State of Labour
A total of 122 strikes were recorded between March 2016 and February 2017. The Department of Labour revealed this to Parliament during a briefing on its annual report for that period. This represents a 10% increase as compared to a total of 110 strike incidents recorded in 2015/16.
The South African labour market lost a total of 946 323 working days as a result of 122 work stoppages. This represents a 4.7% increase in working days lost in 2016 compared to 903 921 days lost in 2015.
There were 90 228 workers involved in labour disputes in 2016, the lowest figure since strike records captured in 2013.
Wages lost were R161 million due to work stoppages in 2016 versus R116 million in 2015. The community and social services industry was the most affected by strike incidents followed by manufacturing and transport in 2016
The Department reported that workers used to rely on trade unions for protection against abuses, but today unions are finding it difficult to fulfil their obligations. As a result, more workers are side stepping their unions and going straight to the labour centres for help which has placed an incredible strain on the Department’s capacity to provide services.
The rate of transformation in the country especially at the top management level continued to be a challenge. Companies did not respond to the transformation agenda of the country and the Department is looking at proposed changes via the legislative reform process. There were 360 companies that were taken to court because they did not comply with the laws.
A total of 144 061 workplaces were inspected against a target of 134 958 to determine compliance with labour law. Of these, 20 546 were non-compliant. 50% of inspections done were in the wholesale and retail sectors, 20% in construction, 8% each in the domestic sector and community services. This is a reflection of the challenges in the wholesale and retail sector on the wages paid to workers. Provident funds are becoming a huge problem where companies are deducting money for the provident fund but the workers are not being given access to this fund when the time comes. In the construction industry, a common problem is the ‘bakkie brigade’ phenomenon where people are being sourced from street corners and they work without knowing the names of their employers and when they are done they are not paid. In total about 909 employers were taken to court so they could be prosecuted for this type of non-compliance. Most importantly, just over R 5 million has been recovered on behalf of the complainants who were not paid.
Alarmingly, more young people are claiming unemployment benefits than older workers. Even with legislation in place, a huge chunk of workers are employed on a temporary basis via job agencies.
MPs were concerned about the lack of transformation, lack of enforcement, lack of compliance with the labour laws and what is being done to absorb more people into the labour market.
Answering questions in the National Council of Provinces, the Deputy President said several interventions are being implemented to address poverty, inequality and unemployment.
The agreement by social partners on the national minimum wage, which was reached in February this year, paves the way for government to shift to the next gear.
“These agreements have paved the way for the tabling to Parliament of the Labour Relations Amendment Bill, the National Minimum Wage Bill and amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
“The introduction of a national minimum wage is intended to significantly improve the lives of the lowest paid workers in our country. This is an important intervention aimed at reducing wage poverty.
“Well over 4 million workers will see their wages increase to a minimum of R20 an hour, hopefully en route to a living wage,” he said.
The Deputy President added that amendments to the Labour Relations Act would be aimed at further strengthening collective bargaining and dispute resolution. He said that combined with strong collective bargaining and agreement on annual adjustments, government was confident that workers in South Africa will have their dignity restored.