We say JZ has no freeking idea how democracy works. Is he suggesting your basic human rights are on a sliding scale dependant on how strong representation you have in parliament? Is that why his government applauds Woolworths for being racist and SAA for only wanting to train black cadet pilots?
According to the notoriously unreliable news24 Mazibuko had asked of the Prez if he would consider changes to the labour relations regime which pegs the union representation threshold at 51%. She said this had led to the situation where AMCU (the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union) was not a recognised union at Lonmin’s platinum mine, and therefore excluded from wage negotiations.
But JZ responded by saying in his understanding of democracy the majority made the rules. Here is his full quote: “We operate within regulated society… Between workers and employers there have been negotiations and agreements, and those agreements must be respected. In a democratic situation, it is the majority that prevail. I can’t change the rules because you want to make a particular point. You can’t then say, smaller unions must then be compared to the bigger unions in the same way. You have more rights because you’re a majority; you have less rights because you’re a minority. That’s how democracy works.”
Some commentators have described this as funny. But it’s not. What SA’s number one politician is saying is that workers in a smaller union could not expect the same privileges as workers in a larger union.
Obviously his kind of democracy is not the one Madiba spent 27 years in prison for. Maybe JZ should invest in a copy of the Bill of Rights – and read it. He will be able to learn a great deal about real democracy and basic human rights.
