visited The strike Earlier this week rumors were circulated that was scheduled for Wednesday a workers' strike. The troubled
really huge! strikes in Africa is anything but funny, I might at least in this context it takes a lot of unpleasant:
So it came as the beginning of November already on our site to an uprising.
At that time, the structural work on the stadium as good as finished and hundreds of workers now threatened dismissal. In addition, there was also something with the Christmas bonus, but as I now know not exactly know.
In any case, they gathered in the stadium and then heitzten by chants and battle-cries for ever more.
Eventually they moved then go armed with iron rods and hunted down every employee who still works (= Scab). One of our local employees was shattered a kneecap. Pfeifer
The team then barricaded himself in the closed meeting room.
Well .. at least almost closed: The
Martin (with the hotel in Paarl) understood the whole situation too late and could not leave the office, since the workers already proposed from the outside against the containers.
He hid under his desk and waited out there. A Riessen lucky that the crowd because it was not down!
make the situation not to escalate the Poilzei entered the construction site after a long, long time.
cruel but still was a strike by lorry drivers earlier this year.
For us this was very critical because we have such a large part of our steel every few days, delivered from Johannesburg. In the course of the strike
was even shot a truck driver, who continued, despite the call for a strike behind his tax.
Well, as always, worried that rumors of another strike me in any case.
Pretty soon confirmed the project manager then also what one has been reported from all sides:
The union of mine workers (NUM), the trade union for construction (Bcawu) and the South African Civil Engineering Association (Safcec) are planning a strike starting on Wednesday at 12 Clock!
you strike for 13 percent more pay. know this must be said that the construction could increase in profits last year by 100% and pocketed the management pay increases of 15%.
also calls for a minimum of 14 rand (about € 1.20). In a newspaper article I read that the average miner incredible 435 years (= 11 generations of workers) would have to work to have the annual average salary of a mine manager deserves to ...
The project manager told us that 10 years ago was already a two-week strike: In the end, it jumped out to a wage increase of 0.25 percent. The employees had work with this "extra income" about 3 years to just the 2 weeks lost wages back to have in there (unlike in Germany, you have no income during a strike).
It was then on Tuesday evening, a crisis meeting in our meeting room.
all important phone numbers were exchanged and it was decided to leave that we bring all the workers by 11 clock from the roof and at half past 12, the construction site. After lunch we meet again outside the gate there and decide whether work can continue or not.
On the whole construction site are said only 60 staff members in these unions (unfortunately, all of our tower crane driver). They say that the strike Our site actually little concern. We would
on our wireless devices are constantly in contact of the security service and there would be a permanent status report. Moreover, the Metro Police will be informed and who is permanently ensure that workers do not march to the stadium from other sites.
All morning it looked as if no one would emerge on the site. Even at just before 11 was all quiet and everyone of us thought that we will probably work as normal and everything was just a flop is Riessen.
At 11, the situation changed dramatically then:
The project manager was very excited in the container and arranged that we all
IMMEDIATELY shutdown the computer and to get into the cars. My blood pressure rose abruptly.
was heard from somewhere a deep voice. Tyron found it all very exciting, I sang the song that sang and danced to the workers. I thought that was really beside it for me, the strikers were, "the enemy", and I'm now a colleague standing next to me, the face with a euphoric humming some song and dance beside me all excited ..
I have no idea where the strikers gathered. You could not make up, whether any current moving in a certain direction. Everything pointed to the whereabouts of the collection, some were workers, directly on the ruins of the old stadium stands behind our containers and were excited lurrten over the walls. Accordingly, even if they were not far away ...
The project manager then said that supposedly came more and more people to the site, instead of leaving it. If this really was, but then there was something up there at the gate quite wrong ...
As we left the construction site, several camera crews stood in front of the driveway. The police had meanwhile already present and reminded rather of military:
Everyone was wearing thick bullet-proof vests and here and there I saw machine guns shouldered. As we
then after the lunch break came back to the stadium, I was firmly convinced that we are now working again. There were obviously still have some people outside the stadium, but I can not say whether this or demonstrated again just waiting to be let into the stadium.
I was then told at the gate, according to arrangement of the general contractor today no one is allowed to enter the site. They probably would even tomorrow yet closed, but that would be communicated to us in due course.
seemed to me that does not really make sense, since by then I no strike group really got to face.
a staff member but already knew everything:
from the 60 combined in the union employees were already 500, and the group would be in the downtown direction Bahnhof drawn.
People think that they will march in the afternoon return back to the stadium.
Okay, it is probably the better way and I enjoy my day off. On Thursday I saw
noon from Signall Hill gathered from a large crowd outside the stadium and heard from this distance nor their calls.
the evening I received a call that the site probably until Sunday had been closed. It would have 2,000 demonstrators joined forces and the police is now a rubber bullets and tear gas to prevent them from entering the site.
When I lunch on Friday with a trip by car to the stadium was made to see not a soul. The entrance is boarded up with thick wooden planks and paper scattered everywhere is: leaflets of the union, but also leaflets of the city, which called in the strike as illegal and will be asked to appear again tomorrow for work. Along the fence a few police officers watched in their cars.
now it says that negotiations on Monday once again. Maybe they call it already last week back to work?
As I am Monday, at Giovanni's for lunch, I peered of course, on the other side of the street to the stadium across. Since I could not identify any human soul, I was now again assume that the phone could ring at any moment and we would soon be called back to the desks.
15 min. Later I was attracted by the noise of the street then again to the window, and I was amazed not bad:
Ca. 100 demonstrators marched singing and dancing with sticks in hand over just outside the window. However, they were escorted by at least as many police officers. One can really speak of a non-strained, or even dangerous situation .. On the contrary, all seemed rather friendly, and the officials were talking mitmarschierenden with completely relaxed faces ...
But I thought it was still exciting! ;)
's see when the phone rings ...
Thursday, 16/07/2009:
Ok, "good" news:
Although not every union has accepted the current offer, now the work went on at the stadium safe for us.
So far I know both parties were acting out a wage increase of 12% , subject to the condition that to completion of the stadium may no longer be on strike.
If one assumes that a worker because of me 20 Rand die Stunde verdient..
dann bekommt er fortan 22,40 Rand.
Bei einem 10 Stunden Tag und einer 6 Tagewoche verdient er also 144 Rand mehr .
Allerdings hatte er aufgrund des Streiks auch einen Lohnausfall von 1200 Rand ...
es wird nun ersteinmal über 8 Wochen (!) dauern, um wieder auf Null zu sein !
Bis dahin ist der Stadionbau schon halbwegs abgeschlossen, und manch einer vielleicht gar nicht mehr beschäftigt...
Ich denke also die ganze Aktion hat sich nich für jederman gelohnt.
:-(
