SA hospital strikers: killing for money

I was back in SA this weekend running a lot of built-up errands and going to the Springboks (SA national team) vs. All Blacks (NZ national team) rugby match, part of the Tri-Nations tournament.  Exciting game, and more about that later.

I hadn't been paying too much attention to SA news from Nigeria, but I knew that public workers went on strike.  What I didn't realize is that this included workers at public hospitals, even though they are not legally allowed to strike.  At a minimum they are leaving people to suffer and die untreated; at a maximum there are reports of striking hospital workers threatening those who are still working and physically entering and disrupting operations.  Do a search and you'll find pictures of striking docs/nurses completely ignoring patients in need.

The hospitals put out a call for volunteers, so I heard one lady today say she and her daughter went to a hospital yesterday and were washing beds in the maternity ward after births and changing diapers.  Not glamorous, but neat to see people do that.  The strikers aren't winning any sympathy.

It's sad on a lot of levels.
-First, there is the obvious and appalling human toll.
-Second, it is hard for the government to argue that it can't afford the pay raise when story after story of corruption is in the papers, including this one about a scandal within the ruling party on the same day as the strikes.  (They even coined the word "tenderpreneurs" for people who game the system, though usually it refers to blacks who are paid to be fronts for businesses in order to give it a better BBBEE score.)  When people know that government officials are lining their pockets, it's hard to agree to give up pay.  The government has no credibility here, and the union is capitalizing on it.
-Perhaps the worst part of it all is that the strikers are saying they aren't paid enough, but their actions are hurting the poorest the hardest, because higher-income people have insurance and use the parallel private system.

Some context:
-Inflation is ~5% at the moment; the government has agreed to a pay increase of 7%, but the strike is all about an extra 1.6% (for a total raise of 8.6%) and a housing allowance of R300/mo (about $40).
-Average public sector salaries are 30% higher than average private sector salaries (not necessarily comparing similar positions, though)
-According to an ad in the paper by the Minister of Education, a 5th year teacher at a public school makes about 235,000 rand (~$30,000)/year in total comp.  That seems a little high, but if so, that's pretty good pay considering the cost of living and average salaries here.
-Last year all public sector workers received an 11% increase.  The government agreed in order to avert a strike before the World Cup.

Some good reads from the Sunday Times:
-Strike chaos
-The court order and the union response, including a flat-out statement from the union leader that they will continue the essential services strike despite the court ruling