EFF statement on the DA’s motion to amend the South African Labour Laws
23 October 2024
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) unequivocally rejects the Democratic Alliance's (DA) motion, presented yesterday in the National Assembly, to amend South African labour laws.
The DA, for years, has been pushing a regressive agenda that aims to lower the National Minimum Wage, scrap the Employment Equity Act, and weaken the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. These are deliberate attempts to dismantle the hard-fought gains of the working class, returning South Africa to an era of apartheid and colonial exploitation.
The white supremacist DA's proposal to reduce the National Minimum Wage is not a solution to unemployment—it is a direct attack on the dignity of workers. By advocating for lower wages, the DA seeks to entrench poverty, forcing black people, who have already suffered centuries of exploitation, to work for next to nothing. Their opposition to the Employment Equity Act is equally insidious. By attempting to remove affirmative action and scrap transformation policies, they are undermining any effort to dismantle the entrenched racial inequalities in the labour market. Their goal is clear: preserve the white-dominated corporate structures that continue to benefit from the exploitation of African labour.
The racist DA has long argued that South Africa's labour laws unfairly tip the balance in favour of workers, claiming that these laws give workers more rights than employers and contribute to the country's high levels of unemployment. According to the DA, only a few people benefit from these laws with high salaries, while the majority are left jobless. They propose that lowering wages and weakening workers' rights will lead to more employment, suggesting that many should earn less for the sake of "job creation." This is nothing short of advocating for modern-day slavery, where workers are exploited under oppressive conditions with no bargaining power.
The DA's position exposes their complete lack of interest in creating real, sustainable jobs or fostering state-led industrialisation. Instead, they want young black people to be so desperate for work that they are forced to accept whatever crumbs are offered, fighting over the few jobs available and being grateful for the slave wages they receive.
This is the grim reality that the DA, through the Government of National Unity (GNU), has in store for South Africa: a betrayal of the working class, stripping away any hope of economic justice while protecting the profits of big business.
The DA's disdain for transformative labour laws is a betrayal of the principles of freedom and equality. They seek to strip workers of their rights, favouring corporate profits over human lives. In their desperation, their leader John Steenhuisen even appealed to Coloured and Indian communities, exploiting racial divisions by falsely claiming Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) policies only favour African people in what they consider to be "reverse racism".
It is also a grim misrepresentation of BBBEE law to inform Coloured and Indian people that they are excluded in BBBEE, when the law recognises them as previously disadvantaged groups. This is, therefore, nothing but a vile attempt to pit black people against one another, using their suffering as a political tool to maintain their exploitative capitalist agenda.
The EFF stands firm in defence of the working class. We will not allow the DA to drag this country back to an era where black people were subjugated, exploited, and dehumanised under colonial and apartheid labour laws. The fight for economic freedom continues, and through our presence in Parliament, we will not rest until every worker in South Africa is guaranteed fair wages, dignified working conditions, and full participation in the economy.
Issued by Leigh-Ann Mathys, National Spokesperson, EFF, 23 October 2024
