The African National Congress on Friday called on employers to give their staff "quality time" off to vote on 22 April.

"The ANC is appalled that these sectors, particularly in retail, are forcing their employees to work, despite Wednesday having been declared a public holiday," ANC spokesperson Jessie Duarte said in a statement.

"The application of the 'no work — no pay' principle is tantamount to the deprivation of our people's sacrosanct right."

She said employers in the essential services sector should "establish viable conditions" to allow all their staff to vote.

The ruling party's call comes after its alliance partner, the Congress of SA Trade Unions on Thursday wrote a letter to President Kgalema Motlanthe in a bid to get 22 April declared a non-trading public holiday.

"The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy. Every other constitutional human right hinges on the people being able make their mark on the ballot paper to decide who will govern them for the next five years.

"Every South African citizen, without exception, must therefore be able freely to exercise that fundamental right," Cosatu general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi wrote in the letter.

He said workers had to be given a public holiday, without any fear of disciplinary action being taken against them.

"A presidential statement that 22 April is a non-trading public holiday will help greatly to get the message across," he wrote.

Spokesperson for the presidency, Thabo Masebe, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sapa

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