South Africa Strike Worsens As Workers Dump Garbage on Streets

150,000 municipal workers have gone on strike in cities around South Africa to demand a 15% pay raise. Police reacted to the strike by firing tear gas and rubber bullets on protesting South African municipal workers in some cities. The South Africa Strike worsened on July 27, as municipal workers began emptying garbage onto the streets of Johannesburg, while demanding higher wages.

The South African municipal workers say that the rising cost of food has rendered their current salary insufficient. They are not alone in voicing their concerns. Many South Africans are at unease because the recession, which is the first that South Africa has experienced in 17 years, has resulted in the elimination of almost 250,000 jobs in South Africa. 

Consequently, South African workers from many different industries have gone on strike in recent weeks, while "there have been violent protests over the lack of housing, water and electricity in the poorest townships."

Construction workers went on strike at the beginning of July, creating another major strike in South Africa that threatened the timely construction of 2010 World Cup Stadiums. Fortunately, the government and unions were able to resolve the conflict by agreeing to a 12% pay raise.

However, the South African government finds itself between a rock and a hard place. South Africa's revenue from taxes is decreasing in the midst of the recession, which will make it difficult for it to offer pay raises to more workers. If South Africa does not give in to enough union demands, it risks the exacerbation of strikes and more violence. At the same time, the South African strikes are hampering South Africa's attempts to portray itself as a stable location for foreign investment.