Hon Chairperson, hon chairperson of the portfolio committee, hon Minister, director-general and senior management of the Department of Labour, and hon members, in the past week, when workers came out in their millions to celebrate May Day, the major discussions and pleas of all these workers were dominated by the hope that can and should be ushered in by the labour law amendments.
They demanded that their right to strike not be taken away, they demanded that their wages be protected, and they demanded an improvement in their working conditions. Their chorus was deafening, and our responsibility remains to listen to the most vulnerable in the employment relationship. I hope that all of us will listen to the workers' voices, as they yearn for democracy and protection in our labour laws. Over the years, ignorance of and noncompliance with labour laws have led to the undermining of the very functions the laws have been created for, which are to protect vulnerable workers and to create a democratic dispensation in the workplace. Some critics have identified these as very ambitious goals and functions. We disagree.
We come from a history of exploitation, exclusion, long working hours, a situation where people are anti bargaining rights for workers, with the use of security forces to suppress labour unrest, and the protection of the most racist legislation the world has ever seen. We cannot define the goal of democracy as too ambitious or the purpose of protecting workers' rights as too elaborate. These goals must be pursued in our generation before the country and our people will have confidence in the institutions set up by the democratic dispensation.
The labour law amendments proposed, which are before the House and at the National Economic Development and Labour Council, are clearing the clouds and filling in the gaps created by the first postapartheid labour law regime. They should send shivers down the spines of noncompliant employers and also empower workers to arise and unite in defence of natural justice and democracy.
We agree with the assertion that all labour laws must not be to the destruction of either workers or employers, but for the creation of more jobs and the enhancement of employment relations. However, some employers have consciously and actively ignored the laws, resulting in the reduction of real wages, and in super profits in their favour. Workers in the domestic, construction and agricultural sectors, the latter being the farm workers, have suffered the most, as employers continue not to comply with the legislation. The capacity of the department to enforce these laws has been undermined by a lack of resources, capacity and skills in the Department of Labour and in its practice.
The legislation that has now been presented in Parliament will be the subject of discussion, and the passing thereof into law over the next few months is indicative of the commitment of this government and the ruling party to reversing this tragic truth. We are looking forward to the conclusion of the discussions at Nedlac on the Labour Relations Act amendments, with the hope that all social partners will have concluded these discussions in order to ensure the protection of the most vulnerable workers. We must clarify that we as the ANC affirm the thrust of these labour law amendments.
We do not subscribe to the notion that tightened labour laws that protect workers are a threat to job creation. In fact, any genuine employer should welcome the tightening of the employment laws and the strict monitoring and enforcement of those laws, in order to isolate those who are not interested and are undermining our Constitution, legislation and democracy - the rotten apples that we must at all times expose. We in the ANC subscribe to the notion that we need to prohibit all forms of super-exploitation in the employment relationship. We are aware that there are social partners who believe that through, for instance, the regulation of private temporary employment agencies or labour brokers we will put an end to their exploitative nature. We note with interest that the majority of social partners who appeared before the portfolio committee in the public hearings we conducted in 2010 and in the discussions at Nedlac conceded that there was a need to curb the exploitative way in which private employment services have conducted their business.
I do not know why there are still dreamers who believe that labour brokers are "holier than thou", when all has been laid bare to the public, so that most of those who want to project themselves as holy are seen to have been involved in this exploitative business. It can only be those who have connections with labour brokers and those who own labour broking companies who want to hide the truth from the public. Many of those who made submissions called for a total ban on labour brokers.
This House will still be seized with these questions in a couple of months' time. We see our role as lawmakers as being to listen to all the parties and to ensure that the laws that we pass are in the interests of the majority of our people. In our view, the days of permanent casuals must be history; the days of workers with unequal earnings whilst doing work of the same nature and value must be history; the days when workers in the same workplace are treated differently, either because of their colour, gender or age, must be history; and the days in which anyone wilfully ignores the law and does not face the consequences must be history. The laws proposed will ensure that we put an end to all exploitative practices in the labour dispensation.
We in the ANC are also more inclined to believe that the future lies in strengthened public or state employment services, which collate data of job seekers, skill them in the basic requirements for getting a job, and place them in permanent employment that seeks rewards.
Hon Papi Kganare, the last taste of democracy was at the Polokwane Conference - other than that there has not been any democratic taste! [Interjections.] That is why you are so bitter and are still missing the good days in the ANC. Hopefully, when we finally close the chapter on these ... [Interjections.]