Excitement at 43 air school!

On Wednesday evening we were amazed to hear what we sounded like a very lively Afirican choir, singing outside our living quarters. On further investigation we found that it was the entire domestic staff singing at the top of their voices and dancing as they marched out on strike!

Despite their exuberance, the staff feel overworked and underpaid and have been insulted by the current 8% pay offer. The school has grown by over a third within less than a year, with no reciprocal increase in staff, and an inflation rate of over 10%, the pay offeris just not enough.

The management's position is that the strikers are ungrateful malcontents who do not appreciate how well they are looked after. They have jobs, unlike the majority of the people in this area, they are paid above the going rate and are given medical insurance.

The workforce have immediately been replaced with another army of blue uniformed staff, who seem willing, and able, to take their jobs. The union are asking for 30%, which of course the management have rejected. Sounds a familiar story, however the social situation here is incredibly sensitive


Port Alfred town is based around a marina framed by exclusive holiday homes which seem to be empty for 9 months of the year. In the surrounding countryside are the ‘townships’ where a very large black population live in terrible poverty. This is where the domestic staff live and I guess they are the lucky ones because they have jobs that probably support their entire families.


An article in the local paper recently quoted employment statistics showing that 47% of SA population have an income of less than 1000 Rand (about £90) a month and 25% of the population earn less that 500 Rand a month. So it’s more than likely that these staff, as domestics, have earnings in the lower bracket. That means entire families are pushed into terrible circumstances when inflation rises, and the strikers really need the extra money to make ends meet. They must have been pushed to extraordinary levels to even think about industrial action, the potential loss of income will be devastating

My feelings towards the substitute workforce are terribly mixed. At home Iwould think twice about dealing with people who took over a striker’s job, should I let them clean my room, eat the food they cook, or clear my plates in the canteen? On the other hand if I do it myself, I’m just as guilty as they are. And of course they are probably recruited from the huge pool of unemployed – so the money they earn goes to help another impoverished family.

The strikers picket the school gates all day, signing and dancing their versions of ‘ we shall overcome’ and treating us to a constant background cacophony of African music. Some of the songs are not all as pleasant as they sound though, the lyrics are ment to intimidate the workers who have taken their jobs. I wanted to go down and take some photographs, but the school does not want anyone to show them any attention, so I had to make do with taking the bus into town so that I could surreptitiously take pictures on they journey back. They are certainly the most energetic strikers I have ever seen – but I fear they have a very long hard journey ahead.