Keeping democracy on the straight and narrow through social dialogue - Cosatu

Democracies are sites of contestation.  It is important to engage in debate anchored upon facts, honesty and respect for institutions of social dialogue.

Cosatu has been dismayed by the explosion of fake news over the past few years.  Of late we have seen this addiction to peddling hysteria expand to the Nedlac labour laws reforms negotiations.  It is important to reassure workers that their hard-won rights, guaranteed by the Constitution and set in law, will continue to remain intact.

Covid-19 highlighted numerous gaps in our labour laws, from 4 million informal workers falling outside the social security net, to actors and artists lacking collective bargaining protection.

The Department of Employment and Labour with Business and Labour at Nedlac agreed to an open discussion on our labour laws with all parties allowed to table proposed amendments.

Cosatu was deeply concerned by government and business’ initial proposals which we felt would seriously erode the protections in law that took decades of struggles to achieve.  We were disappointed that labour’s proposals were disregarded.  

The Federation chose to continue to engage, to prevent a rush to table Bills at Parliament and to battle on at Nedlac to not only block such proposed weakening of our labour laws but to put in place amendments to address many gaps that workers have experienced from our factories to our farms.

Negotiations require strategic acumen, tactical agility and a level of compromise.  Most importantly they require you to pitch at the negotiating table.  Pity parties at home with friends win nothing.

Cosatu is pleased that despite an initial set of proposals that have would gutted our labour laws, we managed not only to block amendments that would have set workers back but to score major victories that labour campaigned for over many years.

Initial proposals included exempting SMMEs from the bulk of our labour laws.  Cosatu successfully blocked this as the majority of workers are employed by SMMEs and this would have left them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

Exemptions from retrenchment processes for SMMEs were tabled.  This would have left workers exposed to no protections or retrenchment payments.  Not only did we manage to have this proposal withdrawn but also secured an agreement to increase retrenchment compensation from one to two weeks’ pay for every year employed going forward.  This will be a powerful disincentive for employers to avoid retrenchments and provide workers with greater relief when they lose their jobs.

We were deeply concerned by proposals to allow for the firing of workers under thirty years of age with less than two years of experience without recourse to protections.  Whilst we support the call to help young people find work this must not be at the expense of their rights.

Again, we managed to persuade negotiation partners that this is a flawed approach.  Probation periods have long existed in South African labour law allowing employers some flexibility to assess a new employee’s performance within a framework of protections.

Proposals to exempt middle-income workers from taking grievances to the CCMA were blocked and amended to the top tax bracket, e.g. CEOs who can afford to take matters to the Labour Courts.  This will help free up a badly overstretched CCMA to focus on low- and middle-income workers who don’t have the time or resources for Labour Courts.

Cosatu and our predecessors fought for decades for the National Minimum Wage, achieving this historic victory in 2019.  Then too we were insulted as the greatest sellouts in the history of humanity by our critics.  Today it has raised the wages of 6 million farm, domestic, construction, hospitality, transport and other vulnerable workers. 

Initial proposals to roll back the NMW and allow blanket exemptions have been stopped and we have managed to secure a critical agreement protecting the NMW from deductions, e.g. bonuses, 13th cheques etc. that would erode its hourly value.

Alarming reports show 7 700 employers defaulting on pension funds.  Agreement has been secured on requiring labour inspectors to check employers’ pension funds’ contributions compliance and with 20 000 labour inspectors being recruited to boost these efforts.

The economy is not static.  Laws have to be amended to keep pace with the changing nature of work.  We are pleased we have been able to secure amendments that recognise the rights of atypical workers, e.g. actors and e-platform workers to collective bargaining and that engagements will soon start on our proposals to ensure such workers, including those in the informal sector, are covered by the Unemployment Insurance and Compensation of Occupational Injuries and Diseases Funds.  This may require a hybrid model but what matters is that all 17 million workers are protected.

There are areas where Cosatu remains deeply opposed to some proposed amendments, in particular the definitions of and protections from unfair labour practices plus exempting start up SMMEs from Bargaining Councils’ collective agreements for two years.  These would threaten millions of workers’ protections and undermine collective bargaining central to the rights of vulnerable workers and labour market stability.

The proposed amendments are now before the State Law Advisor to ensure constitutional compliance they will be released for public comment.  They will then return for further engagements at Nedlac and then be tabled at Cabinet.  Parliament is likely to be seized with the Bills during 2027 and 2028 and will have further public engagements.  They may then be submitted for Presidential assent in 2029.

Amilcar Cabral wisely said, “Tell no lies, claim no easy victories”.  These are words peddlers of fake news about the draft Bills would do well to reflect upon and to utilise the mechanisms provided for to engage on their content.

Cosatu will continue to utilise Nedlac and Parliament as well as bilateral engagements with government and business to ensure its remaining concerns are addressed before the Bills are tabled at Cabinet and Parliament and that workers’ hard-won rights are not only protected but in fact strengthened and expanded.  This is a battle that Cosatu will win.

Cosatu General Secretary Solly Phetoe

*** The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Independent Media or IOL.

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