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Employment and Labour to host Employment Standards Conference
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The role of labour inspectors with the aim of protecting vulnerable workers in different sectors of the South African labour market, will come to the fore at the Department of Employment and Labour’s Employment Standards Conference.
The department’s Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) branch is set to host the conference from 8 to 10 October at the Olive Convention Centre in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
“The conference promises to be an enlightening platform for the more than 350 inspectors expected to attend, offering an opportunity to engage in constructive dialogues, exchange ideas, and explore strategies to enhance compliance and maintain equality of inspections within the labour market.
It is an occasion to not only hear from leadership but also to contribute to the transformation of the inspections and South African labour market,” the department said.
The gathering will bring together inspectors specialising in the fields of basic conditions of employment, unemployment insurance, compensation for occupational injuries and diseases, employment equity, and the national minimum wage enforcement.
In recognition of work performed by the overstretched inspectors, the IES branch also plans to host an awards ceremony to reward the good work performed by the inspectors.
The department regularly conducts advocacy campaigns to ensure compliance with the labour legislation it administers.
These include the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), Unemployment Insurance Act (UIA), Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases (COID) Act, National Minimum Wage Act (NMWA), Employment Equity Act (EEA), Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), and the Employment Services Act (ESA).
The department said the theme of next week’s session “Advancing Social Justice through Effective Labour Inspections,” is a way of encouraging maximum compliance to employment and labour laws. – SAnews.gov.za
DikelediM
Wed, 10/02/2024 - 12:23
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Employment and Labour blitz inspections and raids yield results
Employment and Labour blitz inspections and raids yield results
The Department of Employment and Labour’s joint blitz inspections and raids have yielded significant results, with the department enforcing monetary corrections totalling over R10 million and arresting 81 non-documented workers.
The Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, held a media briefing today to update on the department’s joint blitz inspections and compliance raids.
WATCH |
In a decisive move to uphold employment standards, Meth announced that since assuming office in July 2024, her department has ramped up nationwide inspections targeting non-compliant employers.
Collaborating with the Department of Home Affairs, the Bargaining Council of the Hospitality Sector and law enforcement, the high impact blitz inspections focus on ensuring that workplaces adhere to key labour laws and safeguard workers’ rights.
“Our inspections have revealed instances of non-compliance, including underpayment of wages, unlawful deductions, and inadequate health and safety measures. To date, we have enforced monetary corrections totalling over R10 million, compelling employers to rectify these violations and honour their obligations to their employees,” the Minister said.
Meth emphasised that the department approaches enforcement with a balance of firmness and fairness.
“Employers found in violation are issued compliance orders with clear deadlines for corrective action. In situations where immediate risks to health and safety are identified, Prohibition Notices are issued to halt hazardous activities until compliance is achieved,” she said.
The Minister said the scale and scope of these inspections demonstrate the department’s commitment to upholding labour standards nationwide.
The Western Cape led with the highest number of inspections, totalling 809. Gauteng followed with 764 inspections, and KwaZulu-Natal with 535. Inspections were also carried out in the North West (217), Eastern Cape (82), Free State (69) and Mpumalanga (59).
These joint inspections targeted key sectors and regions, with significant activity in the Western Cape, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal.
These joint operations scrutinised compliance with laws, including the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, National Minimum Wage Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA), Unemployment Insurance Act (UIA), Employment Services Act, and promoting fairness and protecting workers.
Infractions such as underpayment of wages, illegal deductions, and unsafe working conditions were identified.
Tackling unemployment and undocumented workers
Meth expressed concern over South Africa’s unemployment rate of 33.5%, particularly among the youth.
"Concurrently, the widespread employment of undocumented foreign nationals raises concerns over exploitation and the circumvention of legal hiring practices.
“Our administration is committed to addressing these challenges comprehensively and humanely. We are collaborating closely with the Department of Home Affairs to ensure that employment practices comply with immigration laws, and that all workers, regardless of their origin, are treated with dignity and fairness,” Meth said.
Strengthening oversight and enforcement
Looking ahead, Meth revealed plans to expand the Department of Labour’s inspectorate capacity from 2 000 to 20 000 inspectors over the next three years.
This will enhance the department’s ability to conduct more frequent and thorough inspections across the country.
The introduction of risk-based profiling will allow for targeted audits, prioritising industries and regions where violations are most prevalent.
“To maximise the effectiveness of our inspections, we will implement a risk profiling system. This approach will allow us to prioritise audits and inspections based on identified risks, thereby improving our capacity to address high-priority non-compliance areas more efficiently,” the Minister said.
The department will also introduce a specialised segment-focused compliance framework.
“Our enforcement strategy will be integrated and risk-based, enabling us to address all compliance issues at the workplace in a holistic and comprehensive manner, ensuring that all regulatory requirements are met.
“Our commitment extends beyond enforcement; it is about fostering social justice and ensuring that every worker's rights are protected.
“Fair labour practices lead to increased morale, productivity and ultimately, a more robust economy. Together, we can build a society where economic prosperity and social equity reinforce each other,” Minister Meth said.
Supporting businesses: TERS, Productivity SA and the CCMA
In addition to enforcement, the Department of Employment and Labour is extending support to businesses by offering a range of services, fostering resilience, and ensuring harmonious labour relations.
Initiatives like the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) and free productivity services from Productivity SA aim to help businesses in financial distress and improve their operational efficiency.
The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) also offers mediation services to resolve workplace disputes.
Operation Yazini: Raising Public Awareness
As part of Meth’s 100-day programme, Operation Yazini will be launched to raise awareness about the department’s services, including employment rights and compliance assistance.
This initiative aims to bring the department closer to communities, ensuring that employers and employees alike understand their legal obligations and rights.
“Through targeted advocacy and outreach, Operation Yazini seeks to inform the public about the wide range of support available, including labour rights, employment services, and compliance assistance,” the Minister said.
A call for collective action
Meth called for nationwide collaboration between employers, unions and civil society to create a fair and safe labour market.
“I urge all stakeholders, businesses, labour unions, civil society organisations, and fellow citizens to join us in this vital endeavour. Let us work collaboratively to create a labour market characterised by fairness, safety, and mutual respect,” the Minister said.
As inspections continue, the department remains committed to transparency, social justice, and the protection of workers’ rights across South Africa. – SAnews.gov.za
DikelediM
Tue, 10/01/2024 - 13:07
201 views
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UIF commissioner to host employer breakfast session in Queenstown
UIF commissioner to host employer breakfast session in Queenstown
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is calling on employers in the Eastern Cape to attend an Employer Breakfast session that is set to take place in Queenstown next week.
The session which will be held at Aloe Grove Guest Farm, will be hosted by the fund’s Commisssioner, Teboho Maruping.
Employers from all sectors, including commercial business owners and operators of Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in Komani (Queenstown) as well as the broader Eastern Cape Province are invited to attend the session on Monday, 19 August 2024.
“At the occasion, Commissioner Maruping will among other things, engage with employers about the importance of compliance with the Unemployment Insurance Act and discuss how new developments within the UIF will impact on employers and employees,” the department said in a statement.
Subject matter experts from the UIF will be in attendance to assist employers on the spot with any challenges they may be facing in relation to the fund.
Building up to the breakfast session a full basket of Department of Employment and Labour services will be offered to communities, including assistance with UIF claims, Compensation Fund claims, enquiries resolution, registration of work seekers on the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) database as well as provision of information on the National Minimum Wage and other basic conditions of employment.
Build up activities will be offered this week, beginning on Wednesday at the Municipality Hall (Convent) in Cala, from 9 am until 3 pm. On Thursday, these activities will take place at Cofimvaba Town Hall in Cofimvaba, and they will conclude on Friday at Cacadu Town Hall in Cacadu. – SAnews.gov.za
DikelediM
Wed, 08/14/2024 - 11:24
154 views
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Concern over labour inequality
Concern over labour inequality
The Labour Ministers of South Africa, Brazil and Spain have expressed concern that labour inequality remains an unmet challenge in many societies across the world.
“The only way to address this challenge properly is to abandon traditional models and responses, such as those favouring deregulation and market-based solutions, that have already been proven not to work and to accept that an expansive social response must be consensual and shared.
"Thus, in an expression of strengthened cooperation from three different continents, the Labour Ministers of Brazil, South Africa and Spain seek to advance towards a fairer distribution of the products of labour at a global level, adopting a common approach to tackling this problem that reflects our collective commitment to expanding labour rights the world over,” said the Ministers in a joint statement on Friday.
Luiz Marinho is Minister of Labour and Employment of Brazil and South Africa’s Minister of Employment and Labour is Nomakhosazana Meth.
Yolanda Díaz is the Second Vice-President and Minister of Labour and Social Economy of Spain.
The Ministers comments come on the occasion of the G20 Labour Ministers’ Meeting in Fortaleza.
The three leaders said the decline in labour share has been observed in many of the world’s economies, particularly since the wave of neo-conservatism in the 1980s.
The term "labour share" refers to the proportion of national income allocated to workers in the form of labour compensation, as opposed to that going to capital owners. The decline means that a smaller share of economic income is reaching workers, with most of it being distributed as returns to capital.
They said the undesired effects of a digital transition at the service of the few, labour flexibility and deregulation policies, and painful and ineffective austerity measures are just some of the causes behind this worrying trend.
“Such developments sometimes result in the delocalisation of production, in the absence of social dialogue and trade union participation, in the growing precariousness of working conditions, in an imbalance in collective bargaining that gives rise to low salaries or to fiscal policies that prioritize capital over work, or restrict natural growth in salaries. Neither Brazil, South Africa nor Spain is unaffected by these trends.”
In Brazil, the recovery of the economy following the COVID-19 pandemic has been underscored by positive milestones, including robust growth of gross domestic product (GDP) and improvements in employment metrics.
Despite these positive results, enduring challenges persist within the Brazilian labour market. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Brazil exhibited very slight productivity growth between 2015 and 2023 (an annual average of 0.1%), while real wages fell 6.9 % in 2023.
South Africa’s labour market is also a prime example of declining labour share. Real wages have shown significant fluctuations, failing to keep pace with steady productivity growth.
“This has led to a situation where workers are not proportionally benefiting from the wealth they help create. The volatility of real wage growth compared to productivity underscores the disparity, which has been further exacerbated by shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely impacted economic growth, job stability, and both productivity and wage levels, leading to declining living standards and economic inequality for many South Africans.”
These disruptions highlight the vulnerability of workers' livelihoods and contribute to widening labour inequality.
In Spain, productivity growth over the past few decades has been sluggish, with certain significant exceptions such as the upturn seen in 2022. However, salaries have grown at a considerably lower rate than corporate profit.
Overcoming challenges
“In order to expand labour rights, our countries must overcome at least four fundamental challenges. Firstly, we must continue to raise wages. Real wages are growing at a far slower pace than productivity. As we have already demonstrated, abandoning neoliberalism and embracing policies aimed at increasing labour compensation —and in particular the legal minimum wage— contributes decisively to ensuring that productivity gains are distributed to workers, reducing inequality and the scourge of the gender pay gap. We are committed to doing what we know to work.”
The Ministers said that while substantial progress has been made in terms of equality and diversity in the world of work, there are major challenges that must still be overcome in order to ensure that all people —irrespective of their gender, race, sexual orientation or gender identity— enjoy equal opportunities, fair treatment and decent working conditions.
“Thirdly, the digital transition must be just, and workers’ individual and collective rights must be safeguarded throughout. We must make certain that digitalisation is placed at the service of decent work and not the other way around, ensuring that the use of technology makes human work less onerous.
“Fourthly and lastly, we must combine our efforts to strengthen collective bargaining, halting, once and for all, the continuing decline in its coverage rate across the world. In this regard, we have trust in social dialogue as a powerful tool for mutual understanding and collaboration and thus as a means of achieving better living and working conditions.”
“This is why, today, the Labour Ministries of Brazil, South Africa and Spain —reaching across the traditional and antiquated North-South divide— have agreed to establish a permanent and strengthened framework of collaboration and exchange on social and labour matters between our countries.”
According to the Ministers, the framework will guide policies in defence of increasing labour participation to ensure that workers receive a just share in national wealth.
“In short, Brazil, Spain and South Africa will advance towards a new labour international, a global alliance that is fully aware that the major challenges to be overcome —the climate crisis, rising inequality, the erosion of democracies— must be tackled by expanding labour rights, and not by cutting them,” said the Ministers in the joint statement. -SAnews.gov.za
Edwin
Sun, 07/28/2024 - 12:40
347 views
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New Labour Minister charts the way forward
New Labour Minister charts the way forward
Newly appointed Employment and Labour Minister, Nomakhosazana Meth, says the department is facing a mammoth task of ensuring that it continues in earnest to usher in, not only hope to citizens, but substantive positive change in their lives.
Meth was speaking during a Ministerial Committee meeting to welcome new principals and to present to them the department’s programme.
Together with Deputy Ministers Phumzile Mgcina and Jomo Sibiya, Meth held a meeting with the Executive Committee, including the department's Acting Director-General, Onke Mjo, and the department’s Deputy Director-Generals.
Monday’s meeting was also attended by heads of the Compensation Fund (CF) and Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), as well as heads of entities, such as Supported Employment Enterprises (SEE), Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), Productivity SA, and National Economic and Labour Council (Nedlac).
In her address, Meth said South Africa is still struggling with the stubborn triple challenges of poverty, unemployment, and inequality.
She said the scourge of unemployment remains a huge hurdle that the country is facing, with the official unemployment rate currently standing at 32.9% while the expanded unemployment rate is at 41.9%, according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Quarter 1 of 2024.
“The picture becomes dire when it comes to the youth unemployment rate with youth aged 15 – 24 years standing at 59.7% and youth aged 25 – 34 years standing at 40.7%. These statistics should remind us that the stakes are still high, and we must hasten to strengthen the implementation of interventions to dent the unemployment rate.”
Meth maintained that substantive results can be achieved through an intensive and collaborative mechanism, “that will propel all of us to realise the department's objectives".
Priorities
She said in carrying forth its mandate, the department will be guided by a set of six priorities for the seventh administration, and these are:
• Priority 1: Put South Africa to work.
• Priority 2: Build our industries for an inclusive economy.
• Priority 3: Tackle the prohibitive cost of living.
• Priority 4: Invest in people.
• Priority 5: Defend democracy and advance freedom.
• Priority 6: Better Africa and the World.
“These priorities must find expression in the work of the Department of Employment and Labour family.
“The priority is to create and sustain 2.5 million work opportunities delivering public goods and services in communities; implement a cross-cutting industrial strategy that drives growth and creates opportunity for youth and other unemployed people; tackle the war on poverty by providing comprehensive social security and basic services through the Unemployment Insurance Fund and Compensation Fund; and continue enforcement of compliance with the National Minimum Wage across all applicable industries in South Africa,” Meth said.
Through investing in people, the Minister emphasised that the department, as the custodian of employment law, has a responsibility to ensure workplaces that are free of traumatic events and a deterioration in the quality of life of many workers; managing compliance with employment law and Immigration Act; and strengthen relations with stakeholders, internationally and at regional level.
“Ours in the seventh administration is to ensure that we shift gears and embrace the principles brought about by the Government of National Unity (GNU). I require active and impactful participation in the District Development Model (DDM) as that will continue to expand our reach as the department,” Meth said.
The DDM aims to improve the coherence and impact of government service delivery with a focus on 44 districts and eight metros around the country as development spaces that can be used as centres of service delivery and economic development, including job creation.
She also emphasised the department’s role at the International Labour Organization (ILO), which is a vehicle in building a better Africa and the world. – SAnews.gov.za
GabiK
Tue, 07/09/2024 - 10:29
337 views
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President Ramaphosa delivers inaugural Elijah Barayi memorial lecture
President Ramaphosa delivers inaugural Elijah Barayi memorial lecture
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the legacy of unionists and anti-apartheid struggle heroes like Elijah Barayi can be found in the labour-related laws enshrined in South Africa’s Constitution.
The President was delivering the inaugural memorial lecture for Barayi held at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus on Wednesday.
Barayi was a revered trade union leader and freedom fighter during the apartheid era and was one of the founding leaders of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
He became first President of the Congress of South African Trade Union (Cosatu) at its launch in 1985 and was an activist in the Mass Democratic Movement since the 1950s.
His life was lived fighting for the freedom of South Africans and fair labour practises until his passing months before South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994.
“Thirty years into democracy, we have several progressive labour and social protection laws, including the right to strike. And it was the labour movement as led by Barayi which insisted that the most fundamental right that workers should have should be collective bargaining, the right to strike, the right to have a safe working place.
“So for them to be enshrined in the Constitution is something that we need to pay tribute to Elijah Barayi and the leadership of Cosatu and various other worker organisations at the time. And it is in honour of Elijah Barayi that today we have these rights enshrined in our Constitution.
“We have the Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act to protect and advance workers’ rights. We have laws to safeguard the health and safety of workers and a Compensation Fund to support workers who are injured or sick. These achievements form part of the legacy of Elijah Barayi. They need to be protected and advanced,” President Ramaphosa said.
President Ramaphosa emphasised that these “hard-won rights” and many others must not be rolled back.
“There are some in our country who are calling for hard-won rights … like collective bargaining, to be curtailed and for the minimum wage to be scrapped. Trade unions need to be stronger to make sure that that never happens in South Africa because it will be a total reversal of what workers have achieved and what Elijah Barayi struggled for,” he said.
The future of work
President Ramaphosa reflected that “technological advances and globalisation” are changing the labour landscape and added that in order to keep up, innovation and entrepreneurship will be crucial and this “while safeguarding workers' rights and promoting social dialogue”.
“We need to invest in technology, infrastructure and education to enable sustainable and inclusive economic growth and job creation. At the same time, we must strive to democratise the governance of work.
“In South Africa, this means strengthening and adapting labour laws, institutions and regulatory frameworks to protect workers’ rights, promote fair competition and ensure social justice.
“We need to build a more inclusive and resilient labour market that will support a just transition, greater digitalisation and other drivers of change,” he said.
The President acknowledged that although policies implemented since the dawn of democracy have “lifted millions out of poverty and despair and improved their material condition”, many other South Africans are still living difficult and challenging lives.
“As long as the divisions in our society persist, as long as some people lead lives of quality and dignity whilst others suffer at the margins of the economy, our mission remains unfulfilled. We owe it to the memory of Elijah Barayi, to the South African people and to the generations to follow that we continue to work to overcome this inequality.
“Let us honour the memory of giants like Elijah Barayi by renewing our commitment to building a better, stronger South Africa.
“As we draw inspiration from the life and times of the man we honour here today, let us deepen our resolve to advance freedom and social justice everywhere – leaving no-one behind,” President Ramaphosa concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
NeoB
Wed, 05/15/2024 - 14:00
324 views