Labour Director General, spell out overall performance of Department of Labour to Parliament.
A total of 122 strikes were recorded for the period 2016/17, Director - General of Labour, Thobile Lamati told Parliament on Wednesday.
He was addressing the Portfolio Committee on Labour on topics ranging from the overall performance of the Department in 2016/17 to the rate of transformation.
He said this represents a 10 percent increase in strikes as compared to a total of 110 strike incidents recorded in 2015.
The South African labour market lost a total of 946 323 working days as a result of 122 work stoppages. This represents 4.7 percent increase in working days lost in 2016 as compared to 903 921 days lost in 2015.
From the time of recession in 2008, the number of working days lost decreased substantially by 38% up to 2015 as a result of work stoppages
Turning to the rate of transformation in the workplace especially at top management level, he said: ‘’the rate of transformation at senior management level does not respond to the transformational agenda of the country. The Department is looking at proposed changes in terms of the legislative reform process.’’
Regarding the Director-General (DG) review process, a process that assesses employers for compliance with employment equity, Lamati told the committee that:
- 360 employers referred to court, the amount claimed from employers is R23 826 664. 80 and an amount of R1 326 664. 80 has already been paid
- As an additional measure, we are planning to use section 53 of the Employment Equity Act to force designated employers to comply with the EE Act leading up to the achievement of the transformative imperatives.
On the protection of vulnerable workers, the Director-General made observations of non compliance in the identified top six sectors mainly, Wholesale and Retail, Agriculture, Domestic, Private Security, Construction as well as Community Services.
Some of the areas of non-compliance in the six sectors related to the non payment of minimum wages, no information on remuneration or no written particulars of employment and non payment of overtime and public holidays.
The Director-General noted that over 900 employers in these sectors have since been referred to the labour court.-ENDS-
For more information contact:
Teboho Thejane
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell: 082 697 0694
