ANC labour broking U-turn will kill a million jobs

In a statement yesterday about the Labour Relations Amendment Bill, the ANC Chief Whip in Parliament, Mathole Motshekga, said: "...the ANC will avoid any push for a vote on any of the clauses but will seek consensus on these issues with all the other political parties." This is simply not true and does not reflect what happened in the Portfolio Committee on Labour on Wednesday during deliberations on the Bill.

During the committee meeting on Wednesday all ANC members present, seemingly led by Buti Manamela, pushed for an amendment to the Labour Relations Act that would effectively ban labour broking by limiting temporary employment services to ‘zero months'. 

The DA will continue to oppose the proposed amendment to the Bill banning labour brokers when the committee meets next week for further deliberations.

The research speaks for itself - the banning of labour brokers would result in the loss of employment for over 850,000 people currently employed by labour brokers. This is in terms of the Department of Labour's own Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA), which also warns that banning labour brokers will not only contribute to increased levels of unemployment in the country, but also "deprive the households attached to these workers of a valuable source of wage income".

The ANC in Parliament's acrobatics on the issue of labour brokers is nothing more than a pre-election charm offensive to warm relations with COSATU - a pre-campaign gift handed over on a silver platter at the expense of poor, vulnerable South Africans. The ANC's conduct in the labour committee this week makes a mockery of Nedlac and the legislative process over the past three years.

The DA will oppose any legislation that will result in nearly a million job losses. Protecting workers against exploitation can be accomplished through careful regulation - an absolute ban would be both ill-conceived and reckless. 

Statement issued by Sej Motau MP, DA Shadow Minister of Labour, June 8 2013

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