Industrial actions, for one.
Apparently South African workers have been striking for three weeks to demand higher pay.
Hopefully ours won’t last that long as dialogue is ongoing between the Federal Government and the Unions. I’m hopeful of a positive outcome; a strike becomes very uncomfortable if it lasts longer than 3 days, particularly if electricity and water gets shut off…and there was talk of that happening.
I don’t have a lot of info on the South African strike; apparently it has affected schools, hospitals and transportation, with negotiations between the SA Government and the Congress of South African Trade Unions currently deadlocked. (For more info, check out the Reuters and BBC sites.)
It’s just past 11 pm now. A few hours ago a tired looking Baba Gana Kingibe, Secretary to the FG, emerged after a six hour stakeholder meeting held to resolve the issues surrounding the strike. No agreements yet so they went on break and will meet again at midnight.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Barney Goes to the Farm (And So Does Obasanjo)
Day 2 (Strike 1)
The strike is still on. The roads are deserted, most people are home and the Government and Trade Unions are meeting today.
PHCN has been quite kind these past couple of days; we’ve had power most of the time. When the power does goes off the whole place goes deathly quiet, which is normal. What’s strange is how long the quiet lasts. I’ve noticed that the neighbours aren’t in any hurry to put their gens on - with the fuel situation its best to conserve diesel, eh?
It's now I realize that there’s a lot of background noise we take for granted - the hum of the fridge, the maiguard’s radio blaring by the gate, your neighbour’s kids watching the same episode of Barney - at full volume - for the 1,000th time…speaking of which, the other day I bought some new Barney DVDs for the kids in my mum’s daycare. “Thank God” said Georgina when I showed her the new collection. She’s the lady who looks after the children and she’s understandably sick and tired of the “Barney Goes to the Farm” episode that’s been in the player since February. She even knows all the songs & most of the dialogue…
Civil Rights activist Femi Falana was on TV earlier today, talking about the fact that VAT was increased without the National Assembly’s involvement, and about the 14 day ultimatum the Unions gave the Government before the strike commenced. And in the other corner we have the Government saying (repeatedly) that the Unions have a political agenda.
There’s a lot of back & forth and I’m starting to feel cooped up at home, waiting around to hear the latest on the strike - is it still on, has it been called off, will it still be on tomorrow…its like being in a bad relationship and not being sure whether you’re still together!
Heard something funny on TV this morning during all the coverage on the situation: the presenter said that Obasanjo caused problems for Yar'Adua and then retired to his farm, instead of allowing Yar'Adua to cause his own palaver. It’s interesting to note that we believe our leaders are there to cause problems. But it does make sense to ensure that any trouble you cause is solely your own.
The strike is still on. The roads are deserted, most people are home and the Government and Trade Unions are meeting today.
PHCN has been quite kind these past couple of days; we’ve had power most of the time. When the power does goes off the whole place goes deathly quiet, which is normal. What’s strange is how long the quiet lasts. I’ve noticed that the neighbours aren’t in any hurry to put their gens on - with the fuel situation its best to conserve diesel, eh?
It's now I realize that there’s a lot of background noise we take for granted - the hum of the fridge, the maiguard’s radio blaring by the gate, your neighbour’s kids watching the same episode of Barney - at full volume - for the 1,000th time…speaking of which, the other day I bought some new Barney DVDs for the kids in my mum’s daycare. “Thank God” said Georgina when I showed her the new collection. She’s the lady who looks after the children and she’s understandably sick and tired of the “Barney Goes to the Farm” episode that’s been in the player since February. She even knows all the songs & most of the dialogue…
Civil Rights activist Femi Falana was on TV earlier today, talking about the fact that VAT was increased without the National Assembly’s involvement, and about the 14 day ultimatum the Unions gave the Government before the strike commenced. And in the other corner we have the Government saying (repeatedly) that the Unions have a political agenda.
There’s a lot of back & forth and I’m starting to feel cooped up at home, waiting around to hear the latest on the strike - is it still on, has it been called off, will it still be on tomorrow…its like being in a bad relationship and not being sure whether you’re still together!
Heard something funny on TV this morning during all the coverage on the situation: the presenter said that Obasanjo caused problems for Yar'Adua and then retired to his farm, instead of allowing Yar'Adua to cause his own palaver. It’s interesting to note that we believe our leaders are there to cause problems. But it does make sense to ensure that any trouble you cause is solely your own.
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