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The Congress of South African Trade Unions is troubled by the media reports indicating that the SACP owes its staff members cumulatively six (6) months’ wages. This is discreditable and disconcerting not only for the SACP but the entire Tripartite Alliance. The South African Communist Party (SACP) must pay its employees what is due to them immediately.

The SACP is the vanguard of the working class that is meant to champion working class struggles, and this is undermining its credibility in the eyes of the workers. The Party like all other employers needs to abide by South Africa’s labour laws, in particular the Basic Conditions of Employment Act which requires the employer to pay their workers for services rendered.  

It is totally unacceptable that the leaders of the SACP sit in Parliament, collect exorbitant salaries, pass our labour laws, and then proceed to disregard them.  The fact that the Deputy Chairperson of the SACP is the Minister for Employment and Labour and the custodian of our labour laws is scandalous. This tells employers across the economy that they don’t need to bother with respecting workers’ rights and abiding by our labour laws.

The leadership of the SACP needs to account and explain what they have and have not paid, including taxes and contributions to the UIF and Compensation Fund.  The Department of Employment and Labour, SARS, the UIF and Compensation Fund must act against the SACP, if they are not in good standing, as they would with any other delinquent employer. 

A leadership guided by socialist ideals and principles should always make sure that workers are not cheated out of their salaries, even if it means sacrificing their own Ministerial salaries.

Issued by COSATU