Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana has called in a crack team from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to investigate why the National Economic Labour and Development Council (Nedlac) is not working properly.
There is increasing concern that Nedlac is not living up to expectations, which were that it would be an essential forum for policymaking.
The team from Geneva is in the country to study how Nedlac can have more impact. Labour Director General Vanquard Mkhosana said the ILO would look into Nedlac’s weaknesses and make recommendation to the department by January next year.
Nedlac was established in February 1995, as a negotiating forum for the government, business, labour and the community.
However, 10 years on, the organisation is not functioning effectively, with key stakeholders often unable to attend crucial meetings.
This has resulted in Nedlac failing to fulfil its role at strategic levels. One of the many criticisms the council faces today is its failure to implement the Growth and Development Summit agreements, aimed at reducing the level of poverty in the country.
Social partners within Nedlac have blamed each other for the ineffectiveness of the organisation.
Mdladlana recently criticised Nedlac for failing to bring key players to the negotiating forum.
“There has been a tendency to request ministers to attend meetings at Nedlac, but when they go there most labour and business bosses are not there.
“Often if there is anyone present from those constituencies, it is junior officials with no power to make any decisions,” Mdladlana told Business Report.
Bheki Sibiya, the chief executive of Business Unity South Africa (Busa) this week said Mdladlana’s remarks were devoid of truth.
“The truth is that when ministers are required to attend crucial meetings in Nedlac, they do not come.
“There are very few directors general attending meetings at Nedlac. Within the government, Nedlac is no longer taken seriously,” Sibiya said.
Vic van Vuuren, the chief operating officer of Busa, said that although Nedlac has played a major role in developing government policies in the past, the institution needs to be revamped in other areas.
Social issues related to apartheid have overshadowed the past 10 years, he said.
“Moving forward, Nedlac should focus on crucial issues such as skills development in order to create more jobs for the poor. The organisation should look at how to deal with exports and [the] strong rand,” said Van Vuuren.
Ebrahim Patel, the general secretary of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) and labour convener in Nedlac, said that if Nedlac is to succeed, the organisation needs to strengthen its capacity for policy implementation.
He said Nedlac also needs to improve its interaction with Parliament in shaping the laws.
Nedlac chief executive Herbert Mkhize said the review was an important step towards ensuring that the organisation functioned effectively.
“The landscape within which we operate has changed and this requires us to re-look at ourselves,” said Mkhize.