We are about to go into the fourth week of the civil servants’ strike. Most Grahamstown schools have taken part in the strike which is hitting our matric learners the hardest, with hazardous consequences predicted for the overall exam results at the end of the year, as always.
We are about to go into the fourth week of the civil servants’ strike. Most Grahamstown schools have taken part in the strike which is hitting our matric learners the hardest, with hazardous consequences predicted for the overall exam results at the end of the year, as always.
All the township school teachers (except some teachers at Mary Waters) have joined the nationwide strike, marching and chanting around town and forcing those who are working out of our schools and hospitals.
Yesterday, a group of striking public servants did what they do best by barging into Fort England Hopital, unleashing chaos as they ran through the corridors, trying to intimidate those who were at work.
At present, we do not know what further psychological damage has been inflicted upon the patients. On the other hand, striking KFC members of staff have taken the strike action to another level after they threatened some of the non-striking staff members with petrol bombs and even tried to burn down their colleague’s house.
Such stories are only heard of in places like Cape Town and Johannesburg, not in Grahamstown. Non-striking KFC employees are living in fear that they may get assaulted at any time of day of night if they continue going to work all in an effort to provide food for their families.
Both employers the government and KFC have been ruminating on the grievances of their employees for a while now.
We hope that a proper response that will suit both parties will come to fruition soon, especially for the civil servants.
The strike has crippled healthcare and education in the country and the effects will certainly be far-reaching.
