JOINT STATEMENT BY ANDREW LOUW, MP, WILLIE MADISHA, MP, AND IAN OLLIS, MP, DA SHADOW MINISTER OF LABOUR, COPE SPOKESPERSON AND DA DEPUTY SHADOW MINISTER OF LABOUR, OCTOBER 8 2009
DA and COPE withdraw from labour broking public hearings
Yesterday's disruption of the public hearings on labour brokers in Germiston (see report) is a mutilation on the dignity of parliament and cannot be tolerated. These hearings are in fact nothing but a charade, with the ANC and Cosatu making a farcical pretence at "discussing" an issue on which they have in fact made up their minds already. It is for this reason that the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Congress of the People (COPE) are withdrawing from the proceedings; our continued presence would suggest that such undemocratic behavior is tolerable.
The ANC and Cosatu are equally guilty of tarnishing the parliamentary process - the ANC for encouraging the chaos and Cosatu for not showing any respect for such a crucial function of government. The ANC is like a judge that does not control his own courtroom and allows thugs to threaten the public - because the verdict has been decided on long before the process has started.
Not only do these events completely undermine the bona fides of this process, but they also call into question the integrity and the legitimacy of parliament. If a gang of thugs can be allowed to trample over an official, legitimate consultative process, then we cannot claim to be living in a democracy.
The DA and COPE have until now participated in these hearings in good faith. It was made clear to us yesterday that we can no longer do so, and we are therefore withdrawing from any further participation.
Yesterday evening Cosatu and their members turned a parliamentary hearing into a political rally.
Participants wearing Cosatu T-shirts waved sticks and threw empty bottles and tin cans at participants with whom they did not agree. One member of the Unemployed People's Party, for example, had bottles thrown at him when he tried to make his presentation and he was shouted down and threatened, leading to his submission not being heard.
ANC officials did little to rein in the thugs, and the result was that many people who did not agree with COSATU were not given a chance to speak or voice their opinion.
The impression that these processes are a mere formality, and that the outcome has already been determined, is reinforced by a circular that has been given to the DA from the Gauteng Health Department, giving notice that it will be "phasing out" the use of nursing agencies in public hospitals. The public health system uses more labour brokers, through nursing agencies who staff public hospitals, than any other arm of government.
The DA and COPE will attend no more of these hearings because it would lend credence to a process that has been severely abused.
Source: Democratic Alliance
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