Trust Zwelinzima Vavi to tell it like it is. “A demand for a living wage is political, because it is politics that allowed such conditions 20 years into a democracy,” the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary said, addressing striking metal workers in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) strike is complicated as it is not just about wage demands, and therefore reaching a settlement is more than a numbers game. Numsa says the strike is not about “economic sabotage”, but its critics claim this is a show of force to open the way for its political agenda. Government is therefore eager that the plug be pulled on the strike before Irvin Jim gets into his stride.

Ranjeni Munusamy EWN News