The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday said it would not participate in KwaZulu-Natal’s first public hearing on labour brokering.
”I can confirm that we are not going to participate because these hearings have become nothing but an African National Congress and Cosatu show,” said Sizwe Mchunu, DA leader in KwaZulu-Natal.
Members of the DA and the Congress of the People (Cope) walked out of a labour-brokering hearing in Gauteng’s Germiston area on Wednesday night.
They complained that Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) members were disrupting speakers and pelting them with bottles.
Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini has denied the accusation, saying that DA and Cope members walked out because they did not want to listen to people who called for labour brokering to be banned.
Giving reasons why they would boycott the hearing in Pietermaritzburg later on Thursday, Mchunu accused leaders of the ANC and its alliance partner Cosatu of using the hearings to promote themselves.
”The perception is that they are just doing it just for doing’s sake.
”They have already taken a decision that labour brokers should be banned. That is why they don’t want to listen to other views.”
He said it had become clear that the hearings were a fruitless exercise, adding that contributions from the public would not be taken into consideration.
”It is sad that this is happening. We were very looking forward to these hearings so that different views would be heard. We have told our members not to participate.”
Unions have described the practice of labour brokering as ”human trafficking” and ”slavery”.
The trade union federation accused labour brokers of undermining unions by making workers transferable and difficult to organise. — Sapa