Cosatu strike reveals weaknesses of the federation
Thousands of Cosatu-affiliated union members marched through the streets of South Africa against job losses, crisis at Eskom and high cost of living.
Dibuseng Phaloane
Careworkers demand better working conditions
Care workers are classified by their employers as volunteers and not employees. As such, the proposed minimum wage does not cover them. They get paid less than R2,000 a month. If they fall pregnant, women are forced to quit their jobs or take unpaid leave.
Orange Farm protestors demand the removal of councillor
Prolonged violent service delivery protest in Orange Farm south of Johannesburg caused disruptions that brought the township to a stand still.
The Golden and N1 highways were both closed with burning tyres and rocks causing traffic jams in and around Orange Farm. The number of schools closed increased from 4 to 12 in just 3 days. Students were forced to join the protest. Foreign shop owners donated hundreds of loaves of bread and drinks to protesters to avoid looting of their shops after one of them shot and wounded a 15 year-old boy who was allegedly trying to loot during the protest.
Learner by day parent at night
The Department of Basic Education has reported that there were 20,000 learner pregnancies in 2014. The highest number of pregnancies was in Gauteng with over 5,000 and the Eastern Cape at over 3,000. According to the list of schools with high pregnancy rates, Jabulile Secondary in Orange Farm had 32 learners, Botebo-Tsebo in Sebokeng (Unit 14) 48 learners and Esokwazi in Unit 8 in Sebokeng had 51 cases of pregnancy.
EPWP workers in Orange Farm strike for better working conditions
Launched in 2004, the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is a nationwide programme that gives short-term employment covering all spheres of government and state-owned enterprises. […]
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