Amid all Cosatu’s and business’s bluster lies a danger that the central tenet of Gear – job creation – will be ignored, writes Madeleine Wackernagel
BUSINESS has until Monday to respond to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which threatened continued mass action unless business accedes to its demands over the Basic Conditions of Employment Bill. But business, predictably, is taking as tough a line as the labour movement.
The next step should be another meeting of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac). But until the parties have something new to discuss there is little point, says Nedlac executive director Jayendra Naidoo. So, if the deadlock continues, it will be up to the Minister of Labour, Tito Mboweni, to find a way out of the impasse.
The Bill calls for a 45-hour working week, while Cosatu is pressing for 40-hours. Business argues that the additional costs will prohibit job creation.
“The arguments are all academic in a fragmented labour market such as ours,” says one labour analyst. “The private sector is not necessarily the biggest employer and besides, many big businesses already have instituted better conditions than are set out by the new Bill. The biggest problem is that it will inhibit job creation in the informal sector.”
Says another: “This is just so much hot air. The real question is to what degree the concerns of the unemployed are taken into account in all this bickering.”
Amid all the bluster and posturing lies a danger that the centrepiece of government economic policy, the growth, employment and redistribution (Gear) strategy, is under threat. As it is, there is little to celebrate on the first anniversary of Gear’s unveiling. So far, growth has been unremarkable, employment has actually fallen and the income gap is widening.
So is the gap between the government and its alliance partners. Says Cosatu representative Nowetu Mpati: “Gear is not moving ahead because we weren’t consulted. It amounts to a business document, which is why it is not being implemented. We are as concerned as everybody else about job creation, but not on these terms.
“Everybody calls on Cosatu and the labour movement to compromise but what about government and labour? Of course we want more jobs but the negotiating process is about give and take – and so far only Cosatu has done the giving. In the past 18 months of negotiations, just one party has done the compromising – us.”
But says Jeremy Cronin of the South African Communist Party: “It is important that this new Bill goes through as quickly as possible so that we can get on with the real issues. The longer it is delayed, the greater the opportunity for big business to find a way round it.
“We’ve become bogged down in arguing about Gear and blaming it for all the country’s ills. We need to get back to the bigger picture and focus more on industrial policy than on macro-economic issues alone.”
For once business was talking the same language. The need for a co-ordinated approach, involving government, business and labour, is paramount in the battle to create employment opportunities, says one economist. “Redressing the balance of past capital-intensive production won’t happen by itself. The government must come up with a comprehensive industrial policy, encompassing trade regimes, regulatory frameworks, education and training, as well as tariffs, export zones and tax incentives.”
This view is echoed by a Labour Department source: “If job creation is ever going to get off the ground, the government must be pro-active. You can’t leave it up to the market.
“Policy must be directed towards labour- intensive production, whether in agriculture or tourism, but it won’t happen just like that. The departments must work together at devising an employment strategy, which in turn should work with the new Bill. We want more and better jobs – not just jobs.”
Such a comprehensive policy would also have to address small-business promotion, singled out by Gear for its employment potential. So far, policy has been ad-hoc.
Says Phillip Tekane of the National African Federated Chambers of Commerce: “The government is trying, the spirit is there, but there’s a long way to go. Take Khula, for example. It was set up by the Department of Trade and Industry to provide financing for small businesses, but instead, funding is channelled through the banks, which apply very strict criteria to small-business applicants.
“We have to find unconventional ways to encourage entrepreneurship and more legislation will only deter people from starting up their own businesses.”
Frustrations are growing but so is awareness. If Gear is to succeed, the Presidential Job Summit scheduled for October will have to be more than just another opportunity for the parties concerned to indulge in rhetoric and self- interest.