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Dear friends and fellow South Africans,

On Wednesday I stood before a Joint Sitting of Parliament to debate
South Africa's hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and declared that I
am proud of my country. Today, just two days later, I find myself
deeply ashamed of my countrymen.

The latest public sector strike has shown us the worst in human
nature. Let me first say that there is no denying the right of public
servants to strike, particularly when negotiations deadlock. I myself
organized and established the first black trade union to protect
workers' rights during apartheid. I am not without sympathy for our
workers.

We all know that there are good teachers living on paltry salaries. We
know there are dedicated nurses struggling to make ends meet for their
own families, while every day they take care of ours. We know there is
injustice in the system. We know life is hard and times are tough.

But every man and woman of conscience must draw a line at what they
will do to have their own needs met. And it seems that for many there
is no line, or it extends far beyond the bounds of what is rational,
moral or humane. Our society makes a grand show of supporting ubuntu
and we are easily outraged by the assaults against humanity by
criminals and corrupt officials. But where is ubuntu when the sheep
don the wolves' clothing?

One tragedy after the next has been engineered in the past few days.
It is no accident that two underweight babies died in Natalspruit
Hospital. They are not a casualty of wage negotiations. Their deaths
were brought about by intentional negligence on the part of nurses
into whose care they were entrusted. I am torn between grief and
anger. Words fail me.

Once this strike has ended, how could anyone entrust another child
into these nurses' care? They have not only gone against the Nurses'
Pledge, but against every moral precept by which we live.

We were all concerned by the front page pictures of empty classrooms,
knowing that the victims of the teachers' strike are ultimately our
children. Where is ubuntu when children are punished for grown-ups'
problems?

But our concern over education pales in relation to our horror when a
man whose hand is accidently cut off is turned away from two state
hospitals; or an 80 year old lies anaesthetized on the operating table
while protestors shove the theatre nurse out of the OR; or when
soldiers must be sent into hospitals to protect patients; or doctors
need to hide pregnant women awaiting Caesareans.

I have the utmost respect for those nurses and teachers who have drawn
the line at punishing children and endangering lives; who are
continuing to work under very real pressures and threats from their
colleagues. I applaud the lone nurse who stayed behind in the
neo-natal unit at Natalspruit Hospital, trying to care for 20 babies.
And I weep at her pain over not being able to do more.

We are facing a watershed moment in this nation. This is not only
about each one's individual conscience, but our collective conscience
as a nation. It is time to re-examine the limits, renegotiate the
process and reconsider where the right to strike collides with the
rights to life and security. Our Constitution recognizes that there
are instances where rights must be curtailed. Are we erring on the
side of liberty?

As with any story, there are many sides and many opinions. One needs
to question why public service unions' demands are more than twice the
rate of inflation. Government and economists say that workers in the
public sector earn more than those in the private sector, where
businesses can go bankrupt and jobs can be lost. But it is also
conventional wisdom that teachers at private schools earn more than
those at government funded schools.

When I spoke at the Joint Sitting on Wednesday I cautioned our
nation's leaders to be aware of the raised expectations of our people
in the light of the World Cup. Having seen what we are capable of; how
much money we could raise and how efficiently we prepared South
Africa's infrastructure, people will no doubt be asking why we cannot
do more, faster and better, when it comes to service delivery,
economic development and social justice.

Why can Government not pay the R1000 housing allowance the unions are
demanding? We spent billions of Rand erecting stadia for soccer games.
Can we not place the same value on the people who are educating our
children and healing our sick? I am only too aware that it is not that
simple. Having been in government for some forty years, I understand
the dynamics of our economy and the delicate balancing act between
what can be done and what should be done.

These strikes are a complex and thorny issue. But in my mind when it
comes to life and children, the grey areas quickly separate into black
and white. Those who still see grey have shamed our nation.

Yours in the service of the nation,

Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi MP