The Department of Labour hosted a ministerial roundtable in Kempton Park yesterday to discuss the impact of labour laws on job creation and small business development.
Delegates questioned whether employees in industry sectors without a bargaining council are more vulnerable than their represented counterparts.
It`s a question that could impact the local IT industry, which has to date not had to negotiate with unions or make use of bargaining councils for mediation in labour disputes.
Delegates from business, labour and communities have agreed the most vulnerable workers appear in the informal sector and those sectors not monitored by bargaining councils.
Vulnerable workers
Jan Theron, co-author of a University of Cape Town (UCT) research report, entitled Conditions of employment and small business: coverage, compliance and exemptions, told delegates that SA needs a sectoral council system.
"When considering broader questions of vulnerable workers, we cannot work on an individual or shop floor level," he said.
The report highlights the rise in sub-contracting, outsourcing and home working arrangements, as well as schemes by employers to turn employees into independent contractors. Authors Theron, Shane Godfrey and Johan Maree note that, while such arrangements do not necessarily result in firms not registering or complying with agreements or legislation, in many cases this is "precisely what the effect is".
Labour underperforming
Concerns of business non-compliance with various legislations are exacerbated by the unlikelihood of the department identifying guilty parties. Labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana admitted yesterday the department has not performed to expectations in this regard, and its 700-plus pool of inspectors was probably not enough to facilitate enforcement.
"I take that criticism [of lacking enforcement] happily - we need to address the issue. [But] we are currently investigating internal problems of capacity and personnel. For instance, we have about 800 people at our head office, but we should be focusing on implementing regulations so we need to move about 500 of these people into the regions," he said.
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