Speaking at a Workers Day rally in Madidi in the North West province on Thursday, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon called for the proposed Jobs Summit between government, labour and business to be scrapped.
”We must scrap the Jobs Summit. There is no need for another wasteful talkshop. Rather than throwing good money after bad summits, we should implement the policies that work,” said Leon in a statement.
He said that the government was spending millions of rands on another summit, when the ANC had already held a similar summit in 1998, and Cabinet provided a budget of R1,5-billion to implement its recommendations.
”Nevertheless, the ANC decided to call another summit, scheduled for last year. It was postponed to this year, and then it was postponed again. It is going to happen in June, fourteen months late,” he said.
Leon said what was needed was not another wasteful talkshop, but changing the country’s labour laws and regulations.
”In doing so, we must protect workers’ basic health and safety rights. But we must increase the flexibility of the labour market so that businesses are encouraged to employ people instead of machines.”
The DA’s recommended changes included the following:
the Labour Relations Act should be changed so that it explicitly recognised the needs of the unemployed and the consumer. It must also recognise the need to maintain viable businesses. It must roll back the protections for strikes over dismissals and retrenchments and must make more room for employers to hire independent contractors.
the Basic Conditions of Employment Act should allow customised contracts between employees and employers to vary the minimum wage determination in each sector. It must relax the labour law provisions relating to employment and termination of employment in small businesses and should get rid of the premium for Sunday work and allow more flexibility for working hours.
the Employment Equity Act should raise the bar so that its provisions only apply to businesses with 100 or more employees instead of 50. And it should introduce a sunset clause to give the Act a clear expiration date.
Finally, The Skills Development Act’s bureaucratic system should be replaced with a programme that makes use of tax breaks, reimbursements, and opportunity vouchers to encourage training and education.
”In short, the labour legislation must use fewer sticks and more carrots. Our focus should move from increasing protection for labour to increasing the demand for labour,” Leon said. – Sapa