Chaos, unfortunately, is probably the most suitable word to describe the current atmosphere of the South African mining community. Growing up, we have undoubtedly encountered numerous strikes, either driving by teachers on strike outside of their schools or watching large scale protests unfold on the news. Many of these protests tend to be quite sensible, and one can often sympathize with what the protesters are fighting for. However, there is a fine line between when these strikes are relatively peaceful displays of passion, and when these strikes become overly violent. Is it really ethical for the company to shoot tear-gas grenades at crowds of their own workers? On the other hand, is it also ethical for workers that are all part of a union to attend a protest with machetes in hand? Both sides are at ethical faults here, as disputes such as these should not garner the type of attention it is currently getting. The company is under fire for resorting to such drastic measures, giving off a terrible impression of their relationship with employees and just an overall bad attitude towards work ethic. It’s rather hard to pin the blame entirely on them though, as the workers themselves violated work ethic quite thoroughly by bringing weapons to the workplace.

link to the article: bit.ly/PurwBC