Illegal and violent strikes hurt South Africa: government

Illegal and violent strikes are not helping South Africa's image internationally, acting government spokeswoman Phumla Williams says.

In a media briefing in Cape Town following the executive's Wednesday meeting, she said Cabinet was concerned at the lawlessness, violence, and intimidation that continued to pollute the otherwise democratic right of workers to strike.

"It is a fact that as a democracy, the right to strike is a defined right in South Africa that obligates the strikers to observe that they cannot encroach on other people's rights as they enjoy theirs."

No one should be intimidated to take or not to take industrial action in a democracy.

No one should resort to any forms of violence against people or property as a form of striking or protest.

"Our struggle for freedom and democracy ensured that our laws provide a space for protected peaceful strikes, which obviates the need for illegal strikes accompanied by violence and intimidation," she said.

Cabinet thus reiterated its call for workers to use existing channels with unions to address grievances and wage negotiations in a manner that was in touch with the country's laws and collective bargaining practices.

"It is, among others, these illegal strikes and the accompanying violence that is not helping the country's image internationally, and is contributing to the already existing challenges facing our economy and society," Williams said.

Game changer

The current spate of illegal and unprotected strikes may be a game-changer for South Africa's economy, according to Bankserv Africa.

"Not only is the budget deficit now likely to be higher, but business confidence is likely to wane as the medium-term effect of strikes makes life difficult," the payment clearing company said.

This added uncertainty for consumers and the business sector.

The monthly Bankserv Economic Transaction Index (Beti) for October, released on Thursday, showed the economy was stagnating.

The Beti was calculated at 119.6, compared to 119.9 for September. This meant it was growing at little more than population growth, currently around one percent.

Economic transactions had now shown a seasonally adjusted monthly and quarterly decline for four months in a row, Bankserv warned.

The stagnation identified by the index was broadly in line with slower growth in new vehicle sales, declining passenger arrivals for both domestic and international flights at South African airports, and still declining year-on-year electricity sales.

The October 2012 Beti had shown only a marginal improvement compared to the same period last year, when it reached 116.8, after peaking in May. This indicated the economy was once again stalling.

Although the chance of a recession was small, the risk of an economic decline was far greater.

"Things will not work the way they used to," said economist Mike Schussler.

Business should revisit its strategy and look for new opportunities.

The violence at Lonmin's Marikana mine had changed the labour relationship, in that an unprotected strike managed to secure increases for workers which were well above inflation.

Employees were thus likely to expect higher wage increases than before.