The Department of Employment and Labour is committed to improving and maintaining the financial strength of the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) through its budgetary allocation.
Suggestions that the Employment and Labour Minister, Thulas Nxesi has cut the CCMA budget and made it dysfunctional are malicious and devoid of the truth.
The CCMA budget is decided by through the Parliamentary Budget Vote and the Department of Employment and Labour only affects transfer payment. Government departments and their entities were called to implement budget cuts. The Department of Employment and Labour and its entities were not spared from this, and CCMA was one of such entities of the department’s family of institutions amongst the others that were affected by the budget cuts,
Through the Parliamentary Budget Vote, the CCMA was allocated R991 984 000 for 2021/22.
The Government implemented budget cuts, budget cuts were taking place in the environment wherein the country was sliding into a technical recession by the end of 2019; and this was the second time that the country had recorded a recession.
During 2020, the South African economy was experiencing some of the following worst economic constraints, amongst the others: economic growth was recorded at 0.2%; major credit rating agencies like Fitch and Standard and Poor downgraded South Africa’s sovereign debt from stable to negative, and the budget deficit widened to 4.5% due to revenue shortfalls. Furthermore, the economy was ravaged by the persistent Covid-19 pandemic which had a serious and devastating effect on the already fragile economy.
It is imperative to note that the CCMA budget is decided by through the Parliamentary Budget Vote and the Department of Employment and Labour only affects transfer payment.
The Department of Employment and Labour has gone out of its way to source funding for the CCMA:
- Sixteen Million (R16M) was secured from NEDLAC and was transferred to the CCMA.
- Three Million (R3-million) was sourced from the Strengthen Civil Society Fund to augment the CCMA budget; and
- One Million, Six Hundred and Ninety-Five Thousand and One Hundred and Forty-Three Rand (R1 695 143) from the LRA Conscious Objectors were also transferred to the CCMA.
All together the funding that was the source for the CCMA amounted to R 20 656 143 which took the CCMA budget for 2021/22 to R1 012 679 143. 00.
The Minister wishes to reiterate that:
- Yes, as a result of the poor economic performance due to internal and external factors, budget cuts were introduced;
- The Department and its entities were not spared from this phenomenon, and the CCMA was not the sole entity that experience budget cuts; and
- The Department went out of its way to augment the CCMA’s budget from R991 984 000 to R1 012 679 143. 00.
“From the budget vote of R991 984 000 in 2021/22, the CCMA baseline has been increased by R39 000 000 for 2022/23. This means the CCMA budget for 2022/23 will be R1 030 984 000”; Nxesi said.
Enquiries:
Sabelo Mali
Cell: 082 729 5804
Petunia Lessing
Cell: 066 301 4645
