The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) congratulates the African National Congress (ANC) in celebrating 109th years of existence. The NUM can say with conviction that South Africa is, today, a better place to live in for the overwhelming majority. The NUM is confident that South Africans from all walks of life will celebrate the ANC’s 109th anniversary of the existence of the ANC with joy at the progress that our nation has achieved.
But the NUM wants to take this opportunity to remind the ANC-led government that there is still no freedom in South Africa if some people at their homes talk of their garden boy and their kitchen girl. The de-racialisation of the South African economy is going to take some time. The rapacious economic system condemns millions of workers to poverty causing much suffering. It cannot be the ANC-led government that has declared that the wages of the poorest workers in the public sector are too high and unsustainable.
The Commission of Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) R600 million budget cuts for the next three years under the ANC-led government will destroy workers’ rights. This is a direct attack on the working class in this country. It cannot be the ANC-led government that is taking this kind of decision. It does not help to have well-structured labour laws and fantastic labour rights if these laws and rights cannot be implemented, enforced and adjudicated. By destroying the CCMA through enormous budget cuts, we are destroying worker rights. R600 million in budget cuts could have serious repercussions for the CCMA that was established to ensure the protection and promotion of fair labour rights. Workers seeking help with labour disputes from the CCMA will be faced with an uphill battle due to financial constraints at the institution. The NUM is calling on the ANC-led government to reverse this unfortunate decision and make sure that CCMA is fully-funded without budget cuts.
As the ANC celebrates 109th anniversary of existence, it would have to think of its own people first, not as agents of forces beyond their control, but as true representatives of the downtrodden masses who still live in abject poverty.
For more information, please contact:
William Mabapa, NUM Deputy General Secretary, 082 880 4439
Livhuwani Mammburu, NUM National Spokesperson, 083 809 3257
Address:
7 Rissik Street.
Cnr Frederick,
Johannesburg 2001
Tel: 011 377 2111