One of the key aims of the Department of Labour (DOL) this year is to focus on labour broking legislation.
In her budget vote speech yesterday, labour minister Mildred Oliphant said one of the department's main aims in amending labour legislation is to address the phenomenon of labour broking and its associated abusive tendencies.
“In recent times, labour broking has attracted a huge policy debate in our country, mainly due to abuses that have commonly been associated with the practice.”
She added that the department will address this and is well aware that amending this legislation, which could see labour broking effectively banned, will have important consequences for the operation of the labour market system.
“The debates on these Bills have attracted a variety of responses, which illustrate clearly the articulation of different interests that could be affected by the proposed amendments.”
The DOL will continue to work with its social partners to find appropriate labour framework that gives sufficient protection to workers that have been rendered vulnerable through certain abuses, said the minister.
“We will do so, mindful that our policies should not have negative consequences for employment.”
She added that the department's focus areas for 2011/12 will aim to reduce the decent work deficit through improved enforcement and efforts to ensure compliance with labour laws.
Heated debate
There were over 4.2 million people unemployed in SA at the end of 2010 and 2.8 million of those are long-term unemployed, said Oliphant.
“The SA economy in 2010 began to show signs of recovery from the recession as we experienced in year 2009. In the fourth quarter of the same year, we also saw a small gain in employment, with growth projected to be positive during year 2011.”
However, the Democratic Alliance (DA) says banning labour broking will have dire consequences for the economy as it will lead to job losses.
Draft amendments to the Labour Relations Act (LRA), Basic Conditions of Employment Act and Employment Equity Act, and a new piece of proposed legislation - the Public Employment Services Bill - were published in the Government Gazette in December.
The amendments propose a repeal of section 198 of the LRA, which regulates labour brokers, effectively prohibiting labour broking.
The matter has been hotly debated, with the Congress of South African Trade Unions calling for nothing less than a complete ban of the labour broking industry. The issue is currently at the National Economic Development and Labour Council.
Job match
The department aims to create a policy framework for the provision of public employment service in the 2011/12 financial year, which will enable government to maintain a database of jobseekers and job opportunities, as well as matching and placement of jobseekers.
Oliphant said that during the 2010/11 financial year, the DOL's employment services managed to register 472 179 jobseekers.
“The service managed to link 70% of these registered jobseekers to career counselling, skills development interventions, work placement opportunities, as well as UIF [Unemployment Insurance Fund] and Compensation Fund benefits.”
The department aims to refer 450 000 jobseekers for placement in jobs and other opportunities in 2011/12, according to the minister.
She added that in excess of two million jobseekers will be referred for placement in opportunities over the period 2011/12-2015/16. “This will be accomplished through the job matching exercise in the Employment Services System of SA, known as ESSA.”
The DOL has been allocated R1.98 billion for the 2011/12 financial year. This represents an 11% increase to the 2010 baseline. The bulk of the increase goes to the budget of the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration, and to conditions of service improvements.
DA shadow minister of labour Ian Ollis says the current condition of the Compensation Fund and the UIF is not good enough.
“We are still shuffling 20 documents and forms for every single application for compensation and a similar situation in the UIF department. Instead of spending all his time measuring racial quotas, [Jimmy] Manyi, as labour DG, should have been fixing the computer system and streamlining the funds to deliver for the poor.”
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