BL Premium reports that a coalition of trade unions, academic and research institutions, civil society organisations and human rights groups protested outside the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) on Tuesday.
They called for the scrapping of proposed amendments to SA’s labour laws. The bills, which are a result of discussions between the government, business, labour and community constituencies at Nedlac, propose 47 amendments to the Labour Relations Act (LRA); 13 amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act; two amendments to the National Minimum Wage Act; and three changes to the Employment Equity Act. The campaigners assert that the amendments will erode SA’s labour laws in favour of employers. According to some 40 organisations, including the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), the amendments would bring back “apartheid-style dismissals” where bosses called workers into their offices and dismissed them on the spot, “without any procedurally fair disciplinary hearings taking place”. Maggie Mthombeni, from one of the institutions, said the protest sought to achieve the ditching of the bills as they undermined workers’ rights. When asked what the organisations would do if the bills were not scrapped, Mthombeni said: “We will fight until [the end].” Demonstrators handed over a memo to Nedlac executive director Makhukhu Mampuru. He told the crowd their concerns would be raised with government, labour and business, and responded to in due course.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
- Read too, Protesters call for ditching of proposed changes to labour laws, at GroundUp
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