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The Democratic Alliance (DA) will this week to submit to the Speaker of the National Assembly a private member's bill which proposes changes to sections 67 and 68 of the Labour Relations Act, making unions liable for any damage their members cause during the course of strike actions or wage negotiations. It is unacceptable that unions be allowed to damage property as a bargaining chip to put pressure on their employers.

During this round of strike action, police officers and ordinary members of the public have been intimidated, harassed, and even assaulted by the strikers. Looting has been reported, and streets have been needlessly sprayed with refuse. Property, both public and private, has been maliciously damaged. Without holding unions accountable for their actions, the current strike action will come at a high cost to both the state and those citizens caught up in the strikes.

The ongoing strike action paints a picture of a government that cannot contain internal conflicts - to the severe detriment of ordinary South Africans. President Jacob Zuma has surrounded himself with many union leaders in his cabinet, yet those very leaders are the ones who are failing to call off the current strike action. The ANC, in other words, is at war with itself. Meanwhile, the President has spent the last week touring plush convention centres on a victory lap of sorts, even while the outlook for ordinary South Africans has continued to spiral downwards. In recent weeks there has been a distinct absence of political leadership, and now, when leadership is needed most to resolve violent strikes, the President again appears to be missing in action.