If people have been skilled enough to present themselves and write a proper curriculum vitae, why should there be any need for a middle person? The same goes for Setas which cannot fulfill their mandate. The department must not fund Setas which cannot deliver what is required of them. If the slogan that says, "working together, we can do more" is to be achieved, negotiations with workers must be undertaken honestly and in good faith, no matter how unpalatable the truth is. Let workers know the difficulties industries encounter, and let workers be part of the solution. Both sides should trust each other when negotiating packages.
Should workers be reasonable? Yes and no. The answer is yes because half a loaf is better than no bread at all. This does not mean that workers should abandon their principles or goals. Compromise is the name of the game when a situation is against you.
The IFP does not support the single public service model for many reasons. One of these is that we do not believe in the centralisation of power but rather decentralisation.
The IFP always looks forward to a bottom-up approach rather than a top-down approach. While the skills of our public servants are appreciated, we should not change the three-sphere system of government and make it into one.
The one-tier system encourages the employment of staff who do not qualify for and who are not needed in those positions. Deployment of cadres should be discouraged at all costs. This has crippled our Public Service and many departments, for example, Home Affairs.
A suitable candidate should be appointed to a position that he or she is qualified for. The department needs to re-examine the Labour Relations Act together with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act in order to create an environment conducive to business and for more people to be employed instead of resorting to buying machinery which is operated by only one or two people.
The private sector must be encouraged to create a labour-intensive atmosphere to create employment. Ngiyathokoza, Sihlalo. [Thank you, Chairperson.]