Everyone Must Respect the Agreement on the BELA Act

Dear Editor

The DA calls on all interested and affected parties to accept the outcome of the settlement negotiated at NEDLAC between the Presidency, the Department of Basic Education (DBE), and Solidarity, on behalf of teachers affiliated to this Union.

The negotiations were a mandatory process conducted in terms of the law, to prevent strike action arising from the controversy surrounding various clauses in the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act.

No political parties were represented in these negotiations. The talks included only the Presidency, DBE as the employer, and Solidarity representing certain teachers’ unions.

These negotiations, and the agreement reached by consensus, are a prime example of NEDLAC fulfilling the purpose for which it was established – to give interested and affected parties the opportunity to negotiate settlements rather than resort to strike action.

Now that the Presidency, the DBE and Solidarity have reached and signed an agreement, it is incumbent on everyone to respect the outcome of a statutory process and not seek to undermine it for party political purposes.

In particular, it is incumbent on the Presidency to uphold an agreement it was a party to.

The representatives of the Presidency involved in the negotiations regularly reverted to their principals to seal their negotiating mandate. Yet the Deputy President (who is an integral part of the Presidency) has now rejected the right of NEDLAC to reach a settlement in terms of the law.

He is demanding that the matter be resolved by the ad-hoc Clearing House Committee set up by the Cabinet.

According to the DA’s legal advice, an ad-hoc informal committee cannot override an agreement reached through a statutory process.

To make matters worse, Matome Chiloane, the ANC MEC for Education in Gauteng, has voiced his “firm rejection” of the agreement.

This is an extraordinary situation. A statutory body produces a negotiated settlement in terms of the law, involving the Presidency, the DBE and a trade union – and the RET faction of the ANC mobilises to override it, without following any legal processes.

This is pure political posturing that undermines institutions designed to solve problems through negotiation and prevent conflict.

It is all the more ominous because it involves the Deputy President openly challenging a settlement approved by the President.

This battle is about the internal battle for control of the ANC. And it is clear that the RET faction will ride roughshod over the law and due process to seize power.

For our part, the DA welcomes the fact that a constructive solution was negotiated to the BELA crisis in a forum that did not involve political parties, and we support the outcome of this process.

Regards

Helen Zille
DA Federal Council Chairperson