Hon Speaker, I stand here today with a very heavy heart, as I contemplate how our hard-won freedom from oppression could have dealt this young democracy such a cruel blow. I would like to join my fellow hon members in extending my deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives at Marikana.
Ga ba robale ka kgotso! [May their souls rest in preace.]
Thirty-four dead, 78 injured and 275 jailed mineworkers represent a tragedy of a magnitude never seen before in our new democracy. In the aftermath of this tragedy, we must try to understand how it is that such a seismic event could occur, and we should take active steps to ensure that it never happens again. We urge the leadership of the key parties - the National Union of Mineworkers, NUM, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, Amcu, the company, the Ministries of Mining and of Labour, and the Chamber of Mines - to work together to speedily find a mutually beneficial resolution to the conflict at the mine without any further loss of life.
As we mourn the tragic loss of life, the Labour Relations Amendment Bill sits before the Portfolio Committee on Labour. In the wake of Marikana, the end product of our efforts in amending the Labour Relations Act, LRA, must be good law that will enhance labour relations in the country.
As matters stand, it is our belief that the regulatory framework governing labour relations on mines such as the one at Marikana is fundamentally flawed. Skewed labour legislation has granted perverse powers to the majority share labour unions in collective bargaining agreements. The Labour Relations Act essentially provides incentives for closed-shop agreements. This effectively turns the marketplace for labour unions into a zero-sum game whereby members of representative unions get better jobs, as well as easier access to decision-making mechanisms, and, in the case of Lonmin, the ear of management.
The representative union in the case of Lonmin stands to gain at the very least R7,9 million per annum from members' fees collected across the three mines. Being a representative union is clearly a lucrative business.
The tragedy at Marikana has revealed the ugly consequences of such legislation, as widespread intimidation and violence have become a way of life on mines.
The reality on the ground is that the minority union interests are marginalised, as representative unions dominate proceedings and take all the spoils, to boot. The fact that violent protests have emerged as a result of competition between rival labour unions should come as no surprise. The playing fields were anything but level, to start with. In the case of Lonmin Mines, the NUM was holding all the cards.
If we are serious about putting an end to violent protests, then we simply have to change the labour relations landscape, as the current law has no institutional capacity to deal with these union rivalry challenges.
The recent Constitutional Court ruling, which holds unions liable for damages incurred during strikes, is a good first step. Unions must be held accountable for their actions. The rest will, of course, require strong leadership. Not the leadership, of course, that instructs the police to shoot-to-kill because, as I recall, Minister Shabangu, who was then the Deputy Minister of Police, was the first one to use that expression.
If it were in government, the DA would have the political will to make changes, and these changes would include the following: abandoning efforts to establish centralised bargaining in the platinum sector, instead opting for a mine-level promotional representation model; putting an end to closed- shop agreements; immediately including non-NUM unions with any representation in collective bargaining negotiations and other significant talks; instituting an amendment to section 64 of the LRA which requires unionised workers to complete a secret ballot to approve a strike before the union can go ahead with a strike; and supporting the amendment of section 69(1) of the LRA which states that only union members should be allowed to join a supporting picket.
If we are to have any hope of banishing violent protests such as those that we have witnessed at Marikana, this government will need to show strong leadership.
Political patronage is a luxury that we can no longer afford. Let this House commit today to tearing down the violence-inducing labour regulations that have set the stage for the death of so many workers. Regrettably, that will continue to happen until this... [Time expired.] Ga ba robale ka khut?o! [May their souls rest in peace!]