It is not President Jacob Zuma's responsibility to create jobs, African National Congress (ANC) MP Boingotlo Nthebe told the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday.

Zuma as the head of government drove policy, to create an environment for the private sector to implement it, he said during a debate about Worker's Day.

"I will not speculate, but I will teach you," Nthebe said in response to Democratic Alliance MP Willem Faber's question on whether Zuma's role in the economy's downgrade to junk status had had a detrimental effect on workers.

"It is not Jacob Zuma's responsibility to create jobs," he told Faber.

Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Catherine Labuschagne asked him why, if this was the case, Zuma had promised more jobs during his State of the Nation Address in February.

"As the head of state and the leader of government in charge, you pronounce a statement of intent. You then go out and you invest in the country with the creation of labour relations, and [along with] all the laws in the country, you create a conducive environment to create jobs."

Workers

He said this after DA MPs continually heckled him as he spoke. He accused the DA of standing for the domination of capital over workers.

"Workers in this country build houses they can't afford to live in. Workers in this country go to work, and they come back not knowing what they are going to eat. We know what you represent," he told the party's MPs.

Workers should not rest on their laurels, but march for their rights.

Inkatha Freedom Party MP Mntomuhle Khawula said the booing of Zuma at the May Day rally in Bloemfontein on Monday was evidence that workers felt "enough was enough".

Economic Freedom Fighters MP Makosini Chabangu said workers would continue to suffer under the leadership of "corrupt Zuma" and his friends, including the Gupta family.

DA MP Leon Magwebu asked what there was to celebrate under the ANC government.

ANC MP Landulile Dlamini said her party had a long history of workers' struggles through unions and had drafted laws to protect them. Unions stood up for workers, and it was only natural for there to be occasional tensions between unions and government.

She reminded opposition MPs that the ANC was in government, not them.