Striking a losing strategy

AS we read daily of the inconvenience of the bus strike which has been ongoing since April 18, spare a thought for the economic cost borne by each striker affected by a “no-work, no-pay” clause.

While 100% of the former salary has been lost for the strike period, it is only the extra increase in salary as a result of the protracted negotiations which can compensate for that loss.

For example, consider an employee presently on a monthly salary of R10 000. The employer offers an increase of 7% but he wants 10%.

So he goes on strike for a month and finally settles for 8%.

While he has lost R10 000 of salary while on strike, he has only gained an extra R100 each month. It will take 100 months, or more than eight years, for that little extra to recover the month’s salary lost.

When the economic cost is calculated it raises the question – was it all worth it?

Or consider the case in which, after only a week of striking, a similar worker extracts an extra 2% more in salary. The loss is R2 500 in salary and the monthly gain is R200.

Again, it will take more than a year for that lost salary to be recouped by the extra increase obtained.

And, in each case, even before the loss has been recovered, the employee will become embroiled in the next year’s wage negotiations.

In the light of this one must ask if striking on “no-work, no-pay” basis is such a smart strategy? — William Gould, Baysville