A new National Defence Force Service Commission may be created as early as next Monday, says the Minister of Defence, Lindiwe Sisulu. She was addressing Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Defence earlier today.

Sisulu says the commission's mandate will include reviewing working conditions, including remuneration in the defence force. “We envisaged that within the Defence Force itself, we will have professional bodies where the military will be able to come together lobby for better conditions but certainly it will not be like trade unions.”

She says trade unions are political bodies by their very nature and by introducing them to the Defence Force one creates problems. The call for a new service commission comes after last month's violent protests by soldiers at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

Last week, the North Gauteng High Court granted the Department of Defence and Military Veterans a postponement on the matter between the department and the South African National Defence Union (SANDU).The postponement meant that the dismissal of 1 300 SANDU members has been put on hold until the matter is heard in court.