Guest blogger, Darrell Cuthbert is a South African writer, blogger, social media enthusiast and general life addict. After 17 years in the corporate environment he took up writing full time, a mixture of fiction and non-fiction. Darrell currently lives in Johannesburg, South Africa with his wife and two teenage children. Visit his website.

There’s a new show flighting on TV every night at the moment, and most of the day as well. Paywatch has both similarities and differences with the late 80′s and early 90′s TV show with a similar sounding name. Both feature a cast clad in red, engaging in adolescent behaviour. Of course the red Speedos and figure hugging one-piece swimsuits have been replaced by red t-shirts that are not quite as revealing. Thank goodness for that given the figures contained within many of them. The objective in Baywatch (ostensibly) was to keep the beaches safe and rescue troubled swimmers, the objective in Paywatch is…..well, actually the objective gets muddier by the day.

On the surface the current strike is about money, in the form of salaries and benefits for government workers, but I get the feeling there is a steady undercurrent of politicking running beneath the pay dispute on the surface. Much like in Baywatch there is a lot of gratuitous posing and posturing.. Union leaders especially flex their muscles and flash their assets in the hope of impressing the audience (“people”) and the studio bosses (government).

Despite some of the clownish behaviour we have seen in the last week it is not really funny, a tragicomedy at best. Legitimate protest and strike action is part of living in a democracy; the process being hijacked by union leaders and hooliganism are not.

I have sympathy for the plight of teachers, nurses and indeed anyone not paid what they are worth (including us lowly freelancers), but just how does becoming a howling mob enhance ones earning power. There are better ways to address grievances without resorting to criminality and setting an appalling example to the youth of our land.

This brings me to the really tragic part of this saga, those who are among the most affected by the strike. In the midst of all the debate and “negotiation” we have to ask the question; where are the children?

While the unions are showing government the democratic finger what is happening to the matric class of 2010? These young adults are about to enter tertiary institutions and the workforce. What preparation are they being given right at the crucial moment, and what example are they being set?

So many in this nation, including union leaders and members, revere the memory and legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and respect his impact on this country among others. Maybe the principle of Satyagraha (using truth as a non-violent force for good) should be taught, not only in schools also but in union circuses, oops I mean caucuses, and in the grimy corridors of government.

I have two children in school, of which one is in matric, I’m sure I hold views common to many parents. We agree that teachers are undervalued, under-appreciated and underpaid. We do not agree that hurling rocks and preventing those that choose to work from doing so is the solution.

At the risk of sounding like an English teacher (which I am not thankfully or I may have found myself being pressured to join in the fun instead of being hard at work behind a desk), I’d like to share one of the definitions assigned to the word strike by the Oxford Dictionary: n. act of striking ; employees refusal to work until some grievance is remedied.

Wise words from a publication that is seldom studied these days, judging by some of the public statements inflicted on us. Stretching the definition to include threatening schools that choose to fulfil their role as places of education, barricading hospitals and interfering with the right of others to freedom of choice, movement, association etc. seems a liberty we can ill afford.

Odd that the freedom to “strike” and engage in destructive behaviour seems more than important than the right to education and health.

Again I ask the question, where are the children? Where are their rights when many of them are sitting at home wondering if they will be able to write preliminary exams on time. If not will the final exams be held late and affect admission into tertiary institutions and job applications? An educated and hard working workforce prospers, pays more tax and ultimately creates more funding for the civil service, or is my logic incorrect?

Once again, where are the children? Mr. Vavi, Mr.. Zuma, Mrs. Motshekga? Where?

To the other affected parents out there I offer this advice. Do everything you can to help the schools your children attend keep operating, pitch in and volunteer to help in whatever way is within your power. If it is not possible for them to go to school then make sure the time spent at home is not treated as a holiday. Keep your children studying, revising and in a state of readiness for when the strike ends.

Finally and most importantly – to all the affected learners out there and specifically those of you in matric: Keep working as hard as you are able under the circumstances you are in. Don’t let the behaviour and decisions of adults interfere with your education, goals and dreams. It’s your life, do what you have to to make the most of it. Soon enough you will be out there being the decision makers and influencers, use your skills and talents to work for a society in which this kind of situation is unnecessary.