| The children at St. Vincent's Orphanage in Mariannhill, | | | | union strike and the harm potentially incurred on |
| South Africa returned to school this week with the | | | | schoolchildren in the process. Complicating the issue is |
| suspension of their county's nearly three-week long | | | | the right to strike that indicates a healthy |
| public sector strike. For 20 days, schools and hospitals | | | | democracy, contrasted by the coercion to do so, a |
| locked their doors as union members protested for | | | | coercion backed by threats and actual events of |
| higher wages and greater housing subsidies. I spoke | | | | violence and even death for crossing the picket line. |
| with Sr. Immaculate, the director of St. Vincent's, | | | | After such a prolonged strike, it's easy to debate |
| during the strike to learn of its impact on students at | | | | who to blame for the missed days of school: the |
| this home for vulnerable children. | | | | government? The unions? The teachers themselves? |
| A beneficiary of South Africa's public institutions | | | | But such a discussion of blame centers the debate on |
| herself, Sr. Immaculate acknowledged the need for | | | | the right to strike and the right to fair wages. These |
| increased government spending on social services for | | | | are crucial rights, undoubtedly, but they are |
| the country's impoverished masses. The higher | | | | secondary to one of the most basic rights of all - |
| salaries that the unions demanded were warranted in | | | | education. |
| order to make these teaching positions more | | | | Education is a human right that, when violated, |
| attractive to professional, fill the existing void of | | | | becomes a matter of social injustice. It is the |
| teachers, and ultimately raise the quality of education. | | | | responsibility of government to correct such injustice |
| With South Africa ranking fourth from the bottom in | | | | through investments in infrastructure and human |
| Newsweek magazine's recent ranking of the world's | | | | resources. It is the responsibility of teachers to |
| education systems, it seems that any strategy to | | | | correct this injustice through their time and personal |
| decrease class size (the average class size in South | | | | commitment to their students. And it is the |
| Africa is 45 students per teacher), develop teachers' | | | | responsibility of each one of us - you, me, and all of |
| capabilities, and ultimately improve educational quality | | | | our global society - to correct this injustice by |
| is valid. Nevertheless, Sr. Immaculate admitted, | | | | promoting education as a fundamental social value. |
| achieving these goals through the loss of 20 days of | | | | Whether it is through our time, our finances, our |
| school for children seems illogical, even criminal. | | | | creative gifts, or our prayers, let us affirm the |
| Such is the nuanced view of the public sector strike: | | | | importance of education. The children of St. Vincent's |
| the recognition of both the benefits gained from a | | | | depend on it. |