The South African labour market is flexible as it is the eighth least regulated of 130 nations surveyed by the World Bank, Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana said on Friday.
Mdladlana was speaking during a visit to three Gauteng learnerships on Friday ahead of the National Skills Conference at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, from October 14 to 16.
According to a statement from the Labour Department, Mdladlana said businesses in South Africa faced fewer labour regulations than their counterparts in Ireland, Switzerland or Australia according to the World Bank Business survey.
This meant ”… certain people would be forced to review their criticism of our labour laws,” he said.
Mdladlana met Sectoral Education and Training Authority (Seta) officials, learners and employees at companies with learnership programmes.
The statement said he was ”particularly impressed” by a project at Barlow World Equipment in Isando, where 136 unemployed young people were completing courses. Many of them would be employed by the company on completion of their programme.
The company planned to take on another 83 learners at the beginning of 2004.
The Barlow World learnerships fell under the auspices of the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Education and Training Authority.
Mdladlana also visited Haglund Jewellers in Midrand which had a learnership project for 20 learners that formed part of the Mining Qualification Authority’s programme.
At Party Design, Mdladlana viewed a Tourism and Hospitality Seta project for 40 learners. – Sapa