Cosatu's Zwelinzima Vavi writes about "The working poor vs state moguls"

Here are his words...

THE public service strike has been hotly debated and unfairly reported on in the media.

From opinion pieces to current affairs shows, the dominant view has been that unions in South Africa are too powerful and are holding the country's "progress" at ransom.

Suggestions have been made that South Africa needs a Thatcherite leadership that adheres to a neo-liberal ideology and musters enough clout to crack the whip on the backs of the trade unionmovement.

Some critics have argued that unions are protecting a "labour aristocracy", that is those that are fortunate enough to have a job and to belong to a union.

The government did not waste time joining the tune, arguing that acceding to workers' demands would require the state to compromise the service delivery needs of poor communities.

Almost every news segment runs stories of how those in need of medical attention are turned away, how pupils are left in limbo on the eve of the matric exams and how bodies have been piling up in state mortuaries, causing unnecessary pain and suffering to the bereaved.

These attacks are waged in a manner that creates the impression that public servants exist in a socialvacuum.

The reality that many workers (due to the failure of the state to drive a sound job creation strategy and implement a comprehensive social security programme) have to care for extended families, is seldom mentioned by the media and government.

Cosatu has indicated at every opportunity that the consequences of the strike are regrettable and urged government to meet the workers' demands and thus contribute to the speedy resolution of the dispute.

With all the attempts to trivialise workers' demands for an 8,6percent wage increase and R1000 housing allowance, important questions have been left unattended.

Very few entertained the reasons behind government's 16-year reluctance to sign a minimum service level agreement so as to allow workers falling outside the scope of essential services to embark on strike action.

The government has been absolved of the blame for failing the poor and opportunistically using essential services as an instrument to suppress workers' rights.

There are many untold stories of the difficulties faced by public servants at the hands of a system governed by profit.

The public should be made aware that the conditions of work for many public servants are intertwined with the wellbeing of the people they serve.

The conditions under which education takes place in many townships and rural schools, replicates as a working environment for many teachers.

Similarly, the dream of providing quality healthcare for all will never be realised as long as nurses have to undertake their tasks within the context of staff shortages, lack of medicines and infrastructure in many of our public hospitals.

In all honesty, many public servants are reeling under the pressures of capitalism. A teacher who earns about R9,000 a month simply cannot afford a decent house. We should not be surprised when many public servants drown in debt and struggle to keep their families afloat. This is a gross crime committed by the government against public servants and society at large.

With the increasing cost of living and the lack of cushioning mechanisms such as state-subsidised housing for public servants, we can safely say that many of our teachers and nurses today constitute what has been called the working poor.

The public sector strike has clearly unmasked the real and ugly face of income inequalities and poverty in South Africa.

The fact that a top chief executive earns 1,728 times more than an average worker is proof of these gross inequalities.

Four years ago, the lowest-paid worker in the public sector earned R35,000 a year, while a director general took home in excess of R800,000 a year.

This reality is worsening as wealth becomes concentrated in the hands of a few, who have tasted the real fruits of democracy. These facts ought to be remembered by those who comfortably launch scathing attacks on working class struggles from their library armchairs.

Hopefully the resilience and overall discipline that has been demonstrated by the majority of the workers during the strike will be re-channelled towards mass campaigns in the National Health Insurance and a new, job-creating and equitable growth path.

The writer is Cosatu general secretary