Chairperson, Minister of Labour and your department, hon members, fellow South Africans, I would like to start off by asking a question: Would it matter if workers' rights were human rights? The answer is undoubtedly a big yes.
In recognition of workers' rights as human rights, the Bill of Rights protects the fundamental workers' rights, such as labour relations, which is found in section 23 of the Constitution; freedom of association, found in section 18 of the Constitution; and the protection against slavery, servitude or forced labour which is also found in section 13 of the same Constitution.
Chairperson, the ANC has asked me to speak on three public entities, namely the Unemployment Insurance Fund, UIF, the Compensation Fund, and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, CCMA. The ANC regards these three public entities as critical institutions to deepen workers' rights. The ANC calls on the Department of Labour to move with speed to improve services that are provided by the above three public entities. The ANC has always appreciated the efforts and measures employed by the UIF entity in order to improve revenue collection and general administration efficiency. However, the ANC has consistently stated that the fund focus should not exclusively be to increase reserves without workers benefiting from it. Hence we will continue to support initiatives aimed at training, development and placing unemployment first.
We further support a decision by the UIF to extend beneficiary coverage to include public servants. This is another way of making sure that this service is delivered to all workers and their dependants.
In addition, the UIF has informed the committee that it is in the process of considering extension of UIF benefits to learnerships, which are estimated to be approximately 94 000 per annum. This inclusion will reasonably contribute towards the fight against the youth unemployment.
Furthermore, the ANC supports the fund's consideration of the inclusion of approximately 80 000 migrant workers into the beneficiary and contributing population. These efforts are just a few examples of how government will rally the country behind meaningful economic transformation and job creation, but within the confines of the new growth fund.
When the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration was established, it was expected that it would resolve disputes much more effectively and that the national settlement rate would increase, thereby reducing strikes and lockouts. By providing training it was expected that employers and workers would learn about the correct procedure and code of conduct which would ultimately result in a lower caseload for the CCMA.
We have witnessed relatively high national settlements of disputes since the CCMA took over. This institution still needs to improve the dispute resolution rate, which was 11% below its target of 70% in the 2009-10 financial year.
We appreciate the reduction of reviews of arbitration awards. This has been attributed mainly to quality training that the institution had introduced for its commissioners. Since 2008, the CCMA has managed to conduct a high level of conciliation within the statutory timeframe of 30 days and has significantly reduced the number of late awards by 73%.
However, there has been an increase in noncompliance with arbitration awards, especially within the small- and medium-sized employers who are further contributing to poor workers being denied justice.
For the first time, hon Minister, the DA has talked sense in saying that once workers who benefit from of the Compensation Fund become disabled, they need to be linked to the Sheltered Employment Factories. I think this is the first time since I became an MP - and I asked myself if I was actually hearing a member of the DA saying that. [Applause.]
This public entity has been faced with complex challenges that range from corrupt officials to intricate administrative challenges such as huge backlogs and poor IT performance.
We acknowledge that the Compensation Fund is working hard to address its challenges. We call on the Minister and the department to provide the resources that are required to meet the administration challenges faced by the Compensation Fund.
The ANC calls upon employers and their associations to prioritise occupational health and safety in workplaces in order to avoid occupational injuries and diseases. Our call is informed by one of our historical documents the ANC called "Ready to govern". This refers to the rights of the youth: The youth has a right to a stable family life and care, free of occupational injuries and diseases.
The youth also has a right to work within a safe and healthy environment. Hence we call on employers to make it a point for the Occupational Health and Safety Act that exists to be looked at in order to avoid the Compensation Fund having to continue paying people who are injured and who contract diseases as a result of the ignorance of the employers.
There are approximately 1,2 million domestic workers in the country, who also have dependants, meaning that when a domestic worker is injured at work, the whole family will lose its income, because employers of domestic workers are not covered by the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act.
Therefore, the department, in assisting those vulnerable workers, must find a way of incorporating the employers of domestic workers in order for them to contribute towards the Compensation Fund. The only recourse is for domestic workers to sue their employers, but that is unlikely, given the financial implications of such action.
During our deliberations with the department on its strategic plan, we raised concerns around this issue and we hope our concerns will be attended to in order to assist these vulnerable workers.
Before I sit down, Chairperson, let me just speak on two points ...
The ANC supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.][Applause.]