PARLIAMENT PASSES LABOUR RELATIONS AMENDMENT BILL
20 August 2013
The Office of the ANC Chief Whip welcomes the passing of the Labour Relations Amendment Bill by the National Assembly today. A total of 248 MPs voted in favour of the Bill while only 81 voted against it. There was no abstention.
The passage of the this important Bill is the culmination of negotiations by social partners at Nedlac, public hearings conducted by parliament and extensive discussions in the labourportfolio committee by all parties.
The important feature of this Bill include allowing for organizational rights to unions that do not enjoy majoritarian status at a workplace; the appointment of essential services committees which has been a long outstanding matter; an extension of the period for consultation over a proposed retrenchment; and the removal of the requirement for a strike ballot to take place prior to industrial action.
We are therefore pleased that the final draft endorsed by parliament today will a go a long way in ensuring the protection of South African workers' fundamental rights, job security, quality jobs and deepening a better life for our people. Importantly, the Bill provides for a three months limit on labourbroking, which will decisively deal with the inhumane practice of labour brokering, which had effectively turned workers into slaves of their employers. We have always held a view that this practice is heartless, floutes the rights of workers with impunity and is a disguised form of human trafficking.
One of the main issues that the largest minority party (DA) raised in the debate was the question of labour market flexibility. The World Bank study has ranked the South African Labour Market as the 16th most flexible out of 133 countries included in their survey. The reality is that the Amendment Bill seeks to resolve the biding constraints to creating permanent employment.
The DA's objection of this Bill is not surprising, as the party has consistently and shamelessly championed the interests of the wealthy and exploitative bosses at the expense of the poor and the downtrodden. It would be unimaginable for the DA to care about the rights of the workers - some of whom toil daily under severe hardships in farms, factories and mines - as even within its ranks the party has countless employers who are responsible for the very inhumane conditions the Bill seeks to eliminate.
Statement issued by the Office of the ANC Chief Whip, August 20 2013
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