Pretoria – Violent strikes and the review of the possibility of increasing minimum wages to address poverty and inequality will come into sharp focus this year, says Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant.
Addressing the Annual Nedlac Organised Labour Conference, which is currently underway in Pretoria, Oliphant said factors that give rise to violent and protracted strike action will receive particular attention in the course of the year.
“Another matter that will receive focus is the review of the possibility of increasing minimum wages so as to address poverty and inequality, and to expand provision for retirement savings for low income workers,” Oliphant said.
Asked to reflect on key policy issues for 2013/14, Oliphant said the top priorities for 2014 included the conclusion of amendments to labour legislation, which will give certainty to the policy environment; expanding protection for vulnerable workers and ensuring faster change in employment equity in workplaces.
She warned that recent developments in the labour front signified a turbulent period ahead, adding that the sooner labour law amendments were concluded, “we will be able to deal with abuses in the labour market and problems of non-compliance with our labour legislation”.
Labour laws that are under parliamentary scrutiny include the Labour Relations Act and the new Employment Services Bill.
“As you are well aware, we have ended another year in which the labour arena has been highly contested and it has been marked by conflict and controversy. It can only get better from here and that will be possible if we make a commitment to work together in addressing the many challenges that face us.
“The improvement that we hope for this year was given impetus when news broke late last year that employment levels reached 14 million in the third quarter. The labour market is back to the employment peak of 2008 before the recession started to bite,” Oliphant said.
South Africa lost one million jobs during the recession in 2009. The country has been recovering since then, with the official unemployment rate declining to 24.7% in 2013.
Getting a handle on negotiations
Oliphant challenged organised labour not to wait until wage agreements lapse, and advised unions to start wage talks as early as possible. She also questioned the logic of extended strike that resulted in low percentage wage settlements, saying that unions have a responsibility to guide and advise workers.
She said the call for her to constantly intervene in labour disputes was an indictment on the quality of leadership.
“If you constantly call for the minister to intervene, by implication you are saying you don’t have capacity to deal with labour disputes.”
According to Oliphant, the most important challenge for the year ahead must be to do everything possible to ensure that the number of decent jobs continues to grow.
She said it was for this reason that her department was of the view that all sectoral determinations should also include provision for retirement savings.
“We also hope that this year will buck the trend of 2013 that saw a higher number of new contract jobs or short-duration jobs than permanent jobs. The NDP [National Development Plan] target is for 2.8 million new jobs to be created by 2015, or total employment at 15.8 million.
“This target comes against the background of ongoing criticism of South Africa’s labour legislation and attacks on our labour dispensation, especially by some international organisations, business and the media,” Oliphant said.
She also disputed the view by some that the country’s labour legislation was too restrictive and that its labour market was over-regulated. She emphasised that government was committed to a policy and legislative approach, which is captured by the concept of regulated flexibility.
She, however, acknowledged that an area that will remain a priority and a challenge for her department is employment equity.
“It was quite evident that remnants of apartheid still persist in a number of areas in the private sector particularly, with the public sector managing to make huge strides in transformation.
“Many private sector employers are still found wanting in implementing employment equity. It seems it is ‘business as usual’ for many of them,” she said and called for organised labour to play a proactive role to ensure transformation in South Africa. – SAnews.gov.za
