NUMSA condemns Labour Department for intending to deregister AMCU
26 April 2019
NUMSA, as a matter of principle, is shocked and dismayed by the Department of Labour’s (DoL) intention to deregister AMCU as a union. We want to put it on record that as the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, we reject – with the contempt it deserves – that a democratic government, instead of working with the unions to overcome whatever challenges that confront AMCU, its first stated intention is to come out guns blazing, making its intention clear that it wants to deregister the union.
Whilst NUMSA understands that all unions need to be compliant with the DoL’s requirements, we have had experiences where the DoL should have been expected to act on particular affiliates but, instead, it moves at a snail’s pace. We are not convinced that the DoL has exhausted its options in finding solutions between itself and AMCU.
However, it is also NUMSA’s firm view that the no-nonsense attitude adopted by the DoL against trade unions should be adopted by the DoL against employers who are union-bashers and also hold back subscriptions from the union; they should adopt the same attitude towards employers who withhold and do not pay workers’ contributions to pensions and provident funds; they should adopt the same attitude towards employers who refuse to pay workers a living wage, and employers who don’t comply with occupational health and safety standards, openly compromising the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The DoL must be consistent in its approach.
NUMSA has not seen the DoL dealing decisively with these backward and primitive employers, some of whom have been attacking the hard-won gains and benefits of workers. Employers who have made it their mission to undermine collective bargaining and destroy collective bargaining agreements. To be honest, the DoL has been a toothless dog on this front.