Lerato Mbhiza
The Minister of Labour and Employment Thulas Nxesi addressing delegates at the 28th Nedlac Summit at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, said almost two years after business, labour and government had tabled proposals for labour law reform, the matter remains unresolved.
This summit comes more than a year after partners failed to hammer out a social compact to address runaway joblessness and slow economic growth.
Nxesaid said some of the amendments proposed by the parties in 2021 include improving the functioning of the Labour Court and collective bargaining to better serve workers.
“The issue of the backlog in the Labour Court has compromised a lot of workers. The issue there is the few judges who are overworked at the Labour Court; it’s a very serious matter which I think we have long been discussing. Unless we add the capacity of the judges, we will compromise the workers.”
Also he said Nedlac has also made progress on “becoming fit for purpose”.
“This has involved a review of the Nedlac Act, Constitution and protocols which govern how social partners work at Nedlac. I hope that the revised Protocol approved earlier in the year, is assisting social partners to add more value to processes. The stronger the processes are to discuss laws and policy in Nedlac, the more likely it will be that you can influence changes down the line, including in Parliament”.
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