The long drawn issue of youth wage subsidy that has become a bone of contention degenerating into a political ‘slanging match’ would receive priority on the agenda of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) over the next month or two.
Nedlac executive director Alistair Smith told the Select Committee on Labour and Public Enterprises in Parliament today (June 6), that the issue of youth wage subsidy had been on the agenda for some time.
Smith said there has been a momentum around the issue from all social partners at Nedlac. He said youth unemployment is a core problem that requires a comprehensive strategy from all parties at Nedlac.
“The issue has now been politicised and has created serious problems. At the heart of national agenda is the goal to create jobs. We need a comprehensive strategy and interventions in the short term. The youth wage debate has become a red herring. We need to escalate the issue from task team to all leadership levels at Nedlac to address the issue immediately as a way forward,” Smith said.
Nedlac was making a presentation before the committee on its reports and financial statements for the 2010/11 financial year. Formed in 1995, the National Economic Development and Labour Council objective is to promote economic growth, participation in economic decision-making and social equity; design consensus pertaining to social and economic policy.
Smith was making his inaugural presentation before the committee since his appointment last year.
He said Nedlac still remains relevant in the modern political, socio-economic dynamic landscape of South Africa. He said the institution belongs to all the people of South Africa. Smith said the Nedlac secretariat has an important role to play to keep the institution relevant through its work at various chambers.
Smith said although Nedlac posted a deficit (R337 836) for the period under review (2010/2011). This was caused by a number of activities, that were unplanned and this has sucked its resources. He said the organisation had been in the past under-resourced and this situation has been rectified in recent years.
He assured the committee that Nedlac has started paying attention to a review and revamp of its procurement policies.
Turning to economic matters, he said the global environment remained uncertain and posed challenges to poverty and unemployment in the country.
“We need to shift away from adversarial to consensus building mechanism at Nedlac,” he said the new strategic phase requires that social partners change the way they engage to find solutions.
“Although he acknowledged that South Africa comes from a history of adversarial engagement that was inherited in the past, “we have to find creative ways to resolve disputes and make dialogue relevant,” Smith said.
Going forward he said Nedlac would be focusing on developing new priority goals. He reiterated that Nedlac has realised the need for strong leadership and strengthening governance.
“Our core mandate is to deal with key economic legislative amendments and look at how as a secretariat we expedite the turnaround time. The other focus is to look at the outdated set of rules of engagements and their timeframes” he said.
According to Smith constructive social dialogue need to be encouraged and that people are held accountable. He said over the next few weeks Nedlac would also seek to strengthen the capacity of its secretariat and was also looking at ramping up its internal personnel from the current 24 to 27 to strengthen operations.
Enquiries:
Musa Zondi
Cell: 0829018081.
Alisatir Smith
Cell: 076 791 2918
Nedlac keen to lick youth unemployment into shape
