DA an anti-worker party – Samwu

This after DA Shadow Minister of Labour, Ian Ollis, released a statement on 16 November, after citizens of Johannesburg arrived at all vehicle licensing offices in the City of Johannesburg regions, to be met with closed doors. Ollis said a sign on the doors was a calling to Samwu members to a meeting to discuss police killings.

He said no advice was offered to customers as to how to get vehicles registered, submit applications for vehicles or driver’s licenses, or when the staff of the City would be back at their desks.

“Hundreds of people [were] left angry at the total disregard for the needs of the city or of the public. The DA is equally horrified at the recent police killings, which must be condemned. However, adding to the lawlessness will not solve this problem. Samwu should be having these meetings on weekends or after hours and not during work hours,” Ollis said.

He added that the effects on productivity and the economy of union members downing tools during office hours for every issue that arises in South Africa is unlawful and not in the interests of the country. He voiced his intention to write to the Minister of Labour, Mildred Oliphant, to request that she mandate an investigation into the flouting of labour regulations by Samwu.

In his response Samwu deputy general secretary, Simon Mathe, said the DA exposed itself as a ‘racist and anti-worker party.’ Mathe said, “Samwu is shocked but not surprised at the latest antics by the DA through its so-called Shadow Minister of Labour, Ollis, who suggested that workers had flouted labour laws by attending a properly constituted meeting. It is embarrassing that someone who claims to be working with labour does not know the laws governing the portfolio he is in charge of.”

He said Ollis was bitter because workers at Joburg Metro police saw it fit to organise and be part of a march against police killings; a march which was legal and approved by relevant authorities.

“In case Ollis has forgotten, the country’s labour laws permit workers to have meetings, even during working hours, something which he, as a shadow minister, should know. It is for this reason that he will forever remain a ‘shadow’ minister, always in the shadow of those who are governing… Ollis and his anti-worker party have not done anything when police, who are workers, are killed in the line of duty – or maybe it is because the majority of these workers are black and, as such, they see no need for action in this regard,” Mathe said.

He added that in their white circles, the DA rejoices at the death of a black worker because they do not value a black man’s life.

But Ollis said the DA was not racist and that these accusations were rejected with the contempt they deserve.

He reiterated that it was unacceptable to bring the City’s licensing offices to a standstill in order for Samwu to have a meeting.

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