Labour Ministry Republic of South Africa Address by the Hon. Minister of Labour: Ms Mildred N Oliphant, MP, at the Ministerial Summit Public Employment Services in Saldanha Bay, Western Cape
Programme Director,
Representatives of the Local Municipality,
Representatives of Business and Labour,
Acting DG and your management staff,
Esteemed guests,
Ladies and gentlemen.
It is a pleasure to be part of this summit and have an opportunity to share some views and reflections on the critical subject matter of this gathering. The meeting is an occasion to focus our minds on the key subject of job creation and employment opportunities.
But everything has a beginning and it is important to put everything in context. In 1955, a blueprint for governing this country was set when hundreds of delegates gathered at Kliptown to create what we now call the Freedom Charter. It expressed the wishes to see a South Africa that was indeed a land of opportunities for all its citizens, a South Africa that elevates dignity of all individuals within a community context; a South Africa that was a real home to all who identify themselves with it.
These wishes were carried through into the new dispensation 20 years ago with our Constitution placing the dignity of human life above all else and in many ways echoing the very sentiments of the Freedom Charter.
Times have changed. We find ourselves today in unenviable position where a lot of people are desperate for work. Employment creation, and especially employment opportunities for the youths, is the top most urgent political economy issue all over the world nowadays. Not only the developing economies but even the developed nations of Europe, and even the US, are grappling with the daunting task of employment creation for the new entrants into the labour market.
We are all too aware that our country, and all its regions and provinces, are saddled with the triple evils of structural unemployment, widespread poverty, and excessive inequality of income. These facts are clearly and systematically articulated in the National Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) 2004-2014.
President Jacob Zuma has placed the challenge of the creation of jobs as a means of restoring not only dignity but to help propel the country forward in terms of economic development.
In the state of the nation the president acknowledged the fact that even though the economy has grown at 3 percent a year from 1994 to 2012, this growth is not enough to support jobs. The unemployment rate still remains high particularly youth unemployment which is highest the world over.
“We are taking a number of measures including the Employment Tax Incentive Act which encourages employers to hire younger workers. The Expanded Public Works and Community Work Programme continue to be an effective cushion for the poor and the youth”.
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 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.
As I have mentioned previously, the Department through the Unemployment Insurance Fund has invested in many job creation projects alongside the Industrial Development Cooperation and the Public Investment Corporation.
Just last week, we had the pleasure of introducing the president and the country to one of these projects that has changed the lives of people in the tiny town of Reitz in the Free State.
This project was funded through the same partnership principle between the UIF and the IDC. This socially responsible investing has seen a number of jobs that were threatened saved and new jobs created. Close to R10-billion has been committed to IDC bonds that are used to lend to business that create and save jobs. This investment has led to the creation of more than 38 000 jobs.
The allocated social responsible investments re to be invested in agriculture, manufacturing, mining value chain (beneficiation), SMME’s (entrepreneurship) and education and training in order to improve employability/job retention prospects of UIF beneficiaries.
In terms of indirect UIF investments and in support of the President’s commitment to improving the country’s infrastructure and to create jobs, the Department of Labour through UI branch has invested R37.8 billion in this regard. This money is invested in Government Bonds and Parastatals. We have also funded the Training Lay-off Scheme.
The scheme is aimed at helping distressed companies and at workers who may be at risk of retrenchment. I would like to appeal to companies’ representatives here, who might be facing difficult trading conditions to consider using the funding to avoid retrenchments.
We have also trained and empowered individuals on various artisan skills in partnership with the National Skills Fund (NSF), the various Sector Education Training Authorities (SETA’s) and Productivity South Africa.
This is over and above our investment in labour activation programs like the one recently entered into with various SETAs that will see us R400 million in eight (8) training projects that will impact 8000 learners. This is no small figure. To some these may just be statistics, but behind the statistics are real people whose lives will be forever impacted by this intervention.
Whilst the recent initiatives have been a response to the prevailing developments in our national industrial relations arena, the emphasis on collaborative framework has been integral to our government’s approach to economic development and job creation.
For example, the Department of Trade and Industry through IPAP2 and the Department of Economic Development through the New Growth Path have identified a range of opportunities and introduced a number of initiatives to achieve job creation and sustainable development in the country. Nearly all these initiatives hinge on a close and constructive collaboration amongst the various stakeholders within our political economy space.
All these initiatives in accordance with the National Development Plan which has placed an onus on us to ensure that we not only move South Africa forward but also create a sustainable future for our children and their children. This is the continuation of the good story that has to be told. No amount of obfuscation will change that. A good story is a good story.
Talking of the good story, it is a pleasure to announce that Parliament has approved a number of laws that we had proposed which are precisely aimed at protecting workers ensuring that the freedoms that we have attained has real meaning.
As you may know, the President has already assented to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Employment Equity Act. The Labour Relations Amendment Bill, which received the biggest opposition from those who do not believe in the good story because it tackles issues like labour brokers, has also been passed now by Parliament.
This is alongside a new bill – Employment Services Bill which will ensure that more people get opportunities for work. These bills now await the signature from the President for them to become law and continue to weave the good story.
Cabinet this week also approved the submission of the improved Unemployment Insurance Amendment Bill which amongst other things seeks to improve the benefits for pregnant mothers and all the beneficiaries.
I have made appeals for business to comply with the labour laws because it is good business to do so. Our inspectors, using the more powers that the amended BCEA provides them, are on hand to educate and guide business on what needs to be done. Failing that, they will take action to ensure that workers are safe.
Programme Director,
At a local level, Saldanha falls within what is called the SIP 5 in terms of the infrastructural development which has seen one trillion rands being spent across the country in infrastructure projects.
Here the project aims to develop the Saldanha-Northern Cape linked region in an integrated manner through rail and port expansion; back-of-port industrial capacity and strengthening maritime support capacity to create economic opportunities from the gas and oil activities along the African West Coast.
These catalytic developments are geared to present opportunities for the masses here today , as well as your family members and others not present with a strong emphasis on maximising the opportunities which will arise from the Project. Naturally these kinds of projects need skills. It is our duty, all of us here, to ensure that local residents are able to extract maximum benefit from the Project.
The Saldanha Bay IDZ Company was formed to drive and manage the anticipated economic development opportunities. The Company was instrumental in facilitating a rapidly growing partnership with the Department of Labour. Together with the Saldanha Bay Municipality and local stakeholders, the partnership grew into a force to position the locals strategically.
The first phase of the partnership resulted in a massive recruitment drive, enabling local work-seekers to register with the DOL via the Employment Services South Africa (ESSA) System. (The representative from the IDZ Company will share more with us later!)
We must now ensure that we maintain and even increase the momentum to strengthen the collaboration among all key stakeholder and social partners so that SIP 5 becomes a real beacon of hope for the people of this Region, while we position ourselves to take absolute advantage of the anticipated investment to come.
I look forward to a meaningful exchange and interaction so that when we leave here, we would have engaged meaningfully and that we would all benefit from this summit.
I thank you!
