Labour relations reform: ANC's pre-election gift to COSATU

During today's final consideration of the Labour Relations Amendment Bill in the Portfolio Committee on Labour, the ANC majority in the committee argued strongly against key proposed reforms for the democratisation of labour relations. At the same time the ANC majority in the committee pushed for amendments to the detriment of poor and unemployed South Africans, launching a charm offensive to re-ignite its relationship with COSATU ahead of next year's elections.

Amendments to Sections 64 and 67 of the Labour Relations Act, which would provide for the reintroduction of the requirement of balloting before a strike, were strongly opposed by members of the ANC during today's clause-by-clause committee consideration.

The amendments would require unions or employers' organisations to conduct a ballot of its members entitled to participate in industrial action before calling a strike or lockout. The strike or lockout would be protected if the majority of the ballot vote is in favour of industrial action.

These key amendments are a move in the right direction towards the democratisation of South Africa's labour relations framework, particularly in light of the labour unrest that has been plaguing South Africa's economic growth. Opposing them reflects the ruling party's opposition to the democratisation of labour relations and solving the underlying causes of the on-going crisis in the mining sector. 

At the same meeting the ANC members pushed for an amendment to the Labour Relations Act that would effectively ban labour broking by limiting Temporary Employment Services to ‘zero months'. Instead of attempting to fix the labour broking system which employs thousands of poor South Africans by introducing measures to protect workers against exploitation the ANC in Parliament seems hell-bent on scrapping the system altogether -  this despite the Department's own Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) reflecting how the scrapping of Temporary Employment Services would result in thousands of job losses.

What is clear from the ANC members' conduct today is that the ruling party is in full election mode, giving pre-campaign gifts on a silver platter to COSATU at the expense of democracy and South Africa's poor and unemployed.

The DA will continue to push for the democratisation of the labour relations framework in South Africa as the deliberations in the committee continues. We will oppose any amendments that will result in job losses. We will continue to fight for the poor and unemployed. Some members of the ANC, on the other hand, seem determined to serve the needs of COSATU at the expense of unemployed South Africans.

Statement issued by Sej Motau MP, DA Shadow Minister of Labour, June 5 2013

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