OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 10.20am
PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki on Sunday denied confrontation is looming with the African National Congress and its ruling labour and communist allies over his tough macro-economic strategies.
In a setback for the Congress of South African Trade Unions and a boost for employers, Mbeki said in his State of the Nation address on Friday that protective labour laws introduced since 1994 will be amended to soften their rigidity. In an interview SABC on Sunday night, Mbeki said: ”There have been discussions taking place but I don’t think that anybody is looking for confrontation. The trade unions have a right to protect their interests but the government also has a right to protect interests of the people,” he added.
Cosatu and the South African Communist Party share power in a formal alliance with the African National Congress, but have complained at recent congresses that their inputs are being ignored.
Mbeki said he had started dialogue with the trade unions to bring them on board on a range of contentious economic policies aimed at attracting foreign investment.
”There is no confrontation between unions and government,” he said.
Contentious issues include setting of inflation targets, lifting of exchange controls, sizing down of the public service and faster pace of privatisation.
Mbeki also said on Sunday that he will work to change some aspects of the country’s labour laws that he said are stifling small businesses.
”We will continue to do whatever is needed to create an environment for people to invest in the economy. Government cannot ensure that jobs are created but it has a duty to create an economic climate for investments,” he said. — Reuters