EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT TO THE SUMMIT

The past year has been an exciting year for Nedlac. After 5 years in a rented floor in high-rise building in Auckland Park, Nedlac finally moved into its own premises in Rosebank. This move is symbolic of the commitment to social dialogue of all the Nedlac constituencies.

The institution must thank the government for the funding that made this move possible, particularly the Minister of Labour, the Honourable Membathisi Mdladlana MP.

The year also saw a marked increase in the activity of Nedlac - the number of meetings held rose from approximately 140 in 2000-2001, to 192 in 2001-2002. The chamber that has seen the most activity has been the Trade and Industry Chamber, holding over 60 meetings in a twelve month period.

Thanks must be extended to everyone who gave up their time to attend meetings at Nedlac in the past year.

There were several summits held in the period which added to the increased levels of activity. These included the ICT Sector Summit, Civil Society Summit, Financial Sector Summit, World Summit on Sustainable Development, and preparations for the Growth and Development Summit.

Important agreements were reached in these summits, and post-summit processes are continuing. Other achievements of Nedlac in the period include the agreement on the Labour Law Amendments, an Occupational Health and Safety Accord and Water Service Provider Contracts.

In terms of the economic context within which Nedlac's work has taken place, there were pockets of excellence and improvement, but also worrying trends. Exports improved, productivity was up and investment was positive.

There has been steady progress in social delivery, in housing, health, water and welfare delivery. However, unemployment is too high and poverty is still the reality for the majority. The wage gap is still too wide and rising inflation, particularly in Executive Director's report to the Summit food prices, is hurting the poor. Backlogs still exist in social delivery, especially school infrastructure, healthcare and housing.

In terms of the secretariat it has managed to manage the Nedlac budget well, over-spending by about 5% of its total budget. This was due to the increase in activities. The high staff turnover in the institution has created weaknesses and stresses for the staff in the institution. At the same time the secretariat has managed to ensure a strategic focus by the constituencies and a steady progress towards the vision set out in the declaration of the year 2000.

Looking forward, the important items on Nedlac's agenda will include the Growth and Development Summit, the framework agreement on the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS; sector summits (R11 million has been raised); strategic management of Nedlac's resources, including improving the services of the secretariat, and making constituencies stronger.

DECLARATION OF THE 7TH NEDLAC SUMMIT, 9 NOVEMBER 2002 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A PLATFORM FOR GROWTH

THE NEDLAC CONSTITUENCIES, government, business, labour and community, meeting at the 7th Annual NEDLAC Summit taking place on 9 November 2002 after a successful World Summit on Sustainable Development, hosted in Johannesburg, AGREE THAT:

1. The outcomes of the WSSD form a sound platform for global sustainable development that can contribute to economic growth, job creation and decent work for all, greater social equity and the protection of the environment.
2. The past year has seen NEDLAC agreements being reached that bear testimony to the importance of social dialogue and partnership in South Africa's own development. In particular, much work has been accomplished towards laying firm foundations on which future economic growth can be built. These agreements include:
   • The Information and Communication Technology Sector Summit Agreement
   • The Civil Society Summit Declaration
   • The Financial Sector Summit Declaration
   • The Labour Law Amendments
   • The Occupational Health and Safety Accord
   • Preparations for the WSSD
   • Constructive engagement on the dti's IMS
   • MOU on Plastic Bags
   • Draft protocol for future sector summits

THE NEDLAC CONSTITUENCIES RECOGNISE THAT:

1. Despite these singular achievements, much work remains to be done to improve consensus-building on key national issues, including:
   • Job creation
   • Investment
   • Economic growth
   • Black economic empowerment
   • Poverty alleviation
   • Combating HIV/AIDS
   • Improving the economic efficiency of South African firms
   • Privatisation and the restructuring of the public sector
   • Taking up the challenges and opportunities arising from NEPAD and the AU, and
   • The social dimensions of globalisation

THE NEDLAC CONSTITUENCIES COMMIT THEMSELVES TO:

1. Making every effort to seek consensus on solutions in the above strategic areas to meet the major socio-economic challenges facing the country,
   • Through the Growth and Development Summit
   • Through Sector Summits
   • Through agreement on a comprehensive strategy for combating HIV-AIDS
   • Through the partnership with the International Labour Organisation

THE NEDLAC CONSTITUENCIES REAFFIRM:

1. That the shared vision expressed in the NEDLAC Summit Declaration of 2000 - and consequently also the Resolution of 2001 - remains valid and still represents the broad goals worthy of being achieved through social dialogue.