Department of Labour Director-General, Nkosinathi Nhleko, has completed one of his most arduous and taxing schedules visiting the department’s operations in the provinces. He was quick to say that out of the visits a new plan will be crafted need to respond to critical areas of operations.
Nhleko said he plans to prepare a blueprint by September, which would be infused in the Department’s strategic plan to help guide the future face of the department. As Nhleko stamp his authority by pushing ahead quickly with reforming the Department, he is under no illusion of the challenges that lie ahead.
Although Nhleko views the blueprint being prepared as a tool to reform, the Department he would not discuss the finer details as he was putting the final touches to a plan to bring it in line with the strategic direction of the department.
His view is that: “if there is a ‘fantastic problem’, we need to get serious about resolving it.” Some of areas that would receive immediate attention relate to tools of trade and staffing.
Nhleko assumed duty on May 10, replacing Jimmy Manyi. He immediately hit the ground running and addressed staff from the head office at the Pretoria showground’s in June where he promised to visit the Department of Labour provincial offices nationally including, selected labour centres and the department’s business entities such as the Unemployment Insurance Fund and soon, the Compensation Fund.
His provincial excursion saw him criss-crossing the country making his first whistle stop on July 11 in the Northern Cape. This was followed by courtesy visits to Free State, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and later one of the department’s business entity, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
The visits by Nhleko were part of an effort to introduce him to the staff in the department, articulate his vision for the department, and provide an opportunity for him to engage with provincial management teams, staff, and union representatives in order to understand better issues facing service delivery at the coal face of the Department of Labour.
“The intense engagements during the visits have given me an ‘overwhelming mandate’ to change the Department for the better,” he said.
Issues raised by staff during his visits he said were sub-divided into structural, policy, and operational issues. Some of these challenges relate to office accommodation, information technology, human resource shortages, career advancement, lack of tools of trade and equipment.
The visits also provided him with an opportunity to experience first-hand services offered by the Labour Centres of the Department where most of service is delivered. This enabled him to experience bottlenecks encountered to devise intervention strategies.
He also took an opportunity to meet with key Departmental stakeholders such as business, labour, government, and civil society.
The department’s labour centres provide services such as UIF claims processing, labour complaints, advice on Compensation Fund claims, the Employment Services for South Africa - a platform that links job seekers with prospective employers, amongst others.
After two weeks on the road he took a brief hiatus to attend to the department’s business and his second phase of his provincial tours resumed with a two-day visit on August 10 to Mpumalanga, this was followed by a visit to the Western Cape and this week he visited North West and Gauteng.
During his address to staff, he was at pains to emphasise that while his presence may raise expectations that the entire problems of the department would be wiped off, he cautioned that: “I am not a messiah who has descended to eliminate all the problems in the Department.”
Following the conclusion of his visits, Nhleko said the Department’s management team, which accompanied him, would sit down and analyse inputs derived from interactions in provinces and infused these within the department’s strategic plan. He said: “once the strategy has been approved it would have to be implemented.”
“It is encouraging that people have an appetite to work. We have a duty to introduce efficiency, roll-out services, and develop our staff. We are not scared to fail. It will be better if we fail moving towards a particular accomplishment,” he said.
Nhleko reiterated that visits to provinces were intended to help create necessary structures of interaction between local management and staff. He pointed out that where pockets of excellence exist, these need to be nurtured and management would provide support in the provincial delivery chain.
He said the interaction would help define the new identity of the department ‘on what it is about and what does it want to be known’.
The Director-General was leading a delegation, which includes a number of managers in his office, and directors of various directorates/business units from Project Management, Service Line and Administration, Inspection and Enforcement Services. The delegation also included Chief Operation Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Human Resources Management, Chief Information Officer, Office Administration and Supply Chain and Communication.
Nhleko has also identified the inspection and enforcement of labour legislation as one of his key priorities during his tenure to ensure high levels of compliance in the workplace. He emphasised manager’s responsibility to serve in a consistent manner, while at the same time provide leadership and guidance.
Major advances had been made to reduce the department’s vacancy rate and this currently sits ‘at a manageable level of three percent’, he said.
He committed himself to an open-door policy of transparency and listening. He however, warned that listening does not mean agreeing, “The principle is that from time to time as managers we must engage in constant interaction with staff.”
Nhleko is at the helm at a time when the business entities are in a healthy financial state. Recently the Unemployment Insurance Fund announced a hefty R9-billion surplus for the financial year ending March 2011, saying it exceeded its target by R3-billion. Meanwhile, the Compensation Fund posted a surplus of R3, 2 billion in the past financial year. The Fund also announced it raised R5, 2 billion assessment revenue as compared to R4, 8 billion in the previous financial year, an increase of 8%.
Enquiries:
Page Boikanyo
Cell: 082 809 3195
Source: Department of Labour
