Share

Zuma: Majority unions rule

Parliament - President Jacob Zuma on Thursday ruled out the participation of unrecognised, small unions in wage negotiations.

Responding to a question in the National Assembly on wage negotiations at Lonmin mine, he told MPs that in a democracy, the majority prevailed.

"We operate within regulated society... Between workers and employers there have been negotiations and agreements, and those agreements must be respected," Zuma said.

"In a democratic situation, it is the majority that prevail. I can't change the rules because you want to make a particular point. You can't then say, smaller unions must then be compared to the bigger unions in the same way."

He was addressing DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko, who had earlier asked if he would consider changes to the labour relations regime, which pegged the union representation threshold at 51 percent.

She said this had led to the situation where Amcu (the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union) was not a recognised union at Lonmin's platinum mine, and therefore excluded from wage negotiations.

This had empowered "the ANC-affiliated National Union of Mineworkers" to establish a monopoly at the mine.

"Does the president believe that smaller unions should be empowered to negotiate on behalf of their members, and not be excluded by big unions like NUM, in a winner-takes-all scenario?"

Would this not avert tension and the possible violence now posing a threat to South Africa's mining sector, Mazibuko asked.

The president said workers who did not join the majority union could not expect the same privileges.

"Workers who do not join the union, can't have the same kind of privileges... You can't have a union of half-a-dozen people [and say] because they've declared it a union, you must have the same rights.

"You have more rights because you're a majority; you have less rights because you're a minority. That's how democracy works," he said, provoking a huge outcry from opposition benches.

Zuma told MPs it was "a question of accepting the rules of democracy, and operating within them".

An unidentified MP responded from the opposition side of the House: "You don't understand democracy!"

* Follow Fin24 on TwitterFacebookGoogle+ and Pinterest.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.97
-0.4%
Rand - Pound
23.97
-0.3%
Rand - Euro
20.52
-0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.35
-0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.4%
Platinum
900.15
+0.4%
Palladium
1,000.00
-0.2%
Gold
2,213.87
+0.9%
Silver
24.75
+0.4%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,237
+0.8%
All Share
74,414
+0.7%
Resource 10
57,122
+2.6%
Industrial 25
103,714
+0.4%
Financial 15
16,494
-0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders