Saftu Rejects the Draft PIE Amendment Bill: A Dangerous Attack on the Poor and a Rollback of Constitutional Rights

MEDIA STATEMENT
21 APRIL 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAFTU REJECTS THE DRAFT PIE AMENDMENT BILL: A DANGEROUS ATTACK ON THE POOR AND A ROLLBACK OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) condemns the Draft Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Amendment Bill, 2026 as a dangerous, regressive and unconstitutional attack on the working class and the poor. This Bill must be rejected in its entirety, it is not a housing solution. It is not a land reform intervention. It is not a developmental response, it is a state response to poverty, through criminalisation.

A BILL THAT PUNISHES THE POOR FOR STATE FAILURE

South Africa is facing a deep and systemic crisis:
•⁠ ⁠Mass unemployment, with the expanded rate at 42.1% according to Statistics South Africa
•⁠ ⁠Widespread poverty, with millions living below the upper-bound poverty line
•⁠ ⁠A housing backlog of at least 2.5 to 2.6 million households, with over 3.4 million households registered for housing assistance
•⁠ ⁠Collapsing rural economies and failed land reform

People are not occupying land because they are criminals.

They are occupying land because:
•⁠ ⁠there are no jobs,
•⁠ ⁠there is no land,
•⁠ ⁠there is no housing,
•⁠ ⁠there is no future in the rural areas,
•⁠ ⁠and the cities are the only sites of survival.

This Bill deliberately ignores these realities.
Instead of addressing the structural crisis, the state is choosing to criminalise those who are forced to survive within it.

CRIMINALISING GRASSROOTS ORGANISING

The most dangerous feature of this Bill is its attempt to criminalise organisation itself.
It creates sweeping offences against anyone who “incites”, “organises”, or “permits” land occupation.

This is not accidental. It is aimed at:

•⁠ ⁠community leaders,
•⁠ ⁠housing activists,
•⁠ ⁠social movements,
•⁠ ⁠and working-class organisations.

It is an attack on:

•⁠ ⁠the right to organise,
•⁠ ⁠the right to protest,
•⁠ ⁠the right to associate,
•⁠ ⁠and the right to speak.

This is a direct assault on the democratic freedoms protected in the Constitution.

Let us be clear: If this Bill passes in its current form, organising poor communities around land and housing can become a criminal offence.

ROLLING BACK CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS

For more than two decades, the courts, including the Constitutional Court have built a body of law that protects people from arbitrary eviction and homelessness.

They have insisted that:
•⁠ ⁠eviction must be just and equitable,
•⁠ ⁠the dignity of occupiers must be respected,
•⁠ ⁠meaningful engagement must take place,
•⁠ ⁠and homelessness must be avoided.

This Bill is a legislative counter-attack against those gains.
It introduces provisions that allow eviction without requiring the state to provide alternative accommodation. That is not a technical amendment, it is a direct rollback of constitutional protections.
VIOLATING SECTIONS 26 AND 27 OF THE CONSTITUTION

The Constitution does not only guarantee housing.
It guarantees:

•⁠ ⁠access to housing (Section 26),
•⁠ ⁠access to health care, food, water and social security (Section 27),
•⁠ ⁠and dignity.

These rights are interconnected. Evicting people into conditions where they have:

•⁠ ⁠no shelter,
•⁠ ⁠no water,
•⁠ ⁠no sanitation,
•⁠ ⁠no access to health care,
•⁠ ⁠no food security,

It is not compliance with the Constitution, it is a deepening of constitutional violation.

 THIS BILL IS A RESPONSE TO LOSSES IN THE COURTS

This Bill must be understood politically. It comes after years in which:

•⁠ ⁠communities have successfully resisted eviction,
•⁠ ⁠courts have imposed limits on state power,
•⁠ ⁠and constitutional protections have been strengthened.

Instead of fixing its failures, the state is now trying to change the law to escape those constraints.
This is not reform. It is retreat from constitutionalism.

THE REAL CRISIS: WHY PEOPLE OCCUPY LAND

This Bill fails because it refuses to confront the real drivers of land occupation:

•⁠ ⁠unemployment and joblessness
•⁠ ⁠poverty and inequality
•⁠ ⁠failed agrarian reform and rural collapse
•⁠ ⁠lack of access to education and training
•⁠ ⁠exclusion from universities and colleges
•⁠ ⁠collapse of labour-absorbing sectors like mining and construction
•⁠ ⁠failure to build sufficient housing

People are not choosing occupation over lawful housing.There is no lawful housing available to them.

SAFTU rejects this Bill. We call for:

•⁠ ⁠its immediate withdrawal,
•⁠ ⁠a complete redrafting grounded in the Constitution,
•⁠ ⁠and a shift away from criminalisation toward real solutions.

We further state clearly: If this Bill proceeds in its current form, it will face constitutional challenge.

We call on:

•⁠ ⁠trade unions,
•⁠ ⁠community organisations,
•⁠ ⁠housing movements,
•⁠ ⁠progressive legal formations,
•⁠ ⁠and all working-class structures
to unite in opposition to this Bill.

This is not just a housing issue. It is a struggle over constitutional rights, democracy, and the future of the working class.
A statement was issued on behalf of SAFTU by the General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi.

For media inquiries, contact the National Spokesperson at
Newton Masuku
newtonm@saftu.org.za
0661682157

Media Officer
Asive Dyani
0719019564