Minister Membathisi Mphumzi Shepherd Mdladlana, in Parliament
17 May 2006
Madam Speaker,
Honourable members of parliament,
Fellow South Africans,
Ladies and gentlemen,
At the twilight of the Middle Ages, Francis Bacon declared âknowledge is
powerâ. Little did he know these seemingly innocent words would unleash a
revolution that liberated humankind from the darkness of the Middle Ages.
These words shook no less than some of the teachings of the man who, three
centuries before Christ was born, had accumulated so much information and
knowledge that he is now recognized as the father of almost every field of
investigation or study we follow today, namely Aristotle.
Madam Speaker, as we look at the past years and prepare ourselves for years
that lie ahead we can not but be inspired by the manner in which our
fore-mothers and fathers, sustained by the power of knowledge, managed to build
the future we enjoy today based on the past they endured then.
Imbongi yesizwe jikelele u ESK Mqhayi uthi:
âPhindela phesheya nto kaDube!
Phindela phesheya Mafukuzela!
Nkamelâethwalâiinzingo zeAfrika;
Ithwalâiingxakeko neembandezelo zayo,
Ikhe yathwalâezinye yaziphumeza,
Yathwalâezinye, ezinye, kwanezinye;
Thole lenkunzi yaseMpumalanga,
Bathâukuyibiza nguMafukuzela.
Phindela phesheya mfo wakwa Senzangakhona;
Ndibevâapha isimbonono;
Bathi, âKwathi kwathi Afrika mayibuye,â
Mqhayi dedicated this poem to Dr John Langalibalele Dube, the first
President of the African National Congress (ANC), one of those who remained
optimistic that beyond the dark days of colonial oppression there is better
life for South Africans. It is on the shoulders of the giants of the calibre of
Mafukuzela, Sol T Plaatjie and others, that today we are able to say we are a
free people. We owe it to their memory that we too make our contribution in
this era of knowledge society.
Madam Speaker, never before had knowledge been as indispensable as it is
today. Allow me to look back at the year that just ended and share with this
house some of the exciting moments we experienced and challenges we
encountered.
In search of knowledge from those who do not source it from books and
websites I undertook a campaign of imbizo and visited eight provinces where I
met the most amazing people of our country who through our programmes saw their
quality of life improved. One such project is the Paprika Project in the Free
State where a disused mine land was used to produce various fresh produce for
local and export market, in which young people are involved.
This has proved to be a great source of information on how the government
services impact on the lives of the people. I am pleased to say today some of
those people we are working together with in some of the projects we sponsor
have honoured this day by their presence here.
Allow me to mention a few of these:
In partnership with Further Education and Training (FET) and Higher
Education (HE) institutions, we initiated the Thuthuka Project facilitated by
FASSET, the SETA in the finance and accounting sector and South Africa
Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).
This project aims to accelerate the rate of transformation in the sector by
increasing the number of black and women chartered accountants. The project is
currently being implemented in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Limpopo
provinces. Through this project our skills interventions have assisted and
continue to assist:
* 152 B Comm undergraduates from the University of Fort Hare, 40 of whom
have graduated this year and are pursuing a career as Charted Accountants
(CA)
* 19 200 students in the Eastern Cape schools received extra tuition in
mathematics, accounting and English to help prepare them for entry into
university programmes in financial accounting and other financial management
fields
* Another 19 200 learners follow the same path in the provinces of
KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo
* 209 undergraduate B Com students AT the University of Limpopo are being
prepared for A CA career through extra interventions in partnership with
University of Johannesburg (formerly RAU),
* Up to 7 200 educators will receive capacity building to improve their skills
in the area of mathematics and accounting.
In my view, this project is indeed an example of fruitful partnership in
action. The significance of this project is in that here we are dealing with
one of those areas we have identified as scarce skills. We have also
deliberately prioritised the children of these predominantly rural and poor
provinces. In so doing we are reversing the stereotype that children from the
rural areas can only do subjects outside commerce, science and technology.
As part of pursuing the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) and
Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) goals, we have
initiated a process to identify scare skills needed in the Accelerated and
Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) projects that have been
identified. This process involves the development of a database that will
include the number of jobs to be created and scarce and critical skills
required.
We are also pleased with the results of yet another special project, namely
the Uitenhage-Despatch Development Initiative (UDDI) Regional Skills Pool
funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). In this project we trained 1
000 unemployed youth in basic automotive and engineering skills over a period
of two years. 934 learners completed their training and of these 850 were
employed by Volkswagen South Africa (VW-SA). Some of these young people are
here today and are seated at the gallery. This is an example of how partnership
between labour and business can help address the problem of shortage of
technical skills that the economy so needs. I want to acknowledge the
outstanding and full support of VW-SA in this project.
In addition, we will this year review and increase our course fee to
accommodate provider costs in line with inflation. We will also for the first
time, introduce a trainee daily allowance to cater for the travel and meal
costs in these programmes.
My Department in partnership with other departments in the Western Cape also
embarked on an ambitious project called Building Maintenance Preventative Pilot
Project (BMPPP) in the Cape Metropolis. We spent an amount of R3.052 205 to
develop the skills of 2 000 unemployed persons: 1 500 in Garden Maintenance and
another 500 in Handyman General Building Maintenance.
After six months of training all the trainees completed their training and
all were placed. I also want to acknowledge the presence of some of those
learners in the gallery.
In the past year we collated the results of the National Skills Development
Strategy (NSDS) phase one (2001-2005). During this period we registered 170 926
learners into learnerships and apprenticeships, of these 109 674 (64 percent)
were unemployed learners while 36 703 were apprentices, contrary to the
perception that apprenticeship is dead. 71 percent of the learners were placed
either in income generating projects, employment or further training within
three months after training.
If this trend can be sustained we would contribute meaningfully to reduction
of unemployment and poverty. In 2005 we set a target to register at least 50
000 learners in the scarce skills field. We ended up with 116 425 learners
registered. The SETAs have heeded the government call to make AsgiSA â JIPSA
succeed hence this overwhelming response. One of the challenges that we will
have to address with our colleagues in the National Treasury is a matter
relating to the disparity between tax allowance payable to employers who take
on apprentices vis à vis the allowance paid when they take on learnerships.
My visit at Indlela a fortnight ago brought home to me the importance of
having to ensure that theoretical training always goes with practical training.
The theoretical training that our colleges continue to churn out to artisans
surely has to be reviewed.
Apprentices that register with Indlela to be assessed on their skills are
failing dismally. Some end up being referred back for further training on both
the practical and theoretical side as they often know very little.
If this trend is left to continue at our Further Educattion and Training (FET)
and private institutions, then our plans for Jipsa are in trouble. It is little
wonder we have so many fatalities of collapsing building structures. It says a
lot about the calibre of training that our artisans are receiving.
That is why I instructed Indlela to explore the âtraining of the trainersâ
as this will also ensure that we get the FETs to at last utilise the equipment
that has been lying unused and gathering dust for a very long time.
Madam Speaker, the turnaround strategy of Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF)
saw processing of claims payments improved from 70 days delay to five minutes.
Payments are no longer done once per month but daily. Payments are done
electronically. UIF has a cost saving of about R16 million on bank charges,
thanks to the IT solution â Siyaya; employment equity on line enabled 320
companies to submit their equity reports on line in September 2005; the Lesedi
solution is assisting in inspection and enforcement and labour centres are
linked to Head Office through plasma screens.
This allows dissemination of important information to our staff and members
of the public who visit our offices countrywide and our 20 mobile units are
electronically enabled and their presence in the remote areas of the country
have improved access to DoL services. An amount of R16,4 million Re-investment
Fund has been generated as a saving to be utilised within the broad parameters
of the contract.
While we are achieving a lot in the UIF, we acknowledge that there are
problems in the Compensation Fund (CF) that require intervention. The problems
include serious backlogs in terms of claims, calls not being returned and late
payment of doctors.
Soon I will be appointing a new commissioner whose mandate is to help
correct all the wrongs that have been identified with the aim of turning around
the CF.
Madam Speaker HIV and AIDS threat is looming large in the labour market
arena. It is costing business in terms of work hours lost and training and
development of those who come in to replace the deceased. The cost incurred by
families is sometimes hard to measure but impact is devastating when the bread
winner dies and children have to fend for themselves at a tender age. Prompted
by this picture my Department commissioned an HIV prevalence study. This is
aimed at measuring the magnitude of the problem and to enable us to develop a
strategy to deal with the affected and infected staff. We have deployed
qualified wellness champions to play an active role in this regard. Prevention
is imperative if we are to contain the danger of HIV and AIDS problem.
On the international front our relationship with the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) has been enhanced by our re-election to serve in the ILO
governing body as a titular member for the period ending in 2008. During 2005
we were assigned the responsibility of chairing the African Union (AU), labour
and Social Affairs Commission and we convened a session of this commission in
Johannesburg in April 2005.
We convened the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Ministers of
Labour as a first step towards revival of the SADC Employment and Labour Sector
which collapsed during SADC restructuring. Response from my counterparts in the
SADC region has been overwhelming. We feel that we need this forum in order to
address our common challenges collectively.
Madam Speaker, 2005 achievements prompted more challenges for further
development. The rate at which the economy is growing has prompted a question
as to whether we have the capacity to sustain it. The aim is to meet the
Millenium Development Goals (MDG) set by United Nations (UN) and improve the
living standards of our people.
It is in this context that the cabinet has mooted the idea of AsgiSA for
implementation under the able leadership of our Deputy President. JIPSA as a
component part of AsgiSA is challenging us to ensure that scarce skills needed
by the economy are prioritised. Working in close partnership with business,
sister departments and SETAs we will develop a scarce skills list and quotas
for recruitment from outside South Africa when a given skill is
unavailable.
Among the priorities for this year we will develop an Employment Services
System which will facilitate the matching of job seekers with the employers
electronically and through our labour centres throughout the country. This
system will further assist in tracking people with various scarce skills and
ensure vacancy registration, job matching, counselling, career guidance and
placement services.
Recently there has been an amount of disquiet about rigidity of our labour
laws, anecdotal as it may be, we feel that this cannot be ignored.
In this regard Cabinet took a decision that Department of Labour (DoL)
should conduct a labour market review which among others will focus on how
labour laws impact on economic growth and small business development. In the
Sub-Saharan Africa more than 90 percent job creation is through Small and Micro
Enterprises (SMEs) and the opposite holds true in our country. This cannot be
left unattended if we are to deal decisively with the second economy
challenges. Towards this a number of actions have been taken including the
commissioning of research papers with special focus on labour market and small
business development.
My Department has facilitated the interrogation of these research papers
from University of Cape Town (UCT) academics and others with the aim to
identify gaps for further research or lift issues for implementation where
there is agreement among the social partners. This consultation will culminate
at National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) with social
partners putting forward their views on the issues raised in these papers and
the ensuing debates.
I have approached the Director-General of International Labour Organisation
(ILO) to help us with the review of our labour market. As a true friend of
South Africa, Mr Somavia has agreed to take this task. The importance of this
review is that it will provide a reliable source of empirical evidence upon
which discussants in the labour market can argue their viewpoints. Currently we
mainly rely on secondary and long re-cycled information.
Madam Speaker, labour inspection has noticeably improved its work in the
past three years after we put in place Inspection and Enforcement Strategy
(IES). However there are weaknesses and challenges to be addressed. We have in
the past deliberately focused on visibility of inspectors to raise awareness.
Equally we focused on quantity in terms of how many inspections we conduct per
annum. This year we will begin to focus on the quality of inspections with
prioritisation of the high risk areas. The slant towards quality will entail
training of inspectors and exploring ways to put labour inspection on a
professionalised footing.
Furthermore, we resolved to enhance the productivity of our inspectors by
providing them with tools of trade and by creating a special corporate
identity. Recently, we sent a group of inspectors to Cuba to exchange
experiences with their counterparts.
To further strengthen our inspection services, employment equity will
receive special attention of the inspectorate as we move from procedural
compliance to substantive compliance as entailed in the Director General (DG)
review system. Similarly, we will implement the award system to recognise those
who do outstanding work in compliance with the law. The first awards will be
given to the deserving employers in 2007, but assessment starts this year.
Currently I am unhappy with the level of compliance and the lackadaisical
approach adopted by some employers on this matter. Let there be no illusion the
more we delay implementation of this act the more it will remain with us until
we implement it.
âI have stated in the past and I will continue to repeat the fact that our
government inherited a country with disparities in the employment force and
income within the national labour market. Those disparities have for years
disadvantaged the majority of black South Africans and could not be redressed
by only repealing the discriminatory laws.â
âFurthermore, the ANC government felt it necessary to legislate the
Employment Equity Act so as to eliminate unfair discrimination in the workplace
and also to ensure that the effects of discrimination are redressed for the
common promotion of the countryâs economy and efficiency in the workplace. On
this matter let me repeat asithingazi asijiki koko sijonge phambili.â
Madam Speaker, social dialogue is one of those areas whose value is hard to
measure until crisis arises with industrial action. This year we will publicise
the results of Nedlac reviewal which is currently being done with the
assistance of the ILO. At a risk of pre-empting the results of the review, let
me state this reality. Our model of social dialogue and the manner we implement
has become an envy of the world. Requests we receive from different countries
the world over tell us that there must be something worth emulating in what we
are doing. Sometimes in search of excellence we become hard on ourselves. There
are instances when I am stopped in Geneva, ILO Head Quarters and reminded of
some of the humble contributions we have made to the benefit of the world.
The occupational health and safety accord we signed with the social partners
in 2003 is an envy of the world. Our codes of good practice both for HIV and
AIDS and disability were used as models by other countries. We take pride at
this.
We will enhance our capacity to reach levels of excellence in social dialogue
and share our experience with, first and foremost, our sister states in Africa
and the world, if resources so allow.
Our co-operation with ILO under the distinguished leadership of Judica
Makhetha, who is in charge of ILO in this region, is encouraging indeed.
In the course of this year we will consolidate decent work, country
programme with ILO. This will consolidate projects currently run in South
Africa with the assistance of ILO and identify future areas of
co-operation.
Lastly we are convinced that decentralisation of our services to the labour
centres will ensure better access to the Department by the members of the
public. We took this decision after sharing some experiences during our imbizo
campaign I referred earlier on. I have no doubt in my mind that the problems of
inaccessibility experienced by the claimants of the compensation fund will
partly find solution in getting our services closer to the people we serve.
The decentralisation I am talking about is not a hollow decentralisation
where functions are devolved while resources and authority remain centralised.
The labour centres will have power to decide on matters affecting clients in
their locality. A leaner and strategically focused Head Office will be the
result of this process. I know this will not go without challenges but I am
convinced that at the heart of it are the deepest interests of our people
including the DoL staff.
Madam Speaker I take this opportunity to thank all those who collectively
contributed to the successes we highlighted above. A special mention should be
made of the Chairperson and members of the Portfolio Committee on Labour, the
Chairperson and members of on the National Council of Provinces, Select
Committee on Labour and Public Enterprises.
Lastly I thank the entire staff of my Department from labour centres up to
Head Office.
I have no doubt that working as a team there are no challenges we cannot
conquer as we advance to the future that lies ahead.
I thank you
Issued by: Department of Labour
17 May 2006
