Publications
Partners
Parliament - All obstacles hindering the entry of young people into the labour market have to be addressed urgently, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Wednesday.
"In our focus to try and create jobs it's important for us to address all the bottlenecks; anything that would impede the entry of young people into the labour market should be addressed," he told the National Assembly during question time.
Therefore, any proposed amendments to labour legislation could not be carried through if their effect was to "thwart this effort of ensuring that young people are able to be absorbed and gain the requisite experience in the work milieu", he said.
Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko had asked, among other things, whether cabinet intended to approve amendments to the Labour Relations Act with a view to ensuring flexibility in wage negotiations, ensuring greater competition in the labour market and meeting the demand for skills in the labour market.
Motlanthe said cabinet would consider amendments to the Labour Relations Act in the next few months, but he was not in a position to speculate on what it might decide on the matter.
However, he said it was important to point out that the act provided a legal framework for promoting and facilitating collective bargaining at the workplace and at sectoral level.
Negotiations were by nature flexible and often resulted in both parties compromising on their original positions.
"The policies of the current government are to promote job-creation and to protect vulnerable workers. The current legislation is flexible enough to allow for competition in the labour market."
Also, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande had recently published a green paper on post-school further education and training.
The conclusion of the green paper process would undoubtedly have major implications for the labour market, as it would accelerate all efforts to build a capable labour force, Motlanthe said.
Steve Swart of the African Christian Democratic Party referred to the seemingly stalled discussions at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) on the proposed youth wage subsidy scheme.
It was a hugely important initiative to create jobs, with National Treasury indicating that 178 000 new jobs could be created through the scheme at a cost of R28 000 per job over three years, he said.
There was concern it had already taken almost a year since the initiative was announced.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan had also indicated the reservations expressed by the labour constituency could be addressed in the design and implementation of the incentive. He would like to see greater urgency in resolving the matter, Swart said.
Motlanthe responded that the government would like the matter resolved "sooner than yesterday".
"But of course it is in the nature of democracy to persuade other slow coaches, (which) takes a bit of time."
The government was convinced it would benefit the country and the economy if it was resolved, Motlanthe said.
