The Minister of Labour can forget about unilaterally imposing the strike balloting issue on unions  

The Congress of South African Trade Unions has noted with alarm and contempt the attempts by the Minister of Labour Mildred Olifant ,to sow confusion to the workers and the nation over the issue of strike balloting. The strike balloting issue was rejected by the unions two years ago , during the LRA amendments and COSATU wants to make it clear that it will continue to resist such a proposal in future. There is no agreement in place on this issue and any attempt to create an impression to the contrary is misleading and mischievous.

The department and the Minister’s threat that they will enforce it under threat of trade union deregistration is pure wishful thinking. Workers will not be bullied and coerced to give up their hard-won rights; not by government nor by big business. The right to strike will not be neutralised or taken away even by an unholy alliance and collusion of both business and government

The rights that workers currently enjoy were not benevolently handed over to them by the state and there is no minister or government department that will take them away. Workers died for these rights under difficult conditions and any attempt to take them away will be a provocation and declaration of hostilities. 

The minister is very quiet about the rampant exploitation of workers by big business because she is busy doing their bidding. We expect the minister of labour and the department of labour to expend their energies on ensuring that there is compliance by employers on the CCMA awards, and that the laws of this country are not undermined by employers.

Farmworkers and other vulnerable workers are being abused and some even killed by employers, while the department of labour is plotting its offensive against the workers. We will oppose any efforts to force unions to incorporate provisions for strike ballots in their constitutions whether the minister likes it or not.

The intransigent approach and the unilateralism from the minister will be met with stiff resistance from the workers. Workers will not allow this anti-worker and anti-union bashing to go unchallenged. The minister should stop trying to start a battle she will  not win , there will be no strike balloting imposed unions and that will not change. 

Statement issued by COSATU, 19 February 2016