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Wednesday 22 October 2014

South Africa Postal Unrest

The motto that appears on the South African Post Office press release page is "We deliver - whatever it takes". However, following several months of unrest, strikes, violence and pure vandalism, that is not the case and anyone thinking of sending Christmas parcels or indeed any type of post to South Africa should seriously consider how they send it - there is a much greater chance of delivery if it is sent through a courier company. Unrest in the post office started as early as 27th January 2014, and at the time of writing is still not resolved.

On the last day of January Mr Lungile Lose, SA Post Office’s Group Executive Corporate Affairs, stated that  the casual workers in mail sorting centres that had started an unprotected strike on Monday (27 January 2014) had not returned to work (an unprotected strike is one which that does not comply with the terms of South Africa's Labour Relations Act).  Striking casual workers were demanding that the SA Post Office employ them into permanent positions. This was not possible for reasons of affordability and operations; it was not possible to accommodate the demands of the striking employees as such a move will result in unstable financial consequences for the SA Post Office.  The total number of casual employees on strike was 1286 on this date.



On 4th February strikers had ignored their employer's final demand t return to their posts and a total of 1461 employees did not report for duty on that day. However the strike was resolved by arbitration on 11th February and striking workers returned to work on the following day. Further unrest occurred in late June that was quickly settled. However casual postal workers in Tshwane and the East Rand went on strike again on 18th August, supposedly because of the slow speed of conversion of some 900 casual workers into permanent (yet part time) positions. Striking workers received an ultimatum to return to work by 0800 on 22nd or face dismissal. At the same time the Post Office started to lay criminal charges in all cases where damage to property, intimidation or violence occurred, striking workers actions having been typified by intimidation and violence, by the blocking of workplaces, assaults on employees and wanton damage to property. A number of post offices and mail delivery depots had to be closed so as to ensure the safety of customers and employees. On 29th August the Post Office started issuing dismissal notices.



By 1st September a total of 473 casual and part-time employees that had taken part in the illegal strike had been dismissed, a Post Office spokesman stating that "All efforts to resolve the industrial action – which included negotiations, ultimatums and a Labour Court Interdict – came to nothing.  Therefore, the SA Post Office could not envisage of any other alternative but to dismiss the striking employees." The strike continued to spread and by 16th September after violent intimidation more than 80 post offices in the Johannesburg region were closed "for the safety of customers and employees".  A further 16 offices in Cape Town were closed as well as many others around the country, including Pretoria, Polokwane, Germiston and Benoni.



As of 16th October Negotiations to end the strike were continuing, and at that stage the Post Office had put several proposals on the table, which were then under discussion. In Bloemfontein, eight men were charged with common assault after they had allegedly assaulted and partly undressed a Post Office employee, who was on her way to work, at the local taxi rank. They are due to appear in court on 6th November.  Also in Bloemfontein, one person was charged with intimidation and he will also appear in the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court on 6th November. The Post Office’s security personnel continue to work closely with the SA Police, who are investigating a further 41 cases relating to the strike, including arson and assault.



As at the time of writing, mail in Gauteng Province (the Johannesburg, Pretoria and East Rand region) is currently delayed by around four weeks. The effects of this so called industrial action are far-reaching. For example chronic medication is not reaching patients, the University of South Africa (Unisa) has been forced to extend the dates for thousands of students to submit their assignments,  and direct marketing companies have been stuck with millions of pieces of mail.  — the South African Post Office is once again crippled by a strike.




Thursday 16 October 2014

Instant Recall from my Schooldays

About a half hour ago I walked down to out mail box - it is about a 50 yard walk down a steep incline and is surrounded by maples and oaks. I was immediately taken back more than 50 years (gee - am I that old?) to my schooldays. It is autumn or fall here in the North Country, and already many of the colorful leaves of the woods and forests of the area are lying on the ground. Today there is steady rain falling outside - it has been falling for some time and is due to continue into the early hours of the morning - indeed there is s flash flood warning out for the region, with much heavier rain forecast for later today. So how was I taken back all that time?



Well, my High School education was at Bromsgrove School in the County of Worcestershire in the UK. Back in those days the quad (I believe it is now called Gordon Green) was surrounded by horse-chestnut trees, and at exactly this time of the year, when the leaves were on the ground and had started to rot, they gave off a distinctive and, to me, very pleasant aroma. I experienced that same aroma today for the first time in all those years (I never once experienced it during my 42 years in southern Africa), and my brain or or consciousness immediately recognized and recalled where I had last smelled it.

The brain and our consciousness is a wonderful thing, with billions and billions of connections between its neurons - more than the number of stars in our galaxy. I have several previous posts that refer to it - just do a search for "consciousness" at the top of the page if you would like to read them. To be able to instantly recall something that has been "in storage" for 55 years is quite remarkable.



Monday 13 October 2014

Fryeburg Fair

In concluding my previous post I promised to write about our visit to the Fryeburg Fair. Fryeburg is the oldest town in Maine's Oxford County and was settled in the mid 1750's. The town's Fryeburg Academy, a day and boarding prep school, was founded in 1792 and is one of America's oldest schools. The fair is held every year in late September and early October, and attracts more than 300,000 visitors, the season coinciding with a massive influx of tourists to the region to view the Fall foliage.

We drove down to Fryeburg on Saturday 4th October, my grandson Luke's 2nd birthday, following Route 302 through Littleton, Bethlehem, Bartlett and North Conway. This route takes you through the spectacular Crawford Notch around the foot of Mount Washington, and past the renowned Mount Washington Hotel, which opened in 1902.


It was unfortunate that the enjoyment of the day was marred by inclement weather. One of the main reasons that Liz and I visited the fair was to see the exhibits in the Natural Resource Center, which I had strong recollections of from my previous visit to the fair 9 years ago.This time we made some interesting woodworking contacts as well as meeting several people of interest. One of the most out of the ordinary exhibits was that of Antique Wagons, all of which turned out to be wonderfully restored Gypsey wagons. It's a pity that they were the only genre!


We returned to the North Country by way of the Kancamagus Highway, which winds through New Hampshire's White Mountains from Conway to Lincoln. On the way the rain, which had been mostly drizzle until then, became harder and harder, and by the time we hit Littleton it was a regular downpour. All in all though, a memorable day.