Employment growth organisation Productivity SA has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to further collaborate on multidisciplinary research that provides value and expertise in efforts to create decent employment, enhance productivity and grow the economy post the Covid-19 pandemic.

The research partnership is also geared towards identifying much-needed measures to overcome deeply rooted problems in the South African economy, says Productivity SA CEO Mothunye Mothiba.

The partnership was formalised against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has already negatively impacted on workers, small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) and the unemployed.

The parties have agreed to focus on the creation of decent work, which is defined as productive enterprising activities and that also encompass value-creating activities and income, in addition to conventional job creation. This implies a multidisciplinary research programme, which is split into specific dedicated projects to deal with different components.

Each research project will include an analysis of what has been done in the past, what has worked and why certain measures that were taken to address the problems have not been successful.

“While we are faced with a devastating health crisis and with the unemployment rate predicted to hit 50%, this partnership cannot be a short-term programme because the issues are complex and the outcomes will need to be evaluated to determine further priorities as part of the successful implementation of this MoU,” Mothiba says.

The research will be both empirical and applied in nature and it is envisaged as a phased programme producing interim recommendations for implementation and assessment within different sectors of the economy.

“The research will centre on four themes, which are productivity and decent work, especially in SMMEs, which will deal with competitiveness and best practices in the era of innovation and rapid change, linked to strengthening emerging enterprises’ business efficiency, economic performance and readiness to adopt value-adding technologies," UWC Fourth Industrial Revolution Labour Law coordinator Professor Darcy du Toit says.

The theme of the research will entail promoting decent work and productivity in the informal economy. Social dialogue processes and organisational structures have failed to represent the needs of those outside the formal economy, he says.

"Until these needs are addressed, it remains unlikely that decent work imperatives will be attained, hence the significance of this theme," states Du Toit.

Further, youth unemployment challenges will be addressed as will initiatives that target youth and turning their energy and desire for self-improvement into a driving force to reduce youth unemployment, while ways of creating decent work opportunities will be proposed.

Labour market segmentation and transformative labour regulation will also be an area of focus.

“The informal labour market is characterised by low productivity, low wages, unstable employment and little opportunity for advancement. It is, thus, crucial that labour-market regulation be developed in such a way that decent work opportunities and productivity can be optimised throughout the economy as a whole," says Du Toit.

Although the parties have signed a statement of intent in addition to the MoU, a formal launch of this partnership will be held in due course when more elaborate discussion and information will be shared on the research specifics, which have been articulated in the statement of intent.

“At UWC, we are very excited about this partnership which is closely aligned to our mandate as an institution of higher learning to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in keeping with international standards of academic quality. We look forward to the formal launch and the operationalisation of both the statement of intent and the MoU," concludes Du Toit.