Chairperson, this year, during his state of the nation address, President Zuma demonstrated a total disregard for the Labour Relations Act by giving his own explanation of the term "essential services", which was contrary to the legal definition thereof contained in the Act.
To put his distortion in context, I will now focus on the Ministerial Review Report presented to the portfolio committee on 6 June last year. It is a report on the readiness of the National System of Innovation landscape to meet the needs of our country. The review committee was commissioned to identify what would be required from the state in order to ensure an adequate and growing investment in innovation that would deliver a sustained and durable knowledge-based economy. The committee was also commissioned to make appropriate recommendations on steps necessary to strengthen the science, technology and innovation system.
Three important observations are stated in the review report: Firstly, the shortfall in human capital development is the key weakness of the National System of Innovation. Secondly, the National System of Innovation depends almost entirely on the effectiveness of the basic education and postschool systems. Thirdly, most of the requirements for making the public education and training system work as the basic enabler of a knowledge economy are not yet in place.
The review committee also came to the conclusion that:
... extremely important, despite being controversial, is that teaching or training is not classified as an essential service, which it undoubtedly is, at all levels from basic to higher education - the nettle simply has to be grasped.
To "grasp the nettle", the committee made an appropriate and unanimous recommendation. Recommendation 15 of the report states:
Teaching at all levels should be declared an essential public service within labour and other legislation.
This recommendation refers to our labour legislation, and that is where President Zuma went wrong. He chose to ignore the exact legal definition of an essential service in the Labour Relations Act, which reads as follows: Essential service means a service, the interruption of which endangers the life, personal safety or health of the whole or any part of the population.
Die Wreldgesondheidsorganisasie het in 2005 'n dokument onder die titel International Classification of Diseases uitgegee. Die vyfde hoofstuk handel oor geestes- en gedragsafwykings. Sielkundige versteurings word deur die Wreldgesonheidsorganisasie as siektetoestande erken. Daar kan geredeneer word dat onderwysers wat kort-kort staak, hul leerders se geestesgesondheid in gevaar stel deur hulle aan onnodige spanning, angs, onsekerheid en trauma bloot te stel wat selfs depressie tot gevolg kan h. Swak eksamenuitslae het al tot selfmoord gelei.
Die portfeuljekomitee is ingelig dat die proses met die ministerile oorsigverslag nog nie afgehandel is nie. Intussen weet ons dat die ANC se besluit om onderwys as noodsaaklike diens te verklaar, deur die SAKP en SA Demokratiese Onderwysunie, Sadou, gedwarsboom is. Dit is korrek om te argumenteer dat 'n onderwyser se reg om te staak 'n fundamentele reg is, maar die Handves van Regte in ons Grondwet spel ook die regte van kinders uit. Artikel 29(1)(a) konstateer: "Elkeen het die reg op basiese onderwys". Artikel 28(1)(d) lees: "Elke kind het die reg om teen ... verwaarlosing, ... beskerm te word"; en in die geval van botsende regte tydens 'n staking, behoort artikel 28(2) oorweeg te kan word. Dit lui: "'n Kind se beste belang is van deurslaggewende belang in elke aangeleentheid wat die kind raak." Dit is duidelik dat Sadou ontsteld is oor aanbeveling 15. Soveel as wat hierdie aanbeveling nodig is om te verseker dat wetenskap, tegnologie en innovering op 'n stewige grondslag kan gedy, bedreig dit SADOU-lede se reg om te staak. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[In 2005 the World Health Organisation, WHO, published a report under the title International Classification of Diseases. The fifth chapter deals with mental and behavioural aberrations. Mental disturbance is acknowledged by the WHO as a sickness. It can be argued that teachers who are frequently on strike can endanger the state of mental health of their pupils by exposing them to stress, anxiety, uncertainty and trauma, which can even lead to depression. Poor examination results have already led to suicide.
The portfolio committee has been informed that the process with the ministerial oversight report has not yet been finalised. In the meantime we know that the ANC's decision to declare education as an essential service was thwarted by the SACP and the SA Democratic Teachers Union, Sadtu. It is correct to argue that a teacher's right to strike is a fundamental right, but the Bill of Rights in our Constitution also spells out the rights of children. Section 29(1)(a) states: "Everyone has the right to a basic education ..."; section 28(1)(d) reads: "Every child has the right to be protected from ... neglect ..."; and in the case of a conflict of interests during a strike, section 28(2) should be considered. It reads: "A child's best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child."
It is clear that SADTU is upset about recommendation 15. Insofar as this recommendation is needed to ensure that science, technology and innovation are able to thrive on a sound basis, it is a threat to Sadtu members' right to strike.]