Committee Minutes on Labour Vote hearings: adoption

Meeting report

LABOUR PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE

Budget Vote 17 as of 4 May 2006
Minutes of Proceedings, 9 March 2006
Minutes of Proceedings, 14 March 2006
Minutes of Proceedings, 4 May 2006

SUMMARY
The Committee adopted minutes of nine meetings in which it held public hearings into the 2006/07 budget of the Department of Labour and its associated institutions. This was done in preparation of a formal Committee meeting on 17 May to discuss the Department’s budget allocation.

MINUTES
The Committee considered minutes of its hearings on the 2006/07 Budget of the Department of Labour. The Chairperson put the minutes for 7 March to the Committee. She reminded Members that they should note their attendance as the minutes were being reviewed. Members raised no issues and the minutes were adopted.

The minutes for 9 March were similarly reviewed and adopted without discussion

The Chairperson put the minutes for 13 March; reminding everybody that that meeting dealt with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), the Compensation Fund and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). The minutes were adopted without discussion. The Chairperson reminded the Committee that she would have a meeting with the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) that wanted to raise some questions on the UIF, but she was waiting for SCOPA to revert to her.

The minutes for 14, 15 and 24 March were adopted without discussion.

The Chairperson then moved the minutes of 29 March dealing with the National Skills Fund (NSF) and the Department itself. Mr M Mzondeki (ANC) complained that even though he had attended that meeting, his name did not appear in the list of attendees. The Chairperson promised that the Committee Secretary would rectify the oversight.

Ms S Jajbally (MF) proposed that Members should tender apologies in writing to avoid attendance errors. After inserting Mr Mzondeki’s name, the minutes were adopted.

The Chair introduced the last two sets of minutes for 2 and 4 May.

Mr L Maduma (ANC) noted that the 2 May minute contained an error on the number of Members to visit Cuba.

The Chair agreed with the proposed correction and informed the Committee that the trip to Cuba would only be undertaken next year and the number of Members who could go would have to be reduced due to funding problems. Only two Members could go this year if the Committee’s budget for 2006 had to provide the funding.

The minutes of 2 May were adopted with the above correction.

Mr Maduma stated that the 4 May minutes were incorrect as the Committee had not agreed to a special separate meeting with the Department of Labour. Instead it had agreed on a workshop between the two.

With this correction, the 4 May minutes were adopted.

The Chair reminded Members of the budget preparation meeting on 17 May and the public hearings on youth unemployment scheduled for 30 May and 2 and 7 June. The Parliamentary Research Unit would be consulted on terms of reference for the hearings. Efforts have been made to inform the public through advertising.

Ms Rajbally reminded the Chair of the request of the Committee for more funds for advertising.

The Chair replied that Parliament’s Finance section had advised her that the Committee should fund advertising from its own budget. She would again speak to them.

The Chair, in closing, reminded Members of their visit to a farm in the Western Cape on 13 May.

The meeting was adjourned.