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Johannesburg - Figures in the Adcorp Employment Index that
pointed to a decline in trade union membership in South Africa were sourced
from Statistics South Africa, the employment company said on Friday.
Loane Sharp, Adcorp's labour market analyst, said the
information, which was being questioned by the Congress of SA Trade Unions
(Cosatu), was publicly available.
Adcorp released its Employment Index on Tuesday. Included
was data that showed union membership was declining.
Sharp said data for the index came from Stats SA's Quarterly
Labour Force Survey (2006-2011) which was publicly available.
Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said on Thursday that
Adcorp's findings did not apply to Cosatu-affiliated unions which, on average,
were growing.
This was despite the global economic crisis and the
accelerating casualisation of labour, he said.
Adcorp's Employment Index found that since 2006 trade unions
had lost 129 424 members which translated to a loss of R95 773 760 per annum in
membership dues.
Craven said Adcorp was "a firm of labour brokers"
and should take some of the blame where unions had lost members.
"If other unions are losing members, then the Adcorps
of this world must accept a big share of the blame," Craven said.
Sharp responded that all South African workers, including
those employed through labour brokers, were entitled to equal protection. This
included the right to belong to a trade union and the right to strike.
Cosatu's comments were "idle speculation", he said.
