Loyalist
07-08-2009, 08:47 PM
Well who could have seen this coming... :rolleyes:
Some 70,000 construction workers in South Africa have gone on strike, halting work on stadiums being built for the 2010 World Cup.
Unions are threatening to wreck the tournament if their demands for a 13% wage increase are not met.
Organisers say they are confident the grounds will still be ready, unless the strike continues for months.
On Monday judges rejected a request from the employers to outlaw the strike, which unions say is indefinite.
The BBC's Mpho Lakaje in Soweto says scores of workers are outside Soccer City stadium wearing blue overalls and brandishing sticks.
"We are struggling for our country," they chanted after downing their tools at midday.
Soccer City union organiser Patrick Geqeza blamed management inflexibility for precipitating the strike.
"We feel bad about going on strike. [But] they don't want to meet us half way," he told AP news agency.
At present most of the workers are being paid 2,500 rand ($310; £192) a month. (Continues)
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8140433.stm)
The blame for this rests on Sepp Blatter. On a crusade to make football politically correct, this idiot has caused unprecedented destruction to the sport. Anyone with half a brain would realize that no country in Africa is capable of hosting such a tournament, particularly a state built on such an unstable societal structure as South Africa. Awarding the World Cup also helps legitimize the corrupt ANC regime, and further the erroneous illusion that post-Apartheid SA is some sort of democratic, post-racial utopia when, in reality, the opposite is the case. As much as I love football, and particularly look forward to the World Cup, I really hope this strike disrupts the tournament, thus forcing its relocation. At least then Sepp Blatter will no longer have to fear "Europeanizing (http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=656178&sec=global&cc=5901)" African football. ;)
Some 70,000 construction workers in South Africa have gone on strike, halting work on stadiums being built for the 2010 World Cup.
Unions are threatening to wreck the tournament if their demands for a 13% wage increase are not met.
Organisers say they are confident the grounds will still be ready, unless the strike continues for months.
On Monday judges rejected a request from the employers to outlaw the strike, which unions say is indefinite.
The BBC's Mpho Lakaje in Soweto says scores of workers are outside Soccer City stadium wearing blue overalls and brandishing sticks.
"We are struggling for our country," they chanted after downing their tools at midday.
Soccer City union organiser Patrick Geqeza blamed management inflexibility for precipitating the strike.
"We feel bad about going on strike. [But] they don't want to meet us half way," he told AP news agency.
At present most of the workers are being paid 2,500 rand ($310; £192) a month. (Continues)
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8140433.stm)
The blame for this rests on Sepp Blatter. On a crusade to make football politically correct, this idiot has caused unprecedented destruction to the sport. Anyone with half a brain would realize that no country in Africa is capable of hosting such a tournament, particularly a state built on such an unstable societal structure as South Africa. Awarding the World Cup also helps legitimize the corrupt ANC regime, and further the erroneous illusion that post-Apartheid SA is some sort of democratic, post-racial utopia when, in reality, the opposite is the case. As much as I love football, and particularly look forward to the World Cup, I really hope this strike disrupts the tournament, thus forcing its relocation. At least then Sepp Blatter will no longer have to fear "Europeanizing (http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=656178&sec=global&cc=5901)" African football. ;)