S. African Strike Threatens World Cup

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S. African Strike Threatens World Cup

cbsnews.com

Striking workers sit in front of a partially constructed soccer stadium in South Africa.

Talk about a trump card. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is set to be a momentous occasion for the country to show itself off to the world. But a strike by 70,000 construction workers demanding pay increases has halted work on the stadiums being built for the tournament.

The BBC:

Some 70,000 construction workers in South Africa have gone on strike, halting work on stadiums being built for the 2010 World Cup.

Unions are threatening to wreck the tournament if their demands for a 13% wage increase are not met.

Organisers say they are confident the grounds will still be ready, unless the strike continues for months.

On Monday judges rejected a request from the employers to outlaw the strike, which unions say is indefinite.

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TAGS: africa construction workers football germany global south soccer south africa stadium strike world cup world cup 2010

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By Maximus Odi, July 9, 2009 at 8:19 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

@Photoshock

Excuse me, nobody is forcing or exploiting these workers to work for that wage. It is their own free choice.

If they do not like it they can resign and look for a better paying job. A simple case of demand and supply.

Yes everyone wants a job, but not everyone wants to work. Learn the difference.

“Living wage” is a mythological creature consumed by inflation as soon as it makes an appearance….

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By photoshock, July 9, 2009 at 5:15 am Link to this comment

This strike is totally understandable. The living conditions of the workers are at best poor, given the low wages.
Should the companies hired to build these stadiums hire ‘scab’ workers, there will be bloodshed, not the newly hired workers but those who are fighting for their human rights. It is high time that these construction companies around the world start to pay a living wage, as should all companies. This should action should be center stage in the battle for a living wage.
No one should be tied down by a low-wage job, the people in these situations cannot earn even enough to pay their own way in life, yet these same people do not qualify for assistance from any government.
And the governments in third world countries do not help their citizens with wages and medical benefits as does the industrialized world.

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