Mr Speaker, if we are to end the turmoil in our mining industry, we need a proper conversation as to why it came about. If we are to send our people home with pay packets rather than termination notices, we need to understand what went wrong and we need to fix it.
Instead of accepting that we need to change the way things work, some major role-players, as we heard from the government this afternoon, currently seem to be intent on doing what they did before, only more of it.
I have three points that I believe should be part of this conversation that we should be having. Firstly, the cosy relationship between a big government, big mining and big unions doesn't work. It ignores different circumstances at different mines, it stops pay increases for skilled workers because a pay increase then has to be given to everybody else, and it crushes minority unions and stirs rivalry because the system is one where the winner takes all.
Secondly, the culture of striker impunity must end. There must be consequences for violent lawbreaking. For too long striking Cosatu workers have had an effective licence to kill. People who have chosen not to go on strike have been murdered and nobody gets arrested.
The police appear reluctant to act against Cosatu, perhaps because to do so would be a career-limiting move. This was amply demonstrated when the DA marched on Cosatu House. Cosatu members threw rocks and the police shot teargas at the DA.
Significantly, the first time there was a major use of force by the police against strikers was at Marikana when those strikers were not acting under the instruction of Cosatu.
Thirdly, all three components of the tripartite alliance continually tell people that the mine owners are evil capitalists who do not pay mineworkers more money because they are greedy. If, like ANC members on the Portfolio Committee of Mineral Resources, you accuse mining companies of raping South Africa's resources and if, like the National Union of Mineworkers, NUM, you accuse mining companies of genocide and of not paying them fairly, then is it any surprise that the workers eventually say the agreements their union signed with management are illegitimate? They then go on strike and they are prepared to back that strike with force.
We are only just beginning to see the full, sad consequences of all this. New investment has stopped, jobs are being lost, and more will be lost. South Africa is not seen as a good place to put your money in mining.
Government spokespersons can wail all they want about what The Economist magazine said, but that is an international perception. And, I believe, The Economist was spot on when it said: "Marikana should be a wake-up call to the government, but South Africa's leaders, engrossed by factional infighting, are deaf." How can we have a conversation if government is not listening? [Applause.]