Question NW299 to the Minister of Employment and Labour
29 March 2023 - NW299
Ngcobo, Mr SL to ask the Minister of Employment and Labour
Whether, with reference to a study titled Burnout: The problem of overworked employees in a country with an unemployment crisis which tracked working hours in more than 50 countries between 1950 and 2017, which found that South African workers have some of the longest working hours in the world, and noting that the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated such working hours as the sudden switch to remote working and/or working from home blurred the lines between home life and working hours, his department has done a revision of the Basic Conditions of Employment legislation and related employment codes; if not why not; if so, what are the full, relevant details in this regard?
Reply:
The International Labour Organisation’s Recommendation No.116 of 1962 provides that normal hours of work should be progressively reduced, when appropriate, with a view to attaining the social standard indicated in the recommendation without any reduction in the wages of the workers at the time hours of work are reduced.
Schedule One of the BCEA provides for procedures to be adopted in order to reduce working hours to the goal of a 40 hour working week.
- Firstly, through collective bargaining: a party to the negotiations can introduce the reduction of working hours and parties must negotiate on that issue.
- Secondly, the NMW Commission may investigate the possibility of reducing working hours in a particular sector and area and make recommendations to the Minister.
The Employment Conditions Commission conducted an investigation on the feasibility of reducing working hours in 2014.
The report found that progress into the reduction of working hours for the period covering 2006-2012 was evident in the following sectors:
- Textile industry;
- Glass sector, agreement for 2013-2014 working hours are 42 and most of them are already on 40 except where they are working continuous shifts;
- Construction industry;
- Sugar manufacturing and refinery industry, workers used to work 46 hours, now they work 43 hours;
- Metal and engineering industry, a 40-hour week has been in place since July 1, 2002;
- Public service, 99% of all employees perform a 40-hour week, as stated on the public service regulations.
The functions of the disbanded Employment Conditions Commission have since 2019 been taken over by the National Minimum Wage Commission, so there might be a need to conduct another research in order to check the progress that has been made in the reduction of working hours since the last report and also to establish the feasibility of reducing hours of work and the unintended consequences that may result thereof, particularly for those sectors that are earning the minimum wage e.g. domestic and farm workers sectors.
Furthermore, the item forms part of the proposals currently under discussion at the NEDLAC’s Labour Law Reform Task Team.
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