ANC YOUTH LEAGUE SUPPORTS THE COSATU LED STRIKE AND MASS ACTION AGAINST E-TOLLING AND FOR BANNING OF LABOUR BROKERS

06 March 2012

The ANC YL fully and unreservedly supports the strike led by COSATU calling for labour brokers and immediate cancellation of e-tolling. We call on all members of society, particularly the youth to join in the mass perotests across the country, because the issues COSATU is raising are genuine issues.

On labour brokers, the African National Congress Youth League made a submission to the Public hearings on Labour Brokering on the 29th of August 2009 and amongst other things said:

"The ANC YL's 23rd National Congress gave this leadership a mandate to "lobby and campaign the illegalization of labour-brokers and agencies that unethically exploit young people". If companies and institutions need labour to continue with their operations, they must be in a position to pay for the labour provided by employees and understand that these are not instruments, but human beings who should reproduce their existence. Companies should be taught to appreciate that South Africa comes from a difficult past of forced labour and very unfair labour practices in the Mines, Big Corporations and institutions, and a repeat of such practices should never be allowed.

Our grand fathers worked for many years in Mines and factories which made South Africa to be a better place, yet they do not have anything to show that they worked for many years. They do not own houses; they are sick without proper medical care and cannot afford to educate their children and grand children.

We are totally opposed to a situation where our current generation will face the same situation, working for many years to enrich few people while they are living in starvation. The ANC YL will permanently have a problem with anyone who supports Labour Brokering in South Africa.

The ANC Youth League would like to emphasise the point that our call for the banning of labour brokers does not amount to some quasi-regulations, which might end up not being overseen by anyone, therefore leaving space for continued brutal exploitation of workers.

Labour Brokering does not fit anywhere in the kind of society we as youth want to live in, and we call upon Public Representatives to illegalise Labour Brokering in South Africa and safeguard the future of many young people who are brutally exploited in various factory floors without rights. We will stop nowhere in fighting for the illegalisation of Labour Brokering in South Africa because it does not in any way fit to the kind of society we are going to live in".

The ANC Youth League is disappointed that the ANC government and Parliament have been indecisive on the question of banning labour brokers, despite a public commitment to ban labour brokers.

On e-tolling, the ANC Youth League is vehemently opposed to any system that will lead to paying for daily usage of roads by road users. Roads should be paid for by the State, not daily users. The government of the ANC cannot and should not complain about lack of money, because South Africa is a wealthy nation with minerals resources that be used fruitfully to generate additional revenue for public goods and services. Our call for Nationalisation of Mines is amongst other things meant at resolving the question of the State not having money to pay for public services and goods.

The ANC YL advises workers and all involved in the strike to never retreat on the call for banning of labour brokers. This issue must not be negotiated, because labour brokering is slavery which does not and must never have a place in a new South Africa. The ANC Youth League advises workers to never retreat on the cancellation of e-tolling, and should never enter into a discussion on whether the payments should be reduced. The approach should be a call for cancellation of e-tolling with immediate effect.

Members and supporters of the ANC Youth League in all regions and provinces should join the strike and mass action against the e-tolling system and call for banning of labour brokers. No retreat! No surrender!

Statement issued by the ANC Youth League, March 6 2012

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