5 June 2006
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) cannot afford to remain an
uncommitted and disinterested spectator in a world in which for many workersâ
life at work still presents a serious deficit, Labour Minister Membathisi
Mdladlana told the 95th Session of the ILO Conference in Geneva today
(Monday)
He said whilst employment can further social integration and societyâs
cohesion, it can also lead to exclusion by limiting access to jobs or provision
of income too low to satisfy basic human and social needs.
âThe report on changing patterns in the world of work shows that whilst
poverty is unevenly distributed across the globe, in 2005 around two-thirds,
that is, 3 billion of the 4.6 billion people of working age were either working
or looking for work with 84% of these living in developing countries.â
âIn Sub-Saharan Africa, about 47-52% of the population is estimated to be
living beneath the poverty threshold. This indicates that Africa entered the
21st century as the worldâs poorest, most indebted and marginalized region
lagging behind in new technologies,â he said.
The Minister said the workplace in South Africa was being restructured under
the impact of globalisation and its own transition from authoritarianism to
democracy, and the most significant challenge facing the workplace was the
transition from a domestically orientated economy to a globally integrated
one.
âWork restructuring resulted in a labour market that is fragmented and a
work order that is increasingly differentiated into different zones which
consist of core formal sector workers enjoying full time work and benefits,
non-core formal sector workers who are employed in a-typical forms
(casualisation) of work, and those workers at the periphery who make a living
through informal sector activities.
âInvariably the most vulnerable in the labour market, are mostly black and
concentrated in occupations and sectors considered to low skilled, and the ones
who are forced to work below legislated standards,â he said.
Minister Mdladlana said a decent formal sector job remains the greatest
source of income and security.
The South African government therefore supports the notion that any
intervention to address changes in the labour market should be mindful of and
consistent with the decent work agenda, he said.
âAs the South African government, we are presently engaging in an auditing
of the effectiveness of the labour laws, its implementation and enforcement.
However, this is done within the context of the decent work agenda which
strives to give people a fair chance and real opportunities through education,
health, shelter and decent jobsâ he said.
âTranslating the goal of decent work within the South African context
stretches beyond the ability of the state as custodian of the labour laws. We
are oblivious of the fact that it will take the concerted effort of the state,
its social partners, society itself and the collective knowledge and experience
gained via the international community to find the right solutions,â he
said.
Enquiries: Mokgadi Pela
Cell: 082 808 2168
Website: http://www.labour.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Labour
5 June 2006
