Day
1 May 2006
Programme Director,
Colleagues in the Executive Council,
Workers' leaders,
The working people,
Distinguished guests,
Comrades,
Ladies and gentlemen;
Historically, May Day is a day born in the workers' struggle for the eight
hour day an objective that has become the norm in the democratic South Africa.
The day has since gained significance as International Workers' Day, a day on
which working people across the world express solidarity towards each other in
their struggle for better lives. For as long as capitalism as we know it
continues to rejuvenate itself and thrive as an economic system, workers will
engage the owners of capital in different degrees of conflict and struggle. The
owners of capital and the owners of labour have to coexist in this struggle,
hence the need for an efficient system of labour relations.
South African workers have over the years of struggle against apartheid
remained at the forefront without flinching from their historic
responsibilities. Without this solidarity between the various sectors of
society, it would have been difficult if not impossible to dislodge the
apartheid regime from its position of dominance and power. Today in the process
of reconstruction and development we more than ever still need this broad front
of patriots to move the frontiers of poverty that are even more stubborn than
apartheid.
For as long as the legacy of apartheid has not been thoroughly undermined,
our unity as a people determined to liberate ourselves not only politically but
economically as well remains important.
We meet on this workers' day in 2006 more than a decade after some of the
most far reaching labour market transformation this country has ever seen. Not
only did the ANC government accord constitutional recognition to key workers'
rights such as the right to organise and strike but worker friendly laws such
as the Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act were
enacted by parliament.
In addition to the worker friendly legislative regime, institutions of
labour market regulation such as the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and
Arbitration (CCMA) were put in place. The direct and most visible result of
these revolutionary interventions has been the longest and most unprecedented
period of labour market stability. We have become so used to this stability
that recent strike activity might seem disturbing to those who have forgotten
that there was a time when wildcat strikes were the norm. In fact the general
trend on the number of strikes over the past decade has been downwards,
indicating a mature labour relations environment and the stability referred to
above.
Let us reflect a bit on what the strategic implications of labour market
stability have been for the socio economic and political fabric of our
country.
Firstly, the primary thinking behind the well regulated labour market regime
and its' attendant institutions was to enable employers and labour to resolve
conflict with ease. As a country we therefore made a choice to avoid the
unnecessary escalation of industrial conflict. In the words of the Labour
Relations Act itself we sought amongst other aims to:
* To regulate the organisational rights of trade unions;
* To promote and facilitate collective bargaining at the workplace and at
sectoral level;
* To regulate the right to strike and the recourse to lockout in conformity
with the constitution;
* To provide simple procedures for the resolution of labour disputes.
The second most important reason for choosing to have the type of labour
relations environment we have was to ensure labour market stability so as to
enable economic development.
In other words from the beginning of our building of a new democracy, we
chose to have a partnership between government, business and labour so that
social and economic development becomes possible. Recently government has set a
target of six percent and higher economic growth through the programme of
Accelerated and Shared Growth for South Africa (AsgiSA).
Economists generally agree that for us to be able to halve unemployment and
poverty by 2014 we will actually need significantly higher levels of growth
than six percent, given the assumption that currently a one percent growth
level results into a 0.7 percent growth in jobs created. The economic growth
levels we have achieved thus far and need in future to tackle this mammoth
challenge of unemployment would not be possible without labour market
stability. Such stability is an enabling factor for planning and an important
part of the economic investment climate.
Distinguished guests, the working people, ladies and gentlemen, workers both
employed and unemployed are beneficiaries of our government's comprehensive
social security grants. These range from disability to those related to the
scourge of HIV and AIDS.
Unless we dramatically reduce unemployment, however, more and more people
will remain depended on such grants. Such dependence in addition to being
unsustainable in the long term cannot be described as freedom. Freedom must be
accompanied by the dignity of being able to earn an income and making choices
on how to spend such income.
One of the key challenges in the effort to undermine poverty is the need to
improve skill levels of our workforce. It is in this context that we wish to
reiterate that a high level of productivity which a skilled labour force will
afford our economy is the easiest way to sustain and justify higher living
standards. Such skill driven productivity will also make it easier for us to
halve poverty and unemployment by 2014. We therefore call upon organised labour
and business to join government in contributing towards the national effort to
improve skill levels in the economy.
Programme Director, ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, I wish to reiterate
government's commitment to the Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) agreement
reached last year in Badplaas. That agreement spells out areas of co-operation
between government, business and labour. We as government are continuing in the
spirit of this agreement seeking areas of partnership for effective and
efficient service delivery.
I wish all the working people of Mpumalanga a peaceful and enriching
workers' day and that they resume work tomorrow rejuvenated for higher levels
of productivity.
Thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
1 May 2006
Source: Mpumalanga Provincial Government (http://www.mpumalanga.gov.za)
