Labour brokers
A central objective of the current round of amendments to labour legislation is to deal with the increase in labour broking and, in particular, with the abuses associated with the practice and the way in which it deprives many workers of basic protections under labour law. (Comment: note abusive practices not banned)
Dealing with labour broking will require additions to labour legislation to provide added protection for employees on fixed term contracts, part-time and temporary employees. It will not be desirable to rely on self-regulation or codes of conduct to deal with the kind of abuses that have occurred. (Comment as business we suggested a code of practice. In the negotiations we are at the stage where the legal teams brief is to expand on Section 198(TES) of the Labour Relations Act.)
As government, our intention is not to limit the right of persons to work in the way that they choose, but rather to ensure that workers on fixed term contracts have the same rights as other workers and that it is clear who the employer is when such a person works for a client. (Comment: Regulate fixed term contracts as well)
Equally, the businesses that make use of fixed term contract workers will have to accept their responsibility as the employer of such a worker. They cannot engage in unfair dismissals through contract termination. Legal amendments to regulate fixed term contracts, temporary work, part-time work and the temporary employment agency sector is a major part of the reforms that we seek to introduce. These are not the only changes, however. Progress in the NEDLAC negotiations The NEDLAC team that is engaging on the amendments has decided to discuss changes under a number of themes and to broaden the scope of amendments further. (Comment: The regulation of all forms of atypical employment)
• Atypical work
• Dispute resolution
• Compliance and enforcement
• Access to employment
• Equity
• Collective bargaining (Comment: A re-commitment to the NEDLAC process. The only changes will come through NEDLAC)
We would want a final product that enjoys the support of organized business and organized labour. Some concluding comments:
i. Firstly, labour statutes should be simple. Labour law guides the courts, employers and employees as well as labour organisations. It has wide application in daily practice in workplaces throughout the country and it should be understandable.
ii. Secondly, our labour laws need to be coherent. At a time when we are amending three statutes and introducing a fourth, it is imperative that we have coherence between statutes. Conflicting policy considerations will defeat the social objective of the law. (Comment: This is an acknowledgement of the mess that they published in the Bills in December 2010. Overall the most positive statement from Government in the last 24 months)
As we are aware of the urgency attached to these amendments, three meetings are already in the pipeline at NEDLAC to continue with the discussions. There’s a meeting scheduled for this Thursday the 21st and two other meetings on the 2nd and the 16th next month (August). (Comment: The Minister is well briefed)
Lastly, I want to call on the Labour Federations to constantly brief their affiliates about the progress being made at NEDLAC, especially with regards to the labour broking phenomenon. The organised labour is represented at NEDLAC and is one of the strategic partners.(Comment: The Minister is stating we have moved beyond banning and Labour Federations should stop calling for such)
CommentsGavin Magrath
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