S.A.'S PRESS WELCOMES END OF STRIKE !

The four-week strike brought large parts of the country to a standstill. South African newspapers welcome the end of a four-week strike by the main trade unions, which closed most of the country's schools and hospitals. The strike was the biggest since the end of apartheid in 1994.
Some papers worry about the effect the bitter industrial dispute will have on relations between the unions and the African National Congress (ANC) government. Others voice concern at the heavy financial losses incurred by workers over the course of the strike.
A business daily says people's alienation from the political process contributed to the length of the dispute.

EDITORIAL IN THE SOWETAN
Hallelujah. The strike is over, public servants can get back to work and continue providing the services we all need so desperately... Serious socioeconomic problems should never again be turned into a stage for political posturing while the whole country is held to ransom.

EDITORIAL IN CAPE ARGUS
Government negotiators who made their 'final offer' last week have been taken to task for breaching the constitution of the public sector bargaining council, which prohibits ultimatums... Unions have been concerned that a political agenda has shaped the strategy and timing of the strike plan... For many of their members, the extra loss of income is a massive cost they cannot afford.

EDITORIAL IN THE MERCURY
Was the lengthy strike worth it for the workers, who are faced with the prospect of "no work, no pay"?... The union leaders, on the other hand, have hopefully learned a valuable lesson, which is that industrial action should not last for as long as this one did. The government, on the other hand, has been accused of trying to bulldoze its way during the wage negotiations. But that said, now is the time for the hard work to begin.

WILLIAM M GUMEDE IN BUSINESS DAY
It is because people are excluded from the policy-making process that the public service strike has gone on for so long. It is why sporadic community protests over provincial borders that were unilaterally drawn up have gone from strength to strength. Since the Africa National Congress (ANC) party is so dominant and the opposition parties so irrelevant, a lack of democracy within the ANC and weak democratic institutions outside it will become a brake on future economic growth and reduce the quality of our democracy.

EDITORIAL IN THE CITIZEN
Nevertheless, the strike exposed deep dissatisfaction within the teaching profession which the government ignores at its peril. But we wonder whether the violent behaviour of some strikers - tearing up exam scripts and threatening private schools - will not permanently undermine the status of teachers... Some healing lessons will need to be placed on timetables when schools reopen.

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