Too many strikes – Oliphant
Government is struggling to contain the frequency of wage-related protests, Deputy Mineral Resources Minister Godfrey Oliphant said on Tuesday.
The surge in strikes, observed from 2007, calls for a resuscitation of trust and respect in wage negotiations, Oliphant told the third biennial labour relations conference hosted by the Public Service Commission in Pretoria.
Reducing the number of strikes meant an improved ability to reach agreement, with an emphasis on rebuilding trust and respect between all parties involved.
He said the public service was faced with the difficulty of contributing to economic growth and creating decent work.
"While our labour relations should certainly be supportive of economic growth and employment, it is important to recognise that our law is not focused on securing employment for citizens of the country.
"Labour legislation is principally concerned with providing the employed with basic protection against unfair labour practices, unsafe working conditions, and a decent living wage. There have been many calls for a review of the labour legislation as if that is a panacea for all our labour-related problems."
Oliphant said the labour market suffered from the legacy of apartheid era oppression, racial discrimination, and extreme income and wage inequalities.
"Unfortunately, these inequalities are also evident in the public service," he said.
The Pretoria conference, hosted in partnership with the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council, was planned in anticipation of the International Labour and Employment Relations Association World Congress in 2015.
The summit is aimed at bringing together people involved in labour relations and human resources. It will look at collective bargaining in the public service against domestic and international trends.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation