ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba says only his government has the capacity and the experience to lead and resolve the many workers’ issues affecting millions of the country’s highly exploited working class.
On Wednesday, as the country commemorated Workers’ Day through various events, Mashaba addressed a May Day rally hosted by his party at the Library Gardens in the Joburg City Centre.
He said the party would also protect the rights of marginalised workers while at the same time restoring the independence of South African trade unions and working together with them to improve working conditions for everyone.
Mashaba, who previously led the the City of Joburg as the mayor under the DA and EFF coalition government, said while he was the mayor of Joburg, he ensured that security guards and cleaners were in-sourced and employed permanently by the various government entities in the city.
Mashaba singled out the ANC government for failing to protect the rights of the down-trodden workers whose lives have not changed since the dawn of democracy due to labour brokers, and middlemen and trade unions that participate in their misery.
“ActionSA government will, as I did as the City of Johannesburg mayor, seek to implement the insourcing of security guards and cleaners and all public facilities in South Africa while at the same time improving labour relations with trade unions through frequent consultation.
“ActionSA is clear that no trade union will have a veto right on our economic policies, but instead should operate independently in the best interest of workers,” he said.
‘The Star’ has reported that more than a 100 former security guards who were employed by service providers contracted to the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) have staged a sleep-in outside Luthuli House demanding that their grievances be addressed.
These workers have been camping outside the ANC headquarters since last Friday after having staged a similar sleep-in at the offices of the provincial Health Department, with the department saying they were not linked directly to them but contracted to private service providers to the department.
Mashaba said while his party will respect the important role trade unions play within South Africa and work together with them to resolve some of the key issues facing workers in the country, it will reform them to ensure they do what is right by the workers.
“For too long, South African workers have been subject to abuse due to the corrupt, greedy and failed policies of the ruling party which is why ActionSA will restore ethical leadership which puts South Africans first. Under ActionSA, the victims’ families such as in the Lily Mine tragedy would not have to wait eight years for justice to be achieved, but police and the justice system would act independently to quickly place those guilty behind bars,” he added.
He said the only solution to this exploitation lies in removing the ANC from the levers of power.
“However, we will only be able to protect the rights of workers and restore the independence of unions if we take action to remove the ruling party and vote for a credible alternative on the 29th of May. ActionSA’s policies can only be implemented if voters take action to vote for ActionSA this year,” he said.