Madam Deputy Speaker, the report in last week's edition of the City Press newspaper about striking mineworkers was alarming indeed. The headline of the report was: "We will kill them if they go to work." These utterances were made after a man was killed, apparently by striking mineworkers who suspected that he was trying to sneak back to the Impala Mine Shaft No 8 to reapply for his job.
The striking mineworkers allegedly said more people would die if the 17 000 workers fired last month were not reinstated soon. They reportedly threatened to wait for those nonstriking workers at the bus stop. One intimidator was reported to have said: "Every morning you will find dead bodies because we are going to kill them. If they try to go to work, they will die."
Such utterances are totally unacceptable and have to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The South African Constitution does not only give workers the right to strike, but it also gives workers the right not to strike. Our Constitution does not encourage lawlessness, intimidation and violence during strike action.
The ACDP therefore appeals to government, and particularly to the police, to ensure that those workers who want to go to work are allowed to do so without fear that they might be killed by striking workers. Section 205(3) of our Constitution says:
The objects of the police service are to prevent, combat and investigate crime, to maintain public order, to protect and secure the inhabitants of the Republic and their property and to uphold and enforce the rule of law.
Thank you, hon member. On that note, your time is up.