LETTER: CCMA mess the price for SAA bailouts

A dispute by staff at the department of employment & labour, and in particular the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration (CCMA), was inevitable due to the problems the commission has experienced over the past two years (“CCMA union threatens a strike as budget keeps shrinking”, November 16).

Chief among these is the reprioritisation of the national budget to pay SAA enormous sums of money to keep the airline afloat, which the finance minister had to take away from departments that were operational. Slashing the budget of the department of employment & labour meant it was unable to function properly throughout the pandemic.

The Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) administration was hopeless, and the Unemployment Insurance Fund itself, which has always been dysfunctional, is now almost completely moribund.

CCMA staff have been pushed to work under extremely negative conditions, including long hours and heavy administration. The expectations of the public have not been met due to budgetary constraints and the many unfunded posts in the department.

The government has failed the SA workforce by not doing anything to ensure our labour laws are enforced.

The CCMA was a leading light as far as government departments go, but it appears a dysfunctional government is doing everything in its power to destroy the few departments that did work.

Michael Bagraim, MP
DA deputy shadow employment & labour minister

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