The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) is vindicated by the Department of Employment and Labour’s communique released on the 4th of May, 2024, in which the department sought to clarify the purpose of the draft Code of Good Practice on Dismissal and Labour Law Amendments.
SAFTU has since November, 2024, sounded the alarm on the implications of the draft code of Good Practice on Dismissal and Labour Law Amendments for workers’ rights. We argued then, as we continue to argue now, that the proposed amendments have as their aim to make it easier for employers to dismiss workers.
Further, SAFTU pointed out that the proposed amendments rested on a political economy that conceives of workers’ rights as one of the major sources of low economic growth, high rates of unemployment and, by extension, poverty and inequality.
Some, regrettably even in the labour movement, took aim at SAFTU for taking this stance, labelling the stance a populist position by a federation which peddles fake news and misleading information in a feeble attempt to gain popularity and relevance. They insisted that the draft Code of Good Practice on Dismissal aimed merely to simplify language for both employers and employees for ease of reference.
However, the correctness of SAFTU’s position has been confirmed by no less an authority than the Department of Labour and Employment itself. In its communication dated the 4th of May, 2024, the department stated the reasons it has undertaken what it calls labour law reforms as:
“…simplification of procedural fairness, limiting protection during probation, redefinition of unfair labour practice and retrenchment procedure.”
As to why these ‘labour law reforms’ had to be undertaken, the Department of Labour and Employment stated:
“The recent amendments to the Code of Good Practice on Dismissal and labour laws are a strategic and necessary response by the government to the persistently high levels of unemployment in our country. These changes aim to combat unemployment, which is the primary contributor to poverty and inequality in South Africa.”
The department further stated:
“Contrary to claims that these changes weaken labour protections, they are designed to equip our economy with the tools needed for growth and to provide more South Africans with meaningful employment opportunities. These amendments represent a pragmatic and inclusive response to a national crisis affecting us all.”
Simply put, the Department of Labour and Employment, and by extension some in the conservative unions, which happen to agree with the draft Code of Good Practice on Dismissal, sees the labour laws as they currently exist as an impediment to economic growth. That is, there is a need to redefine what constitutes unfair labour practice and limit the protections of workers during probation, amongst other things, if the economy is to grow and thrive.
Were the proposed amendments to come into effect, they will have devastating consequences for workers, including increased vulnerability to exploitation, arbitrary dismissal, and loss of livelihoods. This would have a catastrophic impact on workers and their families, and would undermine the stability and security of communities.
As to how increased worker vulnerability, increased precarity and exploitation, which workers are urged to warmly embrace, will be the basis for economic growth and social prosperity can only ever make to sense to the minds of the neoliberals and their hangers-on.
SAFTU reiterates its vehement rejection of these sinister attempts to weaken labour laws, the aim of which is make the workers shoulder the blame for capitalism’s dismal failure to create jobs, curb inequality and poverty.
This economy, like all capitalist economies throughout the world , is run and administered by, and works in the interest of, the capitalist class. It is they, and their system, on whose shoulders ought to lie squarely the blame for unemployment, inequality and poverty, not workers’ rights.
SAFTU calls on all workers, trade unions, and progressive organizations to join us in opposing these proposals and demanding that the Department of Labour and Employment prioritize workers’ rights and interests.
Further, SAFTU remains unyielding in its commitment to fight for workers’ rights and promoting fairness, justice, and equality in the workplace. We refuse to be gagged or deterred by attempts to undermine workers’ rights, and we will continue to mobilize and organize to defend the interests of workers.
A Statement was issued on behalf of SAFTU by General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
For more details, contact the National Spokesperson at:
Newton Masuku
066 168 2157
Newtonm@saftu.org.za
