The Strike

Hi all. Yay that it is Friday - I'm so happy. Time to relax & spend time with all my favourite people :)

Today approximately 700 000 people within the public sector are striking. It all goes around a wage increase negotiation. The government is willing to grant a 6% increase while the public sector workers (represented by their labour unions) are asking for a 12% increase. I have very mixed feelings about the whole issue. Initially I was very against the strike - I'm concerned about the cost of this to our economy as well as the potential negative publicity to our foreign investors. But at the same time my heart really does go out to them. Teachers, nurses and policemen are the cornerstone of our society and they are being undervalued. Although a 12% increase may sound like much, they haven't received much of an increase over the past years. Teachers play an integral role in educating the future leaders and generations of South Africa. The police have a really tough job and every few months you hear of policemen that have been killed on duty or who have committed suicide (and often taken their families with them) - the stress of their jobs is really hectic. The sad thing is that there is so much corruption in the government and government officials are taking liberties of filling their own pockets while the people performing essential services for our society and community suffer.

As a result of the strike, schools have shut for the day as teachers will not be there to teach. Many parents have had to take leave because there is no one to take care of their children today. You can only imagine how many companies will be feeling it. Government hospitals will also be running on minimal staff. Let's just hope that they reach some sort of agreement today so that things can get back to normal on Monday.

Well, enough of that. Just felt like sharing my thoughts... Hope you have a fantastic weekend!