Strike in South Africa! World Cup Overfloweth with Bad Press

Strike in South Africa! World Cup Overfloweth with Bad Press

The strike began 3 days ago. The stadium construction workers' demands have not been met. Yet only one side of this stalemate has moved their piece on the chess board with a bead of sweat appearing on the brow of both World Cup 2010 organizers and the contracted construction companies building a 'better future' for the host nation.

According to the Associated Press, Union official Rufus Dizana says employers offered workers a 11.5 percent wage increase; up from 10.4 percent. Workers are demanding a 13 percent increase. What's 1.5 percent among friends?

Well, apparently, this isn't about friendship. There are deadlines to be met. FIFA stares at its watch as completed construction on 10 stadiums - half of those are new construction - is due in December. And even more pressing: employers have given striking workers until Tuesday to decide whether they will take the 11.5 percent or not. It begs the question: What does the 'not' entail? What is the ultimatum? Where would these big construction companies go to find manual labor at less than 5 dollars an hour?

Impatiently awaiting the decision by the group, Danny Jordaan, the head of the World Cup organizing committee, says in a statement that he believes the workers will accept the ''improved offer and will start work on the stadiums soon.'' Unfortunately for Jordaan, this service cannot be outsourced to tomorrow's Slumdog Millionaires working at call centers in India. So, it appears the union and its members are in a position of power.

According to Bloomberg.com, the National Union of Mineworkers (about 70,000 strong) said if workers’ demands aren’t met this week, it will "push up its wage demand to 15 percent next week and 20 percent the week after." Given the seemingly low wage of 5 dollars per hour or not, it certainly appears the union and its workers have the upper hand in this negotiation.

Could it be that those who concocted South Africa's illustrious stadium rennovation plan bit off more than they could chew just to get the bid? Among the 10 stadiums to be used for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, 5 of South Africa's football stadiums will undergo major renovations for 2010 including Soccer City and Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, the Royal Bafokeng stadium in Rustenburg and Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein. Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane in Limpopo, King Senzangakhona Stadium in Durban, and Cape Town's Green Point stadium will be rebuilt. While brand new stadiums are planned for Mbombela in Mpumalanga and in the Nelson Mandela Metro in the Eastern Cape.

Much like a would-be lover tries to entice his or her prey by lying about doing charitable work or annual income, the South Africa 2010 Committee isn't looking good today. This stadium strike comes off just about as appealing to the soccer-loving world as Matt Dillon's unforgettable line, "I work with retards", failed to impress Cameron Diaz in the film 'Something About Mary'.

The strike also affects the prospects of a completed state-of-the-art rail system, the 33 billion dollar Gautrain, escorting soccer junkies between the capital Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city where 2 of the stadiums are planned to host soccer matches. With projections of just short of half a million non-African visitors to the first African nation to host a World Cup and a GDP increase of 1 percent, there is a lot riding on the success of the event. South Africa represents an entire continent, both in place and name.

Will the investment of billions of dollars be worth it in the end? Once the tourists hit the airport on July 12th, what will be the fallout? With all these potentially beautiful stadiums built, will that 1% (2.8 billion dollars roughly) bump in the Gross Domestic Product of South Africa have enough of a residual effect to balance the debt left from the mass expenditures to bring the World Cup to the continent in the first place? Or will 2011 see a sharper decline than originally anticipated? I'm doubtful these questions were adequately answered in advance of the successful bid. Just take a look at the finally recovered host of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

Those questions will be answered in due time, but for now, it seems likely that the employers affiliated with the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors, including South Africa's 2 biggest building companies in Murray & Roberts Holdings Ltd. and Aveng Ltd. will bow to pressure caught in the Union's tightening vice to the delight of those rooting for the underdog across the world.

Watch your franks and beans!

JT