COSATU’s threat to strike next month over labour legislation changes that were supported by both business and the government raised questions about the organisation’s rationale, says the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The strike threat by Cosatu General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, comes after a year of negotiations in Nedlac where a general agreement was achieved on changes to the labour legislation.

The changes included provisions for the regulation of labour brokers rather than the outright ban which Cosatu had demanded.

Mr Michael Bagraim, President of the Chamber said “we have had a year of negotiations and Cosatu has been part of the process, but because it cannot get its own way on a few issues, such as banning of labour brokers, it wants to wreck the whole agreement.”

He said it was difficult to understand Cosatu’s obsession with labour broking. Its arguments had not been convincing at Nedlac and there was no doubt that the Constitutional Court would strike down any law that included a ban. This had happened when labour brokers were banned in Namibia and it would happen again in South Africa.

“We have a situation where Cosatu must know it cannot win yet it insists on causing a massive disruption to the economy that could cost the country billions of rands without creating one more job or improving the lot of its members.”

What made this even more difficult to understand was that Cosatu was part of the government yet it was opposing what were, in effect, its own decisions.