Employment and Labour Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report

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Employment and Labour

26 November 2021
Chairperson: Ms M Dunjwa (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

BRRR – Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report

In a virtual meeting, the Committee discussed the observations and recommendations of the Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report of the annual 2020/21 performance of the Employment and Labour portfolio. The Report was adopted with the addition of the following recommendations:

- The Department should brief the Committee at regular intervals on the employment aspect of its portfolio and how it has been integrated into its structures and programmes to create a conducive environment

- The Department should provide monthly progress reports on the engagements between itself and National Treasury on the financial sustainability of the Supportive Employment Enterprises factories.

- The Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration should invest in building capacity for labour negotiations within organisations, so that disputes could be resolved without needing to involve the Council itself.

- The National Economic Development and Labour Council and all other entities should ensure that all employees be given benefits to prevent staff turnover.

Meeting report

 

Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour
Observations
The Chairperson appealed to Members of the Committee to wait until the National Assembly debate to raise any issues with the Department’s performance.

Mr M Bagraim (DA) said that he had raised concerns about the effect of budget cuts to the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on that entity’s ability to serve workers at multiple meetings.

Ms C Mkhonto (EFF) said that Mr Bagraim’s point very important, but suggested that it was expressed in paragraph 10.5.5 of the report, which read ‘service delivery has been adversely affected by budget cuts to the CCMA.’ This point would have to be more thoroughly discussed in the debate.

Mr S Mdabe (ANC) agreed that paragraph 10.5.5 was sufficient but invited Mr Bagraim to suggest a different formulation for consideration.

Mr Bagraim suggested that it should read ‘service delivery has been destroyed by the budget cuts to the CCMA.’

The Committee adopted the original formulation.

Recommendations
Dr M Cardo (DA) noted that the recommendations focussed on details at the expense of the broader picture. Record-keeping was no doubt important, but less important in the grander scheme of things than the 44.4% unemployment rate. The first recommendation should be that the Department brief the Committee at regular intervals on how the employment side of its portfolio had been incorporated into its structures and programmes. Unemployment was the biggest problem in the country, and the Committee needed to make a recommendation that reflected this, rather than getting lost in details.

Mr Mdabe added that during the recent briefing by Productivity SA, the Committee had called for deliberations with the Minister and the Department on the issue of employment. Something to this effect should be inserted into the Report.

The Chairperson requested that Dr Cardo draft a short recommendation on employment. It should reflect the Committee’s view that the Department was not creating a conducive environment for employment, while recognising that it was not the Department’s responsibility to create employment.

Dr Cardo shared a draft paragraph with the Committee which read ‘Given that unemployment is the biggest challenge facing South Africa and its number one policy priority, the Department should brief the Committee at regular intervals on the employment creation aspect of its portfolio and how it has been integrated into its structures and programmes.’

Mr Mdabe suggested that the Committee was putting the cart before the horse. The Department has not yet briefed the Committee on this conducive environment and what it entailed and how other departments would be involved – the Committee should be cautious of this. The recommendation should be that a report should be presented to the Committee by the Department on its employment manner.

The Chairperson noted that the key point was that the Committee should receive a briefing by the Department.

Ms Mkhonto suggested different wording to clean up the text and make paragraph 11.1.1 and 11.1.2 consistent.

The Committee discussed the wording of these paragraphs in detail.

Mr M Nontsele (ANC) suggested that the Committee’s approach to Supportive Employment Enterprises’ (SEE) preferential reporting treatment by National Treasury should be reinforced in paragraph 11.2.1.

Mr Mdabe added that it should include National Treasury’s response to this matter when it had been raised in the previous year’s BRRR.

Mr Zolani Sakasa, Committee Secretary, proposed the following formulation: ‘The committee demands to receive written monthly progress reports on the engagements between the Department of Employment and Labour and National Treasury on financial sustainability of the SEE factories.’

The Committee accepted this addition.

The Chairperson wondered whether the Report should include a comment on the successful appointment of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for SEE, even if it was just a footnote.

Mr Nontsele suggested that it be included in the Report’s opening statement on SEE. He also suggested that a recommendation be made to the CCMA to invest in building capacity for labour negotiations within organisations, so that disputes could be resolved without needing to involve the CCMA itself.

The Committee accepted this addition.

Mr Nontsele also suggested that a recommendation be made to the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) and all other entities should ensure that they pay employee benefits to prevent staff turnover.

Dr Cardo objected to the inclusion of this recommendation as he did not recall it being discussed with the Department or with NEDLAC.

Ms Mkhonto recalled that the Committee had discussed the vacancy rate at NEDLAC and suggested that this is what Mr Nontsele’s proposed recommendation referred to.

The Chairperson agreed that the matter had come up during the engagements with NEDLAC and proposed removing the reference to ‘all other entities.’

Mr Mdabe recalled that the matter had been raised with almost every entity, including Productivity SA, the CCMA and the Department itself.

The Chairperson suggested adding a recommendation to the Department that there should be an overall improvement in the vacancy rate in all areas.

Mr Nontsele accepted the proposal but noted that there was an issue of underemployment, where people were employed but without benefits, leading to high staff turnover.

The Committee accepted this addition.

Dr Cardo objected to the addition on behalf of the DA.

The committee adopted the Report.

The meeting was adjourned.
 

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