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.
Read the full article on SAFTU REJECTS THE DRAFT PIE AMENDMENT BILL: A DANGEROUS ATTACK ON THE POOR AND A ROLLBACK OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
