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Cape Town - South Africa has made great strides in promoting
gender equity in the labour market, protecting vulnerable workers and creating
employment as part of its contribution to the millennium development goals
(MDGs), new labour director general Nkosinathi Nhleko said on Wednesday.
Nhleko said the department was charged with the
responsibility of focusing on the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.
"In targeting eight of the MDGs, we have put (our)
energies on protecting vulnerable workers, protecting equity in the workplace
and contributing to employment creation, among others."
Deputy director general for public employment services Sam
Morotoba said workers in the agriculture and domestic sectors continued to be
the focus of interventions, with the relevant legal framework already in place
to regulate minimum employment conditions aimed at protecting vulnerable
workers.
"We have consistently embarked on intensified
inspection campaigns over the past three years to ensure compliance in already
identified high risk and problematic sectors," he said.
Specific programmes were also piloted and implemented to
increase awareness on health and safety in these sectors.
In eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, Morotoba said 81%
(more than 400 000) of registered job seekers were referred for career
guidance, work placement, Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), Compensation Fund
(CF) and skills development.
"Of the 25 449 job opportunities registered countrywide, more than 7 000 work seekers were placed in employment and more than 6 000 assisted through the training layoff scheme."
A total of R40m had been allocated to 19 companies, mainly
for those workers that would be trained under the training layoff scheme.
"When it comes to gender equity, more than 52 000 women
were assisted to access employment services interventions," he said.
Les
Kettledas, deputy director general for labour market policy, said South Africa had increased the real wages of workers covered by
the sectoral determinations over the past 10 years, particularly when it came
to wages of domestic and farm workers.
"Overall in South Africa, employment of workers covered
by minimum wage legislation grew at a rate of 2.9% a year from nearly 3.5
million in 2001 to just over 4 million in 2007."
Kettledas said there was a move in the right direction,
with steady progress made towards promoting equity in the labour market.
"At top management levels, women constituted 18.2% in
2008 and 19% in 2010 of all positions at this level. At senior management level, women constituted 28.3% in
2008 and 29.3% in 2010 of all positions at this level," he said.
