Maravi

Stop the strike, go back to work

Stop the strike, go back to work
Written by Editor

It is clear that our striking civil servants, nurses and doctors are dealing with very insensitive people in government, merciless people. It’s clear that they will not listen to the striking workers, neither will they listen to anyone but their own inner demons. Their inflexibility and blindness ill become leaders, for leaders must tamper justice with mercy. We all know that the mark of great leaders is the ability to understand the context in which they are operating and act accordingly.

We also know that leaders who rely on authority to solve problems are bound to come to grief. The important thing is to give happiness to people. And there is nothing which makes people more appreciative of a government than that it should be able to deliver services.

We know that by and large, strike actions are recognised and accepted by the people as an effective and powerful weapon for workers to better their conditions. And it would be immoral to keep quiet while an insensitive clique of politicians is seeking to reduce an entire people into a status worse than that of beasts of the forest.

It’s clear that these strikes threaten not only the gains we have made but also our collective future. We also know that if we don’t treat the question of stability in our country as a common challenge, we are headed for a disaster. And as long as those in leadership don’t want to listen to the legitimate grievances of the people, there will always be tension and conflict in our country. Those who govern should know that it is their responsibility to manage the affairs of our country in a way that respects and enhances the lives of others. For as long as legitimate bodies of opinion feel things are not going well in their country and those who feel in that way are stifled, vile minds will take advantage of justifiable grievances to destroy, to kill.

And looking at the way things are going, or have gone so far, we feel it is not necessary to continue with these strike actions. And we therefore ask our health workers and other civil servants to return to work. We say this because the ways in which they will achieve their goals are bound by context, changing with circumstances even while remaining steadfast in their commitment to their vision. Strikes work only when people in government or in authority seem to be concerned and are keen to listen and work for stability. With the people we have in government, these strike actions will not bring the desired results. Other methods must be sought and used to deal with these problems. We say this because these problems are such that for anybody with a conscience who can use whatever influence he may have to try to bring about a resolution of these strikes, it’s difficult to say no.

It is clear that Rupiah Banda and his government have failed to live up to the ideals of humanism which places others before self and at the centre of all activity. The suffering of fellow citizens should affect all of us no matter where we find ourselves. With the way people are dying in our hospitals and clinics, it will soon be very difficult to talk about peace and stability to them, to people who are mourning every day. For this reason, we go down on our knees to beg the striking health workers and others to go back to work and ignore the provocation of Rupiah and his friends who want to drag our country into instability and chaos. We are with the workers. We understand the reasons of their strike. We support their cause. But we feel this strike action will not address the evils of this system, of this political order we are all forced to live under. And there is need to understand that social problems don’t just change because you have a strike, or you have ignored a strike – it takes a great deal of time. A society that has leaders who don’t listen to the grievances of their people endangers itself.

Leaders lead, but in the end, the people govern. We are not calling for an end to this strike because we are opposed to the reasons for it. Not at all. Or are we calling for an end to this strike because we support what Rupiah and his friends are doing. Again, not at all. We are calling an end to this strike because it’s targeted against insensitive people, people who are not moved in any way by the suffering or plight of others. All they care about is their own pockets, their own stomachs, their own plight or wellbeing. If everything is well with them, then there is nothing to worry about. Our calling for an end to these strikes is based on a belief in society; working together; solidarity; co-operation; partnership. It is rooted in a straightforward belief or view of society, in the understanding that the individual does best in a strong and decent community of people with principles, standards, common aims and values.

Every strike action is a political action. And there is no need to be apologetic about it because that’s what a strike action is – politics. And stopping this strike will not be a defeat – politically or otherwise.

It’s clear that Rupiah and his government are increasingly being linked to harshness, to not caring about the welfare of the people; they are increasingly being considered to be indifferent to the sufferings of their fellow citizens. They are increasingly being thought to be arrogant and out of touch. And much of this may be no more than personal mannerisms that grate on the public. Some of it is insensitivity – using insensitive language when the people’s welfare and self-esteem is at stake. And corruption is disgracing them in the eyes of the public. They shouldn’t cheat themselves that they are liked by the people. They are actually hated by the people. They can win elections through the use of money and manipulation, but they shouldn’t cheat themselves that the people like them. And such distasteful perceptions may endure and do them damage for a long time. Concern for others and magnanimity are important qualities in politics. Rupiah and his friends certainly need to do a lot about themselves.

And we understand and appreciate the hatred that is building up against these people in the country. But we urge all our people, especially the striking workers, not to look to deal with Rupiah and his friends on the back of national failure. There will be sufficient grounds without that to argue for their removal at the next elections. Rupiah and his friends don’t seem to know where they are headed and that is dangerous. Rupiah’s great achievement over the last six months is directionless leadership: he doesn’t appear to be in control and no one knows where he is heading. We have all made mistakes in our jobs, in our careers. But few people have been consistently wrong on all the great issues that face our nation as Rupiah is. It is difficult to define the purpose of Rupiah’s government. The only thing that seems to guide Rupiah’s government is the wish to destroy his political opponents, to destroy us and his determination to be re-elected for another term of office in 2011. That is not a recipe for governing well. You cannot run a government forever on that principle.

Rupiah’s government is too bossy, too contemptuous of citizens, too self-satisfied for its own good and for ours.

What our workers need is patience. Their time will come again. Things cannot continue on this path forever. We advise patience; we advise tolerance.

Again, we beg all the striking workers to go back to work and continue their struggles by other means from there.

Labels: HEALTHCARE, STRIKE

posted by MrK @ 3:19 PM