Hon members, we have not received a speakers' list for the seventh and eighth Orders. However, I call the chairperson of the committee, the hon Nchabeleng, who will introduce the reports.
Hon House Chairperson, the Portfolio Committee on Labour received amendments from the NCOP, but we actually disagreed with the NCOP on some of the amendments. We therefore decided to stick to what we had presented earlier in the House, that is, clauses 9(a) and 9(d) will remain as they were. The Opposition, the DA, objected to the amendments. Thank you.
There was no debate.
Hon Chair, I move: That the Labour Relations Amendment Bill be agreed to.
Declarations of vote:
Hon House Chair, the DA does not support the Labour Relations Amendment Bill. Following protracted discussions by the committee and a number of proposed changes from the NCOP, the Bill in its current form does not create market stability and does little to reduce the disproportionate power of big labour unions, which prohibits the creation of real growth.
The Bill no longer provides for the democratisation of labour relations through secret balloting before a strike, as proposed by the Department of Labour in the original version of the Bill. In removing this requirement, the ANC in Parliament has sought to entrench the undemocratic nature of South Africa's existing labour relations framework, which only serves the interests of union bosses instead of those of workers. The introduction of secret balloting would have inhibited union bosses in their engaging in strike action on a whim. Balloting would strike a balance between the workers' constitutional right to strike and the need to grow the economy and create jobs.
Rampant and prolonged strike action, such as the two-month strike in the mining sector, results in lost production hours, threatened jobs, and signals from both foreign and domestic investors that South Africa is an unstable and high-risk economic environment.
In Parliament President Zuma's ANC has acted irresponsibly by failing to introduce legislation benefiting South Africa's poor and unemployed people.
Furthermore, the Bill limits the term of temporary employment services governing labour broking to three months, after it initially provided for a six months' limit. This puts thousands of jobs at risk. The Bill needed to improve the ease of hiring employees, easing the burden of labour regulations that inhibit job creation in the small business sector, reduce high transactional costs associated with dismissals, and create greater recognition for temporary work.
This Bill will continue to condemn thousands to unemployment and poverty. The DA cannot support the Bill. [Applause.]
Hon Chair, although the committee was able to agree on certain cosmetic aspects of the Labour Relations Amendment Bill, there are still critical shortcomings at the core of this Bill. The Bill is nothing more than an ANC ploy ahead of this year's elections to appease unions like Cosatu, that have propped up President Zuma.
In regard to our labour relations regime, it is business as usual, since the Bill fails to adequately address often protracted labour unrest within the South African economy. Given the recent number of violent strikes in South Africa and the inability of unions to control their supporters, the free rein this Bill provides unions with will kill jobs and endanger the lives of strike participants and members of the public.
Workers remain the most vulnerable victims of the reckless industrial action that this Bill promotes, with the latest departmental figures showing that 45 of the 99 strikes recorded were unprotected and that wages lost skyrocketed by 500% to R6,7 billion. The Bill fails to introduce secret balloting as an effective mechanism to hand power back to the workers before the commencement of a strike.
Protracted strike action ultimately hurts us all, hampering direct investment in some of the most vital industries in the South African economy and prohibiting the creation of jobs. Economic growth cannot flourish in a hostile business environment.
We recognise workers' right to engage in lawful and peaceful strike action, but believe that a balance must be struck between protecting the rights of workers and ensuring the stable economic growth that creates jobs. We believe that jobs can be created through creating a flexible labour regime that bolsters the small business sector, equipping South Africans with an education that gives job seekers marketable skills, and democratising wage negotiations. This is the only way to deliver jobs to South Africa's poor and unemployed.
For the reasons advanced above, the ID cannot support the Bill. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, this Bill has come back to this House from the NCOP. The Bill was passed by this House and sent to the NCOP. It is the product of interaction between labour, government and employers at Nedlac. The department brought the Bill here - neither the opposition nor Cope.
The NCOP, in discussing this Bill, recommended that clauses 9(c) and (d) be omitted on the basis, firstly, that they are unconstitutional and, secondly, that courts should not be allowed to interfere with the right to strike.
Cope believes that the NCOP and the ANC are wrong, because clauses 9(c) and (d) refer to both strikes and lockouts, and Cope believes that the right to strike or lock out are not absolute rights.
The clauses proposed by the department, and not by Cope or the Minister, provide for consequences and empower the courts to bring a strike or production to an end when any of the parties do not respect picketing rules. The court can only rule after both parties have been given an opportunity to present their case, and therefore none of the parties can unilaterally decide to bring either a strike or production to an end. As far as I am concerned, this clause brings consequences for unruly behaviour by unions and underhand activities by the employers.
On the other hand, Cope supports the inclusion of clause 9, with which the DA and the ID have indicated their disagreement, because strikes are about solidarity. If workers on strike cannot be supported by members of the community, they have no weapon to enforce the strike. A union involved in the strike must take responsibility for the actions of its members and supporters.
Lastly, the issue of balloting is vital. It is important that at the end of the day workers should have the right to decide whether they want to go on strike or not. It cannot be the leadership that makes the decision on whether workers go on strike or not. As a result, Cope will not support this Bill. [Applause.]
House Chairperson, with the ANC being the only organisation that came up with these amendments, and also having changed the old Labour Relations Act in the country in 1995, it supports the Bill.
The parties that made declarations here did not read the Bill correctly, vis--vis the principal Act. In regard to all that they said on strikes, strikes take place in terms of section 64 of the Labour Relations Act. There is a procedure that has to be followed. Those strikes are in terms of the law as a result of collective bargaining, which the labour legislation promotes.
If there is the argument that there have to be ballots before a strike takes place, our understanding is that trade unions are managed in terms of their constitutions, and the Labour Relations Act respects that. There are trade unions whose constitutions demand a ballot before a strike. There are also trade unions which demand that if a strike is a response to collective bargaining, the structures of those trade unions will take the decisions. And that is what is happening.
Regarding the issue of the amendments from the NCOP, Cope made reference to clauses 9(c) and (d). Those are very clear, and I like the argument that has been advanced by Cope that a court of law can make decisions on anything that has been referred to such a court for it to make a decision. There is no need for clauses 9(c) and (d) because, if one looks at clause 9(d), it refers to replacement labour, which is taken care of in section 76 of the Labour Relations Act. Therefore, you cannot try to repeat what is in section 76 under section 69, which deals with picketing.
The ANC supports the Bill. [Applause.]
Order! Are there any objections to the motion moved by the Chief Whip of the Majority Party?
Chairperson, I now move:
That decisions of question on the Labour Relations Amendment Bill and the Employment Services Bill be postponed.
Order! There is a request from the Chief Whip that the decisions on Order 7 and Order 8 stand over until this afternoon. In terms of Rule 76 I will allow that. The questions will therefore be dealt with this afternoon.
Motion agreed to.
Decisions of Question accordingly postponed.