Many companies in Springs are affected by the Numsa strike by either having a 100% or partial stay-away.
Carmen Watson of Gundel Plastics says New Era was quiet on Monday.
The strikers regularly “check up” if the workers are at work.
They had an incident on Thursday when four supervisors were caught being on duty when the crowd visited their premises.
They were quickly dropped at home in KwaThema before the crowd came back.
In Nuffield, a representative of Element 6 says they have part of their workforce on strike and have not experienced any violence.
Even small businesses like Giulos Engineering in Selection Park Industrial has a 100% stay-away. Mary Giovanelli says three of their four people stayed away because they felt intimidated.
Economists are concerned that the South African economy might be at a tipping point. Azar Jammine, chief economist, Econometrix, says now that the Numsa stike has actually got underway it has become clear that its critical impact on the economy will depend on the strike’s duration.
“The outcome might turn out to be far more lengthy and damaging than currently envisaged by the business sector, because the underlying ideological spur to the strike may not be fully recognised.”
He says the affected sectors will recover production without having too much loss if the strike is terminated within a few weeks.
The damage to the economy will also be limited.
“A sustained strike without resolution over a lengthy period of time will inflict a devastating blow to the economy and in all likelihood plunge it into recession.”
Jammine also says a lengthy resolution of the strike will send the message that the motive for the strike is ideological rather than economic.
This demonstrates a worker revolt against the existing capitalistic economic order.
He said the impact on the Rand and financial markets of a protracted strike does not appear to have been discounted yet.
“If our worst fears come to be realised, it is possible that markets and the Rand’s exchange rate might receive a rude jolt in a few weeks’ time if there is a switch in perceptions towards loss of confidence that the strike will be speedily resolved,” says Jammine.
Readers had this to say on their views if the economy will be able to cope with another strike.
- Duane Steenberg: No I don’t think so.
- Marissa Jamison: We’ve just got to be positive.
- Charlotte Petterson: Don’t think so! Things are bad already!
- VaHumanikwa Liberty L: Whether yes or no, the workers don’t run the economy. We, workers, are just asking for what we should be rightfully paid.
- Magda Burke: No! It’s slowly killing this once beautiful country.
- Magda Roberts De Beer: Ons moet net positief bly!
- Gavin Martin Keet: The economy is messed up already. The strike is just going to make it worse!!
- Max Friedenthal: They strike for a few months and get a 10% increase. Hello. 10% won’t cover the earnings loss. The rent, loans, HP, car etc still have to be paid. Unpaid leave. Next year another strike.
- Joanie Badenhorst-Awasthi: Nope. They should just open the border between SA and Zim because we are heading the same way.
- Vusi Duga Omude Mthimunye: The language companies understand before they can increase wages is striking Amandla.
Facebook readers’s reaction on strikers getting violent on Friday in Vulcania were like this:
- Amanda Stander: Barbaric. No respect for anybody let alone themselves. The government should declare this strike unlawful and abolish striking in general from being a constitutional right.
- Franci Swanepoel: Fire them all and give the work to people that want to work. There are thousands that would be too happy to work for their pay that they complaining about!
- Brandon Moss: I’ll shoot without question if they even try that at my premises.
- Marko Miladinovic: The reason why they commit violence is because they get away with it.
