Karen Harverson
The National Occupational and Safety Association (Nosa) may lose the R10-million a year in funding it receives from the Department of Labour next year.
Director General of Labour Sipho Pityana, speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, said it was unlikely that the department would confirm that level of funding to Nosa in 1996.
“In the area of occupational health and safety, we are looking for more proactive inspectors to train health and safety stewards which means we would have to review the funding given to Nosa.” He added that there was no justification to give money to Nosa which is linked to business when the department is committed to the concept of a social partnership.
“We would rather focus on providing resources to train health and safety stewards in whose interests it is to have a safe working
Nosa manager (communications) Marius Garbers said the R10-million from the department accounted for less than 25 percent of the organisation’s turnover. “So it will not really influence our activities if we didn’t receive it. Future government funds should rather be directed towards the Reconstruction and Development Programme.”
He added that from March 1996, the organisation was moving away from providing free industry training and audit grading services to paid services according to market related prices.
“A survey indicated that the majority of our clients would be more than willing to pay for the services we provide.”
Pityana said in the past, the department’s inspectors had only dealt with issues affecting labour but that now they would be trained to pick up on issues of health and safety. “We want to make maximum use of our resources and are looking to develop one-stop inspection services by restructuring the whole inspection system.”
On the training of unemployed people, Pityana said the department would focus on ‘demand driven’ training.
“Over past 10 years, the government spent R770-million on training about 1,9-million unemployed people of which only 22,5 percent are reported to have found jobs.”
He questioned whether such investment was justifiable. “There must be a relationship between the training provided and the skills required by the economy.”
Pityana said the department, which had budgeted to spend some R100-million on training next year, was reviewing all training contracts and scrutinising the quality of service provided.
He said his first priority on being appointed 10 months ago was to restructure the department and redefine and fill the positions which were frozen in October 1994 when the new Public Services Act was passed. “In terms of that law, each department had to start establishing a new organisational structure, fill the positions and at the same time, consider those people who were already in the employ of the civil service.”
He added that the number of top-level management positions were reduced and the demographic profile — previously white and male — changed.
“We now have 30 percent of management made up of women, and 62 percent made up of blacks,” said Pityana. He emphasised that these appointments were not made on affirmative action principles although the department was committed to the policy.