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

IOL News

time28-07-2025

  • Business
  • IOL News

Keeping democracy on the straight and narrow through social dialogue

Solly Phetoe is general secretary of Cosatu. Image: Doctor Ngcobo / Independent Newspapers. 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. BUSINESS REPORT

Reforming law enforcement in South Africa: a path to safety
Reforming law enforcement in South Africa: a path to safety

The Star

time27-05-2025

  • Politics
  • The Star

Reforming law enforcement in South Africa: a path to safety

Solly Phetoe | Published 1 day ago During the dark days of colonial and apartheid rule, the lives of Black communities were subjected to the most brutal forms of violence unleashed by the state, including forced removals, assassinations, torture, detention and state sponsored vigilante attacks. Image: Armand Hough/Independent Media Whilst a White Genocide is fake news spurred by race baiters on social media, crime is a real problem for all South Africans, in particular African and Coloured working-class communities, and especially women. South Africa is a nation that has struggled with high levels of crime for decades. During the dark days of colonial and apartheid rule, the lives of Black communities were subjected to the most brutal forms of violence unleashed by the state, including forced removals, assassinations, torture, detention and state sponsored vigilante attacks. During this time, the role of the police was to subject not protect communities. Much has been done since the advent of democracy by government led by the African National Congress to deracialise and transform the police into a police service focused on protecting our communities, in particular the most vulnerable. Whilst strides have been made on many fronts, including the recently announced reductions in murders, cash in transit heists and other serious crimes, we nonetheless remain a society battling this pandemic. Whilst the cause of some types of crime, in particular petty crimes, are unemployment and poverty, others remain the domain of depraved individuals and well resourced and sophisticated criminal syndicates and gangs. What is to be done as Lenin asked? Yes, we must spur the economy, create decent jobs and slash poverty but equally we must ensure our law enforcement have the weapons they need to win this war. Whilst government has doubled the size of the SAPS since 1994, it has not kept pace with population growth, let alone rising crime levels or the internationally recommended ratio of police to society. We welcome the recent shift in this regard to begin recruiting new police officers. The SAPS is our most important weapon in this war, yet we fail to continuously invest in the skills and training of our officers, to provide them with working vehicles, adequate protective gear, modern police stations or the latest forensic, communications or other equipment. Our police need to be paid a decent and living not a poverty wage if we are to ensure that none are tempted by the allure of well-resourced syndicates and gangs. The National Prosecuting Authority too has not been spared the costs of austerity budget cuts. The NPA has struggled with a shortage of prosecutors, though we hope the recent announcement of funding for an additional 250 marks a step in the right direction. Again, if you want to attract the best, the state needs to offer attractive salaries. The courts need to be invested in and modernised. The endless delays in trials and the archaic paper-based systems deter many from pursuing justice. More must be done to turn our Correctional Services from resting centres for criminals who continue their violent activities inside their cells and pose a serious threat to the safety and lives of our prison staff. Inmates must be required to pursue skills development and further education to help them find work and leave the life of crime upon their release. Parole programmes must be expanded to reduce the high levels of recidivism amongst former prisoners. Home Affairs must be roped in to help the SAPS build a comprehensive DNA and biometric database of all persons within South Africa. The South African Revenue Service must be given the resources it needs to tackle customs fraud and in particular illicit trade in tobacco and alcohol as well as to conduct comprehensive lifestyle audits of those with unexplained wealth. Treasury and Parliament must treat our law enforcement institutions as assets and their allocations as investments. And yes, whilst there is a cost to fund them today, we will reap the rewards in a society that is safe and an economy that attracts the investments and retains the skills needed to spur growth and create jobs. Parliament must tighten the Criminal Procedures Act to prohibit bail under any circumstances for any person charged with attacking law enforcement personnel. Similarly, life sentences must be required for all convicted of killing our law enforcement officers and life must mean life not release after 20 years or less. We as ordinary citizens too must play our part and adopt a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of criminality in our communities and workplaces. This includes the most basic of offences such as littering and public intoxication to domestic violence and corruption. All crimes have witnesses, and we must expose these crimes. Witnesses and whistleblowers must be protected and the memory of those who have died exposing corruption and other criminal activities, honoured. The private sector too must play its part, from creating jobs and paying a living wage to supporting locally produced goods and not supporting a culture of corruption in pursuit of tenders. It must work with and actively support and sponsor the SAPS and Community Policing Forums and Neighbourhood, Community and Farm Watch Programmes. South Africa requires the support and cooperation of international partners, from Mozambique to Zimbabwe in dealing with illegal migration, car theft and drug smuggling, to Lesotho on stock theft. Similarly, the support of other nations further afield in tackling criminal syndicates and drug cartels is urgently needed, in particular Brazil, Tanzania, Nigeria and Afghanistan. International partners in the industrialised economies need to be engaged to provide support to the SAPS particularly with regards to resources, training and live intelligence. Criminal syndicates operate across borders. Their defeat requires similar international collaboration. We will not be able to grow our economy, create decent jobs, reduce poverty and inequality, unless we resource our law enforcement, ramp up the war against crime and treat it as the national priority it is. This is a war that requires government, business, labour, the media, and ordinary citizens to work together. It requires us to anchor society upon a culture of zero tolerance, morality and rule of law. We cannot afford to continue to normalise the levels of crime that have become prevalent across our communities. Solly Phetoe is the General Secretary of Cosatu.

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