Highly defeatist! Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!
-----Original Message----- From: Dominic Tweedie <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:13:57 To: <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Subject: [YCLSA Discussion] Government to expand labour inspectorate Business Day State to spend R60m vetting labour brokers Government will employ additional inspectors to monitor labour brokers and ensure they adhere to regulations being amended Alistair Anderson, Business Day, Johannesburg, 20 July 2011 THE government has set aside R60m to employ additional inspectors to monitor labour brokers and ensure they adhere to regulations being amended, Labour Minister Nelisiwe Oliphant said yesterday. Employing inspectors for the next financial year, in categories such as enforcing labour law and ensuring workers’ safety, was a priority, she said in Pretoria. While the government still saw labour broking in an unfavourable light, Ms Oliphant said talks were being held at the National Economic, Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) between the government, unions and business to address problems in labour broking legislation. Both the government and unions have voiced concern that labour brokers often abuse workers’ rights, but the government has also conceded that millions of people are employed by labour brokers. Unions have repeatedly raised the banning of labour brokers as a wage and benefits demand during strikes. "A central objective of the current round of amendments to labour legislation is to deal with the increase in labour broking and, in particular, with the abuses associated with the practice and the way in which it deprives many workers of basic protections under labour law," Ms Oliphant said yesterday. The labour bills being discussed at Nedlac are the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the Employment Equity Act, the Labour Relations Act and Employment Services Bill . Ms Oliphant said a team at Nedlac was engaging on the amendments and "had decided to discuss changes under a number of themes and to broaden the scope of amendments further". "I am pleased to report that the work in Nedlac is progressing well and there is a meeting of minds on a number of issues. New legal drafting has started on the following issues including fixed-term contracts; temporary employment agencies; part-time work; and probation." She said because of the urgency attached to the amendments, three meetings were "in the pipeline at Nedlac to continue with the discussion". A meeting is scheduled for tomorrow and two more meetings for next month. "As government, we have agreed with the social partners to reopen discussion on the key issues that require legal amendments before proceeding with legal drafting. "I am sure that we all want certainty about the new legal framework as soon as possible and time is, therefore, of the essence. "But while speed in finalising the process is important, we would want a final product that enjoys the support of organised business and organised labour," she said. Ms Oliphant said labour statutes needed to be "simple" and "coherent". During the public hearing the bills were criticised for their "incoherent" and "confusing" wording. "In addition to enjoying the support of our social partners, our labour legislation must meet two additional criteria. "First, labour statutes should be simple. Labour law guides the courts, employers and employees as well as labour organisations … and it should be understandable. Second, our labour laws need to be coherent. At a time when we are amending three statutes and introducing a fourth, it is imperative that we have coherence between statutes." She hoped the bills would be drafted by November. But Ian Ollis, the Democratic Alliance’s spokesman on labour, said the process may take longer. "Only one section of one bill has been completed," he said. [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> From: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=148711 -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
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