Trade union Solidarity has brought an urgent application in the Labour Court to force the State to end the delays in issuing red seal certificates to qualified artisans.

“Hundreds of qualified artisans have been stuck in a dead end for months after successfully completing their trade tests, but are still waiting for the certificates to which they are legally entitled,” says Solidarity Trades’ Network coordinator Stef Pretorius.

“When an artisan passes their trade test, it should mark the beginning of a career. Instead, for these young artisans, it marks the beginning of an endless waiting period. Without a red seal certificate, people lose job opportunities, promotions and even international career opportunities,” he says.

The court documents were served on 21 respondents, including Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela, the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) and various relevant sector education and training authorities.

The application asks the court to declare the failure to issue red seal certificates within the prescribed time unlawful and to order the relevant State institutions to eliminate the existing backlog within specified timeframes.

It also asks the court to compel the relevant institutions, together with other role-players, to develop a joint action plan to permanently resolve the underlying systemic problems.

“It is unacceptable that South Africa complains about a serious shortage of qualified artisans while preventing people who have already obtained their qualifications from entering the labour market because of administrative failures.

“The country is constantly talking about the urgent shortage of technical skills, but people who have already proven themselves qualified are being held back by State bureaucracy. This is unfair to the individuals concerned and harmful to the South African economy,” he says.

A red seal certificate, for an artisan, is the key to employment, better income and further career development.

“Every day of delay means people’s futures are unnecessarily put on hold. We cannot afford to have qualified artisans lose job opportunities, or even leave the country, simply because the State fails to fulfil basic administrative duties,” he explains.

Solidarity hopes the court process will bring relief to the members concerned and also lead to lasting improvements in the certification process so that future artisans do not have to endure the same injustice, says Pretorius.