Passing of three Bills causes a furore

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) are “disgusted” by the passing of three very contentious labour Bills, which were passed in the National Assembly yesterday.

The National Minimum Wage Bill, which sets minimum wages at R3 500 a month or R20 an hour, was passed with 202 votes from mostly ANC benches.

The other two Bills, the Basic Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill and Labour Relations Amendment Bill also passed through with the same number of votes.

All three Bills have been severely criticised by opposition parties, as well as Saftu.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) walked out of parliament yesterday before voting on the Bill could commence, while 16 MPs did pass their votes in opposition.

Saftu spokesperson Patrick Craven yesterday said the passing of the Bills “proves just how low the ANC has sunk, from a proud liberation movement to a political party that is willing to condemn millions of people to poverty in order to satisfy their friends in business”.

He told The Citizen yesterday after the passing of the Bills: “We are disgusted, but not surprised.”

Saftu led several countrywide protests against the Bills last month and Craven says they are more resolute than ever to ensure they do not become law.

“We will now go back to the street and we will keep on fighting and draw even bigger numbers than in April, to do so,” he said.

Beside the Minimum Wage Bill, Saftu has a major gripe with the Labour Relations Amendment Bill, which would require unions to rely on a secret ballot before deciding on a strike.

Craven says this law would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for workers to call for a strike, in the case of intransigent employers, which would severely hamper workers’ rights.

Government has said the intention of the Labour Relations Amendment Bill is to limit the number of protracted violent strikes seen across sectors annually.