The construction sector has nobody to blame but itself for failing to transform as a number of associations within it refuse to accept collective bargaining, Public Works Minister, Thulas Nxesi, remarked during the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) central executive committee meeting in Johannesburg.
“There is no transformation in the sector from where I am sitting. The industry has to transform and include black professionals. Engineers, surveyors and all sorts of artisans in the sector are male and white,” lamented Nxesi, urging NUM as the construction sector’s largest union to take charge.
The Minister even suggested NUM should employ tough love to make rebellious unions toe the line. “You must ask yourselves how you are going to force these associations to accept collective bargaining. You need to organise yourself and make sure social transformation takes place.”
There was no better time that the industry needed unity than in the current climate, Nxesi observed, citing massive job losses and the ‘worst’ injuries and fatalities record that continued to be experienced.