Providing Specialist and Professional Service for Decent Work in the Labour Market
The chairman of the Portfolio Committee on Labour Mr E Nchabeleng
The chair of the Select Committee on Labour and Public Enterprises Mme Themba
Representative of the ILO, Mr Vic Van Vuuren
Invited members of the federations Cosatu, Nactu and Fedusa
The Director General Nkosinathi Nhleko and your management team
The Chief Inspector and also acting DDG, IES
Esteemed guests
It gives me pleasure and immense pride to be standing here and addressing you on this auspicious occasion where we are not only sharing the best practice and learning, but will also celebrate the best amongst us and what we do.
As you all know, inspections and enforcement forms the core of what the Department of Labour is. It gives meaning to the raft of laws that we have promulgated and it holds us responsible for the correct implementation of those statutes. But it does more than just hold us responsible.
It ensures that there is no disconnect between the policies and laws that we set up and the implementation of those. It also provides an educational tool for employers to know and do what is right. The failure by employers to do what is right then gives us the mandate to fine them or institute other corrective measures.
It is easy for us to forget the mandate that we received from our people in 2009 which mandate we shall be going back to the electorate next year to renew. When we do so, we need to be able to point out with evidence on the things that we promised; what we delivered on, where we fell short and how are we planning to do better next time.
The mandate that we have been given by the electorate since 1994 can be located on the dreams and aspirations of the thousands of our people who gathered in Kliptown in 1955 and set out the way forward mhlahlandlela and they called this seminal document which recorded these hopes and aspirations the Freedom Charter.
Lest we forget, the charter was very specific in terms of the desirable environment for dignified employment without taking away the need for business to make money. It said:
- All who work shall be free to form trade unions, to elect their officers and to make wage agreements with their employers.
- The state shall recognise the right and duty of all to work, and to draw full unemployment benefits.
- Men and women of all races shall receive equal pay for equal work.
- There shall be a forty-hour working week, a national minimum wage, paid annual leave, and sick leave for all workers, and maternity leave on full pay for all working mothers.
- Miners, domestic workers, farm workers and civil servants shall have the same rights as all others who work.
- Child labour, compound labour, the tot system and contract labour shall be abolished.
The raft of legislation that we have put out seeks to give meaning to these exhortations. But there is more to it than just exhortations. It is the way of life that sought to bring dignity to the daily grind in the world of work.
The exhortations still ring true to this day. In this day and age, there are some who earn slave wages. There are some who are not afforded the kind of dignity envisaged in the charter. There are some who work ungodly hours and are always on the receiving end of threats by their employers.
There are people who die on construction sites, in chemical factories, workers maimed and killed in mines, farmworkers who give their entire lives for not much in return, women exploited and raped in the mining operations underground, children being made to do the kind of work that is just not proper for their age and circumstance; the list is endless.
It is clear that there is a dire need for the department not only to try and protect all the vulnerable workers, but also to do so in the way that does not discourage investment in our economy.
We make no apologies for the steps we take every day to protect those who need it the most. We do not hide the fact that there are men and women, some of them here today who put their lives at risk every day to give real meaning and substance to the protective measures that we have enacted. These inspectors are the pride and joy of the department.
It has been 19 years of advancing worker rights. The workers have benefited from the generation of progressive labour legislation and social security benefits. We have introduced laws to protect workers, create machinery to negotiate wages and working conditions, set minimum wages for domestic workers, farm workers, and hospitality sector and established maximum hours of work for all. We introduced affirmative action laws and legislation to promote skills development.
- I have no doubt in my mind that inspectors for the past 19 years have been central in ensuring that we deliver on the promises made in our social contract.
- For the past 19 years, our inspectorate has been protecting the plight of the vulnerable workers with a specific focus on the problematic sectors and high risk sectors
When due to carelessness and inhuman attitude of some of the employers, some employees were facing a night, a week or a month without food, you stood up as through soldiers and saved the day for those employees.
Ladies and gentleman, it is an undisputed fact that poverty, unemployment and inequality continues to characterise our labour market. As eloquently put by Professor Somadoda Fikeni when addressing us during the mid-term review: “The Department of Labour is seized with the mandate of helping to address the challenges confronting the labour market.”
He was referring to poverty, unemployment, inequality and corruption. As the department of Labour through the enforcement of the labour market policies we indeed contribute towards addressing these challenges. Our inspectors, ladies and gentleman, have been in the forefront of ensuring that no worker whose salary has been withheld unscrupulously went home without any prospect of recovering that salary.
It has been my singular honour and privilege interacting with these selfless civil servants. Together we have straddled this country and the experience of seeing our inspectors immersing themselves in the work of ensuring that workers’ rights are protected has been a fulfilling one. Please continue displaying this kind of dedication and commitment to the cause of ensuring stability in the labour market.
It is often said that the relationship between the organisation and its workers is often defined by what motivates them to work and the rewards and benefits to be derived from such a relationship. Generally, we all want to be appreciated and valued whenever we do well. Our inspectors are no exception to this.
It is for that reason that we will as part of this conference, be hosting a gala dinner to honour and acknowledge those who have excelled in the work. This is indeed will be an auspicious occasion for all of us especially our inspectors. I would like to extend an appreciation to the IES Management for coming up with this idea. Our inspectors are indeed our most valued officials.
Studies have shown that a favourable working environment goes a long way in motivating employees to perform at their best. It is for that reason that we are working on improving the working environment and the conditions of employment to ensure that our inspectors see the department as the preferred employer of choice.
We have moved full steam with the implementation of professionalization which will enable our inspectors to effectively enforce the labour market policies. The recruitment of specialist inspectors is well underway with this process being finalised at the end of November 2013.
Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, we are aware of the fact that as department alone, we cannot achieve much. That is why we are today proud to say that our labour market policies are a product of a consultative process. It stands to reason therefore that, even with the enforcement of these laws, we require a collaborative effort.
It is for this reason that as the department, we call upon all workers to assist us in ensuring that not a single worker is denied his or her basic rights. We call upon our business community to ensure that workers’ rights are observed and respected. We firmly believe that together we can indeed do more.
Lastly, we hope that the conference will come up with progressive resolutions that will not only assist in taking the IES Branch forward but also contribute to making the lives of all our people better. We still hold ourselves to this promise and we continue day in and day out to do everything that we can to keep this promise.
I wish you all the best for the conference.
Thank you
