Chairperson, am I correct? Question 17 which has been asked by Mr Nesi seeks to find out from me what steps had been put in place by the department to improve the working conditions of soldiers and what measures had been put in place to actually directly involve the unions in this matter.
The steps that have been taken since my appointment as Minister are too numerous to deal with in this question and answer session. I therefore propose, Chairperson, that I submit the rest of my answer in writing to you for Mr Nesi's perusal.
However, for now there are some points that I might want to raise at this session. These are the elements of the improvements that we brought about in the working situation of soldiers. The very first thing that we did was to seek a separate dispensation for the Defence Force away from the Public Service because we believed that it is only in this environment that we would be able to deal with the Defence Force in a way that a defence force should be catered for.
In pursuit of this we established a commission which has now completed its work and submitted its report to Cabinet, and it's now been submitted to Parliament. We have since amended the laws, the Defence Act, to ensure that its specific dispensation that we sought is given a legal basis. It is within this dispensation that we will comprehensively ensure that the conditions of the Defence Force are not only improved but have a legal basis continuing to ensure that they are appropriate for the kind of work that the Defence Force is required to do on behalf of the state.
In the space of at least 18 months we can say that the salaries of the lower ranks of the Defence Force have risen - in some cases by up to 60%. At the moment I'm sitting with the position where it is the generals who now want a salary raise. I don't know what I'm going to do if they take up the issue in the same way as the soldiers did. That was on a lighter note. The salaries have risen tremendously.
There is greater interaction with the soldiers so that they should understand that this government cares and ensures that they can work together so that we the government and they can have a better working relationship to better their lives.
The grievance procedure that allows them to address any unhappiness that they might have has been overhauled and we believe now that it is the best grievance procedure we could have possibly put together.
The accommodation of soldiers is receiving particular attention and to this effect the Minister of Public Works has committed herself and her department to ensure that they give particular attention to the accommodation of soldiers.
I could go on, as I said, but we will submit a document at the end of this session so that the NCOP goes through what it is that we have done because we are particularly proud of what we have done to ensure that soldiers have much improved working conditions.
This is what I particularly committed myself to in my first Budget Vote in July 2009 and we spent a great deal of time prioritising this issue.
The second part of the question deals with trade unions. The hon Nesi wants to know whether what we are doing now to improve the lives of the soldiers is being done in consultation with the trade unions. I would say yes, hon member. This is a very valued question because indeed any measures that I've outlined above would involve the direct engagement with unions. Like any other institution of government where the law requires recognition of the unions, these structures exist in the Defence Force to ensure that there is interaction.
However, and very importantly, I want to emphasise that in the Defence Force - as we speak now - there is no military union that currently meets the prescribed threshold of membership for recognition. None of them right now qualify for recognition. However, the structures exist. The unions do not exist to the extent that we would be able to recognise them. Thank you.