Johannesburg, 19 May 2000
National Office Bearers of the Transport and General Workers Union and the South African
Transport and Allied Workers Union
Worker representatives
Comrades
This National Merger Congress of TGWU and SATAWU is indeed an historic event for trade unionism in South Africa as well as for workers in the transport, security and cleaning sectors.
It is an expression of your determination as organized workers to forge yourselves into effective organs to fight for the interests of workers and to realize your vision of One Industry, One Union; One Federation, One Country.
The road you have travelled in reaching this historic milestone is evidence that union mergers are not easy to accomplish. You must therefore be congratulated for this achievement and I wish you all the best in your deliberations at this Congress as you chart the way forward for your new union.
In my address today I wish to share with you perspectives on some of the challenges which I believe you face in the sectors in which you work and organise and as members of the broader union movement.
Working hours and conditions in the transport sector
Despite your achievements and organizational advances, significant problems remain in addressing working conditions in both the road and rail transport sector.
Firstly, there is the problem of long hours of work and the impact of this, not only on the health and safety of drivers, but also on the safety of commuters.
Earlier this year, a train driver, Jurgen Gouws, fell asleep behind the controls. The result was a collision with another train in which four people were killed and another 21 injured. The mediator in the case ruled that the train driver must be reinstated as he had fallen asleep as a result of fatigue caused by working long hours.
Apparently he had been working shifts of up to 20 hours with only three hours of rest at a time. In the arbitration, an expert witness said her studies had found that 22% of local train drivers fall asleep while driving.
I have been made to understand that for truck drivers to achieve a 40 hour week, the average truck driver would have to decrease the current hours spent at work by 72,7%.
Secondly, there is the issue of conversion of workers into so-called 'owner-drivers'. I have been informed that an agreement has been struck at the national bargaining council to regulate the conversion of drivers into owner-drivers. However the question needs to be asked: what impact will this have on workers' job security and access to benefit schemes when they are converted into owner drivers, or on the conditions of those workers who will be employed by these owner-drivers?
Thirdly, what will be the impact of productivity-based wage systems in the sector? I believe that drivers' take home pay is usually double that of their average basic wage. Let us assume that this wage package is made up of a basic wage, night out allowance plus bonuses for overtime hours worked or kilometers traveled. If the basic wage is low, is the incentive not to work excessively long hours to get more money and does this not push drivers to disregard the health and safety implications of their work for themselves and others?
Fourthly, my Department has received an application from the National Road Freight Bargaining Council for an exemption from the sick leave provisions of the BCEA. Both employers and employees have agreed that they should be able to get all their sick leave back in the form of a bonus if they do not use it. Is this an incentive to come to work sick? Is this a correct kind of agreement to forge?
In my view, a new look is required at the working conditions and working hour regime in your sector. It is not an easy issue in the light of the pressures that you are under. But the situation at the moment is a recipe for disaster on the roads and railroads and poor working, living and family conditions for drivers.
If drivers are spending so much time away from their families, what is the quality of their family life? It is no coincidence that the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is high amongst truck drivers in many parts of Africa.
I am cognisant of the fact that the solutions to the problems facing truck drivers do not rest only with unions and employers. All spheres of government also have a role to play, for example, to ensure that there are an adequate number of truck stops on major roads and to regulate the use of odometers in all trucks.
In terms of Section 13 of the BCEA, myself, together with the relevant health and safety authorities, can also regulate the maximum hours that workers in any one sector can work.
I believe that you are involved in an initiative to set up a mega-transport bargaining council. This is something that we can only commend and I wish you success in this endeavour. I hope that it can contribute significantly to reaching a better dispensation for workers who drive and manage our nation's trucks, buses, taxi's and trains.
Taxi recapitalisation
The taxi sector faces additional challenges. Government is committed to the restructuring of the taxi industry in a way which reduces the violence and other difficulties associated with the industry, becomes more sustainable and offers a better service to the large number of commuters in South Africa.
The taxi recapitalisation project will reshape the nature of road passenger transport in South Africa. The 'bus' as we know it and the 'taxi' as we know it will be a thing of the past.
This has a number of implications for you. What does this say about the present scope of the road passenger bargaining council that does not include taxis? What should be the difference, if any, between the conditions of a bus driver and that of a taxi driver.
The Department of Labour is in the process of conducting an investigation for a sectoral determination for taxi drivers. How should this process relate to the process of taxi recapitalisation?
One of the problems with taxi drivers at the moment is the issue of training. What role can the newly established transport SETA play in the process of taxi recapitalisation?
I would welcome an opportunity to discuss these issues with your new union and exploring areas where we can work together to ensure that the labour market issues related to the taxi recapitalisation process are successfully addressed.
Cleaning and security sectors
It is very important that in your merger process you have not left out the "G" in T&GWU. Security and cleaning workers remain one of the most vulnerable groups of workers in our country and they can benefit greatly from being together with more organised workers.
It is my view that there is a need for a critical evaluation of the manner in which the working conditions and wages in these sectors are regulated.
The current situation where you have a national informal bargaining arrangement with employers in these sectors and then come to the Department of Labour to get the agreement included in a sectoral determination is not the most desirable.
The BCEA envisages two clear options in respect of the setting of wages and working conditions. Where workers are organised at a national level, they should form bargaining councils where they can have the maximum ability to bargain wages and conditions of work appropriate to their circumstances.
Where workers are not organised at a national level, the state has a responsibility to set minimum wages and basic conditions of employment - the floor of rights - through a sectoral determination. The Employment Conditions Commission (ECC) set up in terms of the BCEA, is meant to receive public representations, including from organised and unorganized workers and employers. It then makes a recommendation to myself as the Minister of Labour on that which it believes is in the best interest of employers and employees in the sector, taking into account issues such as employment creation and poverty reduction.
The process of drafting a sectoral determination is by its nature a lengthy one. It is envisaged that sectoral determinations would not be set yearly and would be preceded by extensive consultations.
The process of negotiating wages at a bargaining council is much speedier. Once the parties have agreed on the terms and conditions of employment and certain conditions have been met, I can extend the agreement to non-parties.
You need to make a decisive choice as to whether or not you can reach the levels of organisation required for a bargaining council and then commit yourselves to set up the bargaining council. Or you need to resolve that statutory standard setting may be the best option for a sector which is difficult to organise and commit yourselves to combine a statutory floor of minimum standards with company level bargaining to improve conditions.
Certainty would be good for workers and employers and may provide you with the space to intensify recruitment as well as ensure enforcement. At present the rates of referral to both the CCMA and the Department of Labour are high in the security sector.
Proliferation of trade unions
A further challenge that you face is the proliferation of trade unions. With the merger of TGWU and SATAWU, there are now 18 registered unions operating in the transport sector. Most have less than 6000 members, while the smallest has only 120 workers. One union claims to represent 15 000 taxi drivers.
In the security industry, there are 31 registered unions representing 39 781 workers out of an estimated 100 000 security guards in South Africa. Of these 31 unions, 21 have less than 1000 members each. The smallest union has 26 members.
A number of complaints of mismanagement have been received from members of these smaller unions.
Comrades, the proliferation of trade unions is a matter of concern to us. I would like to hear your views on what are the key factors which have led to this situation. There is a view within the Department of Labour that one of the fundamental reasons is the lack of effective servicing of members by established trade unions as well as ineffective recruitment, particularly amongst vulnerable workers.
Many of these new trade unions have been set up with very little intention of assisting members in collective bargaining. Instead they want to represent members at the CCMA. Many are labour consultants in disguise. The challenge this poses is why would workers want to go to these new unions if unions like yours were servicing them effectively?
I have heard a number of very worrying reports about these new unions, including that some are really insurance or financial brokers whose main reason for forming a union is to sell their products as part of the benefit of being a member of the organisation.
We are considering legislative amendments to address this problem. However the problem can be most effectively addressed by yourselves, through the proper representation of your members in disputes, by being able to negotiate good benefits for your members and by active campaigns to recruit and strengthen your organization.
The fact that you have now merged should give you greater leverage and capacity to do so. I hope this occurs.
As I said at the Worker Rights are Human Rights celebration which I addressed in March this year, this government has put in place a range of new laws, including labour laws, which have entrenched the rights of workers. But we need strong unions to be active partners in ensuring the effective implementation of these laws and the achievement of our country's social and economic objectives. We need strong unions to contribute to the transformation of the labour market in a manner which is conducive to sustained economic growth, investment and job creation and which will be characterized by rising skills, sound labour relations, equality and fair labour standards.
Social dialogue and interaction with government
Last week, you as part of COSATU, embarked upon national strike action in pursuit of job creation and the protection of existing jobs.
We also acknowledge the harsh reality of the crisis facing the country as a result of high unemployment levels and government has consistently demonstrated its commitment to effectively address poverty and job creation.
In respect of some of the key demands of COSATU, processes had or have been initiated. The process of introducing amendments to the Labour Relations Act and Insolvency Act will address, among other issues, the situation of workers faced by retrenchments or their employer being liquidated. The drafting of these amendments is underway. When completed, these will be presented for public debate and negotiation in NEDLAC before going to parliament.
The reality is that the challenge of job creation goes beyond the issue of a specific amendment to the LRA. Our democratic government has over the past six years formulated and implemented a wide range of policies to reshape and restructure the economy so that it can create jobs and wealth. And it has done so in consultation and partnership with our social partners. The most obvious example of this is the Presidential Jobs Summit in 1998.
We must intensify our efforts at social partnership. We may not yet have achieved full agreement as social partners on the complex array of policies and strategies which are required to build the productive capacity of our economy and to create jobs. But, while we continue to engage on these matters, we should continue to intensify our efforts to ensure effective implementation in those areas where we have common cause in realizing our goal of job creation.
We are the creators of our own future. Your presence here today at this merger congress is evidence of this. I wish you success in your endeavours.
Thank you