Experts pan 'disastrous' move on brokers

"I don't believe it. This is utterly beyond belief. What it means is that there has not been one single lesson learned from Marikana or from the high levels of unemployment," labour expert Andrew Levy told the daily.

"Government is prepared to sacrifice anything and everything for a handful of votes. I have never seen such a disastrous move in all my 40 years of being involved in labour relations."

He was asked to respond to ANC MPs on Wednesday effectively proposing a ban on labour brokers. Parliament's labour committee was also swinging in favour of removing provisions for strike ballots and picketing rules, Business Day reported.

Labour lawyer Johnny Goldberg said banning labour broking would provide strong grounds for a constitutional challenge.