Draft bills to be tabled in Parliament as Department of labour concludes public briefings
The last two pieces of legislation at National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) currently under discussion would be expected to be finalized in a month time, a briefing before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Labour was told today.
Department of Labour (DoL) Chief Director: Collective Bargaining Thembinkosi Mkalipi said these relate to the Employment Equity (EE) Amendment Bill – that deals with equity and elimination of discrimination in the workplace, and the Employment Services Bill – that deals with issue of job placement.
The two set of draft bills were also negotiated in an intense negotiation process at Nedlac are now in Parliament for Cabinet consideration.
He said the conclusion of negotiations at Nedlac on the EE Amendments and Employment Services Bills would complete the work started more than three years ago and this stood to change the face of the labour market.
He reiterated that the proposed amendments to the Labour Relations and Basic Conditions of Employment seek to address among others issues: prevention of exploitation of workers, regulate abusive behaviour of labour brokers, make it easier for workers to join unions, strengthen the role of dispute resolution institutions, deal with violent strikes, protection of vulnerable workers - those that earn below the annual threshold of R172 000 and introduce the element of flexibility to among others make it easier for employers to dismiss high earners - those that earn above R1-million.
In the proposed amendments workers would be able to cite both the employer and the labour broker, said Mkalipi that workers once employed full-time after a six month contract would not be employed on terms less favourable than those of full time employees. He further said in the proposed amendments a workplace for a worker is where she or he works irrespective of where they are registered.
He said exemptions to the new proposed labour amendments would apply to seasonal workers, fixed terms contract workers, however, they should be given a severance package at the end of the contract. He said a further flexibility would include employers who employ less than 10 employees and those that have less than two years in operation, as these are at a critical stage of their existence.
The DoL this week concluded a hectic process of national public briefings to various stakeholders with a presentation in the North West.
Chairman of Portfolio Committee on Labour Eleck Nchabeleng said the draft LRA and BCEA would be tabled in Parliament in two weeks. Nchabeleng said: “we still have a lengthy time to discuss the drafts before these become law”.
Meanwhile, DoL Deputy Director-General of Labour Policy Les Kettledas also presented an update before the Portfolio Committee on Labour on the progress in terms of ratifying and non-ratification of a number of Conventions.
Kettledas told the committee that South Africa had ratified 23 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions of which 20 are active. He said some of the conventions that have been ratified by the country and regarded as fundamental include: the Right to Organise, Freedom of Association, Forced Labour Convention and others.
He told the Committee that for the period 2012, South Africa was obliged to prepare and submit reports on the Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, and the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention.
Conventions and recommendations are drawn up by a tripartite alliance of governments, employers and workers and are adopted at the ILO’s annual conference. Once ratified a Convention comes into force for country concerned a year later and countries commit themselves to applying the convention in national law and practice and reports on its application at regular intervals.
The Deputy Director-General told the committee that South Africa was on the throes of considering the ratification of Labour Inspection Convention, the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, the Domestic Workers Convention plus the Maritime Labour Convention and Maritime Convention – which were currently being discussed at Nedlac.
Currently, South Africa had not ratified 24 Conventions. Some of these refer to Protection of Wages, Social Security, Employment Injury Benefits, and Human Resources Development Convention among others.
Media statement: Department of Labour
15 May 2012
