign nationals burnt down in Imizamo Yethu
“I have lost goods worth almost R45,000 and I do not know how I will restart. I am running out of ideas. This is the third time my container was looted and burnt. When I noted my container was on fire I rushed to take out some goods but while I shoved the goods out some were busy looting so I ended up leaving everything to burn”
Is it ok to kill hostel dwellers for political reasons, but NOT ok to kill politicians for various reasons?
Independent Community Activist for Human Rights & Social Justice and Elitsha contributor, Vannessa Burger was one of the witnesses of the ongoing Moerane Commission, which investigates underlying causes of political killings in KZN, wrote an opinion piece for us. The Commission will sit again in August and political parties are expected to testify.
Mbeki predicts increased repression in rural areas
Moeletsi Mbeki has predicted that the African National Congress will, as part of a strategy to reverse the party’s dismal performance in the metros in the local government elections, strengthen the power of chiefs over their subjects in rural areas. Mbeki was delivering a lecture on race, class and the making of modern South Africa at Tshisimani Centre in Cape Town recently.
“Workers must speak against ill treatment in their work places” Vavi
“We are very glad that we are out of those politics that are unprincipled and are not interested in advancing the lives of ordinary workers. The ANC conference was a complete sham! You can’t spend five days discussing whether this is a shovel or a digging spade”
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