Holomisa calls for white paper on labour broking

United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa on Monday called for a white paper to be drafted to deal with labour broking.

Difficulties in unionising temporary workers could be behind the campaign to destroy the labour broking sector, Holomisa said.

The UDM had noted the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and South African Communist Party’s continuous campaign against labour broking.

“Although we would love to believe that their concern is fuelled by principles, it seems much like an attempt to destroy a sector of the economy simply because it does not lend itself to unionisation.

“After all, the financial survival and political clout of Cosatu depends on membership numbers.”

The UDM believed it could not just be an arbitrary decision.

“This must be handled with care. It’s not fair to jeopardise people’s employment and income.

Indeed it is this type of heavy-handed behaviour that contributes to the flight of skills.”

The UDM supported further regulation of the industry if a proper inquiry found that current regulation was insufficient. It was necessary to draft a white paper on the matter so that it could be extensively debated, Holomisa said.—Sapa