NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO :339 ( CW434E )
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
Mr D B Feldman (COPE-Gauteng)
Whether his department has caused or supported any research that has been
initiated to determine whether the (a) activities of his department, (b)
policies pursued and (c) statutes implemented were all fully beneficial
to labour without any unintended consequences; if not, what is the
position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
MINISTER OF LABOUR REPLIED:
The Department of Labour does at different intervals initiate studies to
determine the impact of its activities, policies and statutes. Research
has been initiated and implemented over a number of years and there is an
ongoing programme of research aimed at continual evaluation of the work of
the Department and its impact on the South African labour market. The
following are some examples of research that was undertaken:
1. In 2004, research on the Changing nature of work and âatypicalâ forms of
employment in South Africa was conducted. The overall aim of this study
was to analyze and evaluate the trends, determinants and policy
implications of âatypicalâ forms of employment in South Africa, and the
changing nature of work.
Results and effects: This study revealed that atypical forms of employment
are increasing and the security of workers is compromised. The Department
considered the recommendations and engaged in the process of reviewing
relevant sections of the Labour Relations Act in order to curb the growing
trend of atypical forms of employment and specifically to maximize security
of employment for workersâ.
2. Between 2006 and 2008, the Department of Labour conducted research on
most areas of labour legislation, including:
1. Understanding the efficiency and effectiveness of the dispute
resolution system in South Africa. This study focused on the
dispute resolution system as provided for in the Labour Relations
Act (no.66 of 1995). The Department sought to investigate the
efficiency and effectiveness of the countryâs institutionalized
dispute resolution body, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation
and Arbitration (CCMA) and to get a better and more informed
understanding of the nature of dispute resolution and its
determinants.
Results and effects: The findings show general effectiveness in dispute
resolution by the CCMA. There were, however, provinces that were more
efficient and effective (KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape) than
others. The results further show that disputes of mutual interest are the
most efficiently resolved relative to unfair dismissal disputes at both
conciliation and arbitration proceedings due to the sense of urgency in
these matters. The results show that the con-arb innovation was
associated with an increase in efficiency both in terms of conciliation
and arbitration turnaround times. This finding points to positive
consequences of legal amendments for the parties that use the services of
the CCMA, including employees.
2. Measuring Regulation and a Synthesis of Policy Suggestions. Through
this study, the Department wanted to provide more nuanced and
empirically-based measures of labour regulation and worker
protection in South Africa, within an international comparative
context.
Results and effects: The empirical evidence attempting to position South
Africaâs labour regulatory regime within an international context shows
that on most measures of labour regulation, South Africa is not an
extraordinarily over-regulated (or indeed under-regulated) labour market.
This holds true for both the global samples and the sample of middle-
income economies. This result reinforced that labour market policy
debates in South Africa should be about nuance, rather than substance.
3. Analysing Wage Formation in the South African Labour Market: The
Role of Bargaining Councils. The main objective of this study was to
evaluate the role of bargaining councils in wage formation in the
South African labour market. Specifically, the study aimed to
determine what premium is associated with Bargaining Council
coverage as distinct from union membership, for employees in the
South African labour market.
Results and effects: The results showed that only about 15 percent of
formally employed workers were covered by bargaining council agreements
in 1995 and the figure had doubled to 32 percent in 2005. This still
meant that less than a third of the formally employed were covered by
bargaining councils. Specifically, the increase in bargaining council
membership between 1995 and was almost entirely driven by the rapid rise
in the bargaining council system for the public sector.
2. Adherence to and progress made in respect of the hours of work provision
of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (no.75 of 1997). The focus of
this research was on progress made towards the reduction of weekly
working hours towards a 40 hour working week. This report complies with
the Basic Conditions of Employment Act which states that the Department
of Labour must report on the progress.
Results and effects: The analysis found that there was no statistically
significant change in the length of the average working week, The study
further found that the representative worker in the sample spent just
under 47 hours per week at work, implying an absolute minimum of 2 hours
of overtime work per week. Excluding agricultural workers does little
to change the results, except that the length of the average working week
for non-agricultural workers is slightly lower, at just over 46 hours per
week.
Several research studies were also conducted on the impact of the
National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) while skills development fell
within the mandate of the Department of Labour. Skills related research
was conducted on the following areas:
1. Employment and learning pathways of learnership participants in the
NSDS.
2. National skills survey
3. Scarce and critical skills.
4. Sector studies
3. Making visible the invisible: confronting South Africaâs decent work
deficit. The main aim of this study was to address three issues:
⢠To determine whether the data on the informal economy correctly
captures the level of informal employment;
⢠To examine the linkages between formal and informal employment;
⢠To develop a framework for reducing the decent work deficits in
informal employment.
Results and effects: The five case studies demonstrate that informality
is best seen as a continuum where economic activities are connected in a
hierarchical value or supply chain. Although the chains are closely
connected, they express very unequal power relations on the stakeholders
involved across the continuum. The Department developed the Decent Work
agenda in consultation with other stakeholders, which is aimed at
addressing deficiencies identified by this study.
4. The impact of the Employment Equity Act (no.55 of 1998). This study was
aimed at measuring the pool of designated groups that are suitably
qualified in various sectors and occupational categories. Specifically,
the study focused on the Trends in the Supply of Tertiary qualifications
among designated groups and on Employment trends among the designated
groups with formal qualifications.
Results and effect: The results suggest that there is an important
interface between historical patterns of occupational segmentation and
transformative changes in employment. A related factor is that patterns
in the representation of designated groups by and large follow historical
patterns with regard to the status of qualifications.
5. Studies initiated by the Department of Labour since the beginning of
2009 but not yet finalised, include:
1. Creative industry study: The objective was to investigate the Nature
of the Employment Relationships in the South African Creative
Industry.
2. Conditions of employment for unskilled labour sector. The objectives
of this study were to investigate the minimum wages and conditions
of employment in the Unskilled Labour sector with a view to the
promulgation of a sectoral determination.
6. Apart from the studies initiated during 2009, all other studies
referred to above are available from the Department. In 2010, the
Department of Labour is in progress with a number of other labour related
studies that aim to evaluate the impact of our policies, statutes and
activities with the intention of making necessary changes where the
findings point to unintended consequences of policy and legislation.
Findings from these studies will be made available as they are concluded
and processed by the Department of Labour.