EFF behaving like ‘apartheid era workplace terrorists’, says DA

The DA is accusing the EFF of being ‘workplace terrorists’ after a planned visit by EFF leader Julius Malema to a number of restaurants on Wednesday.

Malema was checking the employment ratio between South African citizens and foreign nationals.

DA Shadow Minister of Employment and Labour Michael Cardo described the visits as “more than just a desperate exercise in xenophobic, political grandstanding masquerading as legislative oversight.”

“It amounts to a form of workplace terrorism and should be roundly condemned,” said Cardo.

Cardo accused Malema of behaving like an apartheid-era labour inspector, with a clipboard and a kit to conduct a kind of pencil-test, imposing himself on a private employer.

“Unfortunately, this is just another staged event in the EFF’s ongoing campaign of throwing its weight about the workplace even though it has no legal standing or right to do so,” said Cardo.

The party said the EFF has been operating a self-styled ‘Labour Desk’ and fronting as a trade union for a while now and has resorted to issuing ultimatums, intimidating employers, and threatening workplace safety if their demands are not met.

“This serves to undermine and destabilise labour relations,” said Cardo.

Its also accuses the ANC of being complicit in the EFF’s workplace terrorism, by continually targeting and scapegoating foreign nationals in the workplace.

“The ruling party should now distance itself from the EFF’s theatrics and lay down the law on political parties acting as labour inspectors and trade unions,” said the opposition party.

The owners of Kream restaurant denied Malema and his entourage entry into the venue.

He was informed by a representative of the restaurant that they would not entertain him because he was not conducting any “official government business”.

Kream’s representative presented the EFF leader with a letter, presumably from their lawyers, stating that if Malema had any questions about their labour practices he should send questions in writing and they would respond to him.

Compiled by Narissa Subramoney. Additional reporting by Thapelo Lekabe

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