South Africa’s Wholesale and Retail Sector was found wanting in compliance with labour legislation with more than 70% of complaints in the 2012/13 financial year relating to the variable of wages.
Department of Labour’s (DoL) Inspection and Enforcement Service (IES) Chief Director: Statutory & Advocacy Services Virgil Seafield said during 2012 a total of 18 % of the growing case load handled by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) last year came from Wholesale and Retail Sector.
The CCMA about three weeks ago also announced that there has been a constant climb in the total number of its case load – with a 25% increase over the last five years.
Seafield said some of the issues of contravention in the sector relate to unauthorised deductions, information about pay, complaints on non-registration with Unemployment Insurance and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) respectively, management of leave, and public holiday remuneration.
He was addressing a Department of Labour Seminar on the theme: “Sustainable small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME’s) in the Wholesale and Retail Sector” – held at the Olive Convention Centre in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal today 7 August.
Seafield said the work of the department was clearly not to comply.
“Compliance with regard to labour laws is an employers’ responsibility. The Wholesale and Retail Sector now forms an important element of our intervention. It is an integral part of priority. The anomalies that come out of this sector poses a huge problem. Instead of running after employers, we should be freeing our inspectors to do more productive work,” Seafield said.
Seafield reiterated that the labour market fundamentals were sound. He said the problem in the labour market was non-compliance and failure to follow appropriate procedures.
According to Seafield the pattern of non-compliance was continuing unabated with 8 484 inspections conducted in the first quarter of 2013 (April-June) showing that 2 771 employers were non-compliant with labour legislation.
“In the 2013/2014 financial year a number of issues relating to safety and health were emerging as matters of concern. Places of work were becoming more unsafe,” Seafield said.
Seafield said the DoL inspectorate will pay special attention to provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Western Cape and North West.
He said to reverse the deteriorating situation, the department will increase its visibility and enforcement in the next financial year, continue to develop innovative ways to do inspections by embarking on blitz inspections, utilising the roving teams, and prioritising hotspots.
Another feature of intervention will be targeted training for shop stewards in terms of labour legislation. He said a public awareness campaign will be intensified in the next financial year.
The bedrock of the advocacy campaign will be strengthening social partnership through organising business and labour, said Seafield.
DoL’s Deputy Director-General of IES Thobile Lamati cautioned that the department does not derive any pleasure to taking employers to Court. Lamati said this exercise costs time and resources that could be used elsewhere efficiently.
“In instances where we do not listen to one another and do not collaborate, we take a stick approach. It is important to talk and find common ground,” he said the Wholesale and Retail Sector was important to the economy of the country and needed to be supported.
Lamati said the Wholesale and Retail Sector contributes about 13% to gross domestic product. He said of great interest to the department was that the sector continue to thrive and do so in an environment of stability.
“The way in which our labour laws are structured, requires of us to share responsibilities. The department has a responsibility to educate, while the employers have responsibility to comply with the laws and organised labour has a duty to educate their constituency on the laws that we administer.
“A total of 25% of complaints that DoL receives should be solved at factory level. If that were to happen - we will free our inspectors to focus on productive work,” Lamati concluded.
For more information contact:
Nhlanhla Khumalo
KZN ProvincialSpokesman
Tel: 031 366 2018
Fax: 086 569 6552
Mobile: 074 589 9682
E-mail: nhlanhlax.khumalo@labour.gov.za
