Johannesburg - The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Friday described the decision by President Jacob Zuma to sign the Tax Administration Amendment Act into law as “bad, regrettable and unacceptable”.
The union called for the scrapping of the new tax law.
“The working class of this country never gave President Jacob Zuma a mandate to sign the tax law. Zuma consciously refused to listen and continues to ignore the working class,” NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mamburu said.
“The state has an element of dictatorship in our country, as example it imposed e-tolls and wage subsidy without proper engagements. The workers are tired of being undermined and disrespected by this government.”
Mamburu said there had been consultations at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) where organised labour had meaningful participation and had made submissions.
Requests by labour, over a period of ten years to government, asking for a comprehensive social security and retirement reform discussion paper had fallen on deaf ears, he said.
It was through NUM that mine workers, who for many years had retired with only a helmet and a pair of boots, now had retirements benefits, Mamburu added.
He said NUM rejected the new tax law because current and future retirement savings were the only money that workers had saved, and to alter how these deferred salaries “will be used, including forced preservation by the government, lacks any democratic consultation process”.
The new law, which comes into effect on March 1 this year, seeks to force workers to preserve their retirement savings, instead of withdrawing and spending it.
Zuma on Thursday shot down criticism by the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) that he had not consulted them before signing the act into law.
Zuma's office said: “The law was considered at Nedlac. It was also discussed openly in Parliament. It was passed by both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) following public hearings.”
AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY