Labour engages Saldanha Bay stakeholders during Labour summit
The West Coast in the Western Cape was abuzz this weekend as the Minister of Labour, Mildred Oliphant, hosted a two day Summit in the small fishing community of Saldanha Bay.
To date, the department has made progress in its endeavour to ensure compliance and opportunities for its clients in the West Coast and to build on this momentum, the summit was a catalyst in providing a platform for the Minister to engage with the community of Saldanha Bay at a Youth and Workers Summit on Friday and Saturday respectively.
Speaking at the summit, the Minister made full use of the opportunity to promote and highlight the strengthened relationship between the department and its stakeholders. The Minister went on to make reference to the President’s State of the Nation Address, where it was acknowledged that even though the economy has grown at 3 percent a year from 1994 to 2012, this growth is not enough to support jobs.
“Our focus as a department, taking the cue from the President is to offer a full suite of vocational services such as vocational counselling, registration of work seekers on the database and registration of job opportunities including placement of young people in employment.
“We are aware that Government alone is not in the position to create jobs. In fact, our role is to create an enabling environment that will lead to job creation. In the work that we have been doing, we have collaborated with a number of private sector companies who share our commitment,” she said.
The Minister was joined by senior officials from Labour’s Public Employment Services unit (PES) and key stakeholders on the day which included the Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) partner. PES is proudly associated with the IDZ project which encourages employment opportunities that will be linked to the department’s Employment Services South Africa (ESSA) system. During 2013, the department embarked on a road-show in the West Coast community, to register work-seekers who will possibly benefit from the IDZ initiative.
On Saturday the focus shifted to discussions of employment, sectoral determinations and compliance within the workplace. The Workers Summit, led by the Inspection and Enforcement Services Unit (IES), placed specific emphasis on the hospitality, agricultural and fishing industries.
Workers and organised labour representatives had an opportunity to engage with the Minister around issues facing the sectors, and particular mention was made of the fishing industry. Unions requested that the Minister deliberate on labour broking, the basic conditions of employment act and occupational health and safety for fishermen.
The Workers Summit was preceded by an inspection blitz in the West Coast that focussed on the three sectors represented on the day.
For more information:
Candice van Reenen
Cell: 083 243 3353
E-mail: candice.vanreenen@labour.gov.za
