Issued by Department of Labour
29 June 2000
The accelerated implementation of labour legislation in the next few years will have a significant impact on labour market efficiency and the quality of life of workers and the unemployed, Department of Labour director general Adv Rams Ramashia said today.
Speaking at a media briefing on the Department's strategic plan for the period 2000-2004, Ramashia said the Department was well positioned to achieve government's labour market objectives. This would be underpinned by institutional and operational restructuring to achieve the Department's vision of service excellence.
The Department's strategic plan, which will give effect to the Minister of Labour's 15-point programme of action, addresses a number of new policy initiatives. These include legislative amendments which will refine the Labour Relations and Basic Conditions of Employment Acts to address unintended negative consequences and maximise their impact on job creation, as well as new legislation on unemployment insurance, occupational health and safety and compensation for workplace injuries and diseases.
However, Ramashia said a top priority would be the effective implementation of laws and programmes to promote skills development, stable labour relations, employment equity and the protection of vulnerable workers, which are at the heart of government's efforts to transform the labour market to address economic and social imperatives.
"Our determination to address negative consequences should therefore be equaled by our determination to implement and build on the considerable body of labour market legislation, policy, programmes and institutions which all social partners are agreed have indeed already and will increasingly have significant positive consequences in the labour market in the next few years," Ramashia said.
Ramashia said consultations with stakeholders in preparation for the Minister's programme of action and the Department's strategic plan had concluded that the policy foundations were correct. The Department would build on these foundations to create a labour market environment which would both reinforce efforts to make South Africa the world's leading emerging economy and address job creation and workers' welfare.
Employment and Skills Development
Top of the agenda is the continued implementation of the Skills Development Act and the Skills Development Levies Act to meet the skills needs essential to boost economic growth, investment, productivity, job creation and development, as well as the training which will give the unemployed, particularly women, youth and people with disabilities access to income generating opportunities.
The process of developing workplace and sector skills plans currently underway will culminate in the development of a National Skills Development Strategy for the country by the end of this year. The implementation of this strategy over the next few years will unleash a skills revolution which will have a dramatic impact on the world of work and the country's economy. The Department will also play a leading role in the development and implementation of a broader Human Resource Development Strategy for the country, working in close cooperation with the Department of Education.
Ramashia said the Department would be devoting special attention to measures to improve the plight of vulnerable sectors of society. In terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, sectoral determinations to set minimum wages and conditions of employment for farm and domestic workers were under development through a process of briefings, consultations, public hearings and research. Inspections and enforcement of the BCEA would also be stepped up.
Plans to enforce health and safety standards among vulnerable workers would also be implemented, while new policy was being developed to extend unemployment insurance and compensation coverage to domestic workers. The implementation of the Social Plan was proceeding apace to provide retrenchees with training to access income generating opportunities.
The Department would be conducting indepth research and analysis to measure the impact of policy implementation on the labour market, Ramashia said. This would include the development of objective performance indicators and would inform the ongoing review of the labour market policy to give effect to the Minister of Labour's commitment to ensure that policies achieve the appropriate balance between labour market efficiency and decent labour standards.
The implementation of the Employment Equity Act is also seen as making an important contribution to labour market efficiency and stability. Racism and other forms of discrimination, apart from being morally reprehensible, hamper the efficiency of production and undermine labour relations, productivity and morale in the workplace.
The Department had established an Employment Equity registry of Equity Reports received from employers and would be providing feedback to employers in this regard.
Codes of Good Practice on HIV/Aids in the workplace, on disability and on human resource policies and practices were also being developed.
Occupational Health and Safety
The integration of occupational health and safety competencies across government will be another priority which the Department of Labour will spearhead in cooperation with the Departments of Minerals and Energy and Health, following a cabinet decision on the matter. A tripartite National Steering Committee of organised labour, business and government representatives is being set up to map out a new OHS policy framework to give effect to the decision.
The harmonisation of government's OHS policies has strong support from Cosatu, which agrees with government on the need for a comprehensive OHS policy framework and strategy applicable to all the country's workplaces. Cosatu said this vision was in line with the federation's own policy on OHS and would contribute to the maximum utilization of resources and the improvement of workers' health and safety.
The union federation has also backed the Department's efforts to transform its inspection services to provide an integrated one-stop inspection service. The integrated inspection service includes generalist and specialist inspections and will ensure greater levels of efficiency and efficacy in the enforcement of OHS and other labour legislation.
The involvement of stakeholders in policy development and implementation would remain a common thread throughout the Department's programmes. The successful implementation of the strategic plan would be underpinned by a continued commitment to the strengthening of social partnership through institutions such as the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), the National Skills Authority (NSA), Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas), the Employment Conditions Commission (ECC), the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) and the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
For more information contact:
Phenyo Nonqane:
Tel: 012 309 4381
Cell: 082 903 0120
James Moche:
Tel: 012 309 4804
Cell: 082 889 1519