Thank you, Chairperson. Hon Minister, it is a well-known fact that when there is industrial action the labour movement will do everything within its power to put pressure on the employer to make sure that its demands are met. And this will, amongst other things, result in some intimidation.
On the other hand, it is a responsibility of the employers to make sure that productivity continues and that they take certain precautionary measures. Freedom of association by implication entails the right not to associate, so my question is what proactive measures did the department take to ensure that those who did not want to go on strike are allowed to go to work so that they do not get punished by not being paid when they did want to go to work?