'Democratise' strike action says Godongwana

Strikes should be "democratised" by using secret ballots, ANC economic transformation cluster head Enoch Godongwana said.

"There are two issues in strikes we are grappling with," Godongwana told the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM) national bargaining conference in Midrand, Gauteng.

"The first thing is the violent nature of strikes."

Godongwana said he did not know whether there was a need for legislation to deal with that question, because the courts had already dealt with the matter satisfactorily.

"I'm thinking aloud comrades, not necessarily [the] ANC view, but I'm raising some of the matters that are on the table for debate," he said.

"A second issue relating to strikes is the length.

"Now we don't want to tamper with the Constitution and change the right to strike and disadvantage the majority of workers in this country who exercise that right in the normal way."

Rather, democratising strike action, through the taking of a secret ballot, should be considered.

"First and foremost is to... make sure that all unions comply with the democratic values system that your members will be a part of," he said.

"I'm thinking aloud comrades. The first set of issues, on taking them out, you ballot, secretly, democratic decision."

He said that even after that democratic decision was taken, following a specific period of time, government should be able to tell the parties to go back to the negotiating table.

Different instruments were being considered, such as arbitration, without doing away with the strike itself.

"If someone listens to the parties, then makes a recommendation, and the parties do not accept the recommendation, if it's the union, we must go back and test that in a secret ballot," Godongwana said.

This was to ensure strike action was democratic and people were not intimidated.