Thank you, Madam Chair. This Bill represents the spirit through which our labour policies take into consideration the role that the trade unions, employers and the state play in shaping our legislation. It gives workers a key say in industry decision-making and ensuring that unions are fully involved in designing and overseeing changes in the workplace and at industry levels. Even when drafting the Reconstruction and Development Programme, this fact was clear already - that the agreement negotiated through collective bargaining should be extended through legislation to all workplaces in the industry.
In order to pursue our goal of eradicating poverty, our people should have savings and pensions to provide for their old age and retirement. This Bill represents another occasion where workers were instrumental in shaping their own future. Considering all these facts, this Bill will secure transferred employees' retirement savings and, as is the case with any form of restructuring, the human element should always come first, in order to make sure that all have a share in the country's wealth.
Looking at pension funds in general, during the apartheid regime, our people never had access to or enjoyed this opportunity. You look at white people and nonwhite people and notice that the pension dispensation was really not in favour of our people. When talking about this, it is really clear that the ANC-led government has done a lot in alleviating poverty by having this Bill. The ANC supports the Bill. Thank you.