I only need a microphone; I do not need a camera. [Laughter.] Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon members, the debate is important to the country as a whole. It is not only important to the employers and the employees. It is not only about the National Economic Development and Labour Council's constituencies. This debate is about the unemployed, the unorganised workers and emerging independent trade unions.
Hon Chairperson, this Bill deals with several issues that Cope agrees with. There is only one issue in this Bill that we are not happy about. I believe that the debates within the portfolio committee were constructive and patriotic, hence the clarity of areas of agreement and those of disagreement. Let me start with areas of agreement that I think are also progressive. The Bill deals with procedures that will grant minority unions certain rights in the workplace. The rights involve organisational rights, which we hope will reduce strikes involving recognition rights.
It is also worth mentioning that the Bill entrenches collective bargaining within our industrial relations regime. Since collective bargaining is presently under attack from reactionary forces, the Bill is putting in place procedures for nonparties to apply for exemptions from bargaining councils' collective agreements.
This Bill also affords workers the right to picket even at places that are not necessarily the property of their employers as long as the other affected parties have been given the opportunity to make presentations. This Bill also gives the Minister the power to appoint the Essential Services Committee. This committee will handle all issues relating to the debates about essential services. Cope hopes that the establishment of this committee will bring certainty to the debate about this subject.
The issue of temporary employment services, which is usually referred to as labour broking, has been a hot issue. Cope agrees with the amendment of allowing people to be employed through the temporary employment services for a maximum of three months. Cope believes that no employee should be permanently temporary. Any employer who employs anybody for a period of more than two months should be clear that such a vacancy exists and therefore somebody needs to fill the post on a permanent basis. [Applause.] This clause brings an end to the super-exploitation we are all opposed to. I hope so. Whilst it gives the right to those involved in the temporary employment services to exist, it also provides protection to vulnerable workers who are unable to defend themselves against super-exploitation.
Cope's disagreement arises from the ANC's rejection of the department's proposals to introduce balloting of members of the trade union as part of the procedure before a protected strike can be embarked upon. Cope believes that balloting is the most democratic process of legitimising a strike. Whilst the Constitution guarantees the right to strike, the principal Act gives direction about procedures to be followed to ensure that the strike is protected, or not.
The question is: Why is the ANC afraid to give workers who ultimately have to go on strike the last word about whether they want to go on strike or not?
Cope believes that the only way to legitimise any strike is to allow affected workers the right to choose through a secret ballot. If the majority of the workers vote for the strike, then the strike should be protected. In the same breath, if the majority of workers vote against going on strike, then the strike should be unprotected. This is how democracy works.
The rejection of this democratic process by the ANC is regarded by Cope as illogical and unreasonable. This process does not take away the right of workers to strike. It regularises and legitimises the strikes. Cope believes that democrats should support the Minister's proposal in this regard.
Hon Chairperson, the last point I wanted to deal with is that hon Manamela came here, stood here and said a lot of things that do not make sense. However, what he forgets is that he is not a leader of the ANC, but of the South African Communist Party, the party that is afraid to contest elections. He is here because he made a noise through the Young Communist League and was put on the list of the ANC. If you are as brave as you claim to be and you believe in communism, why don't you, as a communist party, come and contest elections, like all of us who have contested elections? [Interjections.]