D I A L O G U E
November 1998 Vol. 2, No. 3
An occasional publication covering reports and activities
discussed by the Nedlac Executive Council
INTERVIEW WITH JAYENDRA
NAIDOO
Nedlac's Executive Director, Jayendra Naidoo, announced on 8
September that he intended to resign at the end of the year. This
announcement was covered fairly widely in the electronic and print
media. In this interview the secretariat asked some questions that
Dialogue readers might want to have answered.
EDUCATION
TALKS - NEDLAC PROVIDES VITAL CHANNEL OF
COMMUNICATION
When Nedlac was asked to facilitate a number of initiatives arising
out of agreements between the Education Ministry and the teacher
unions earlier this year, it fell to the Development Chamber's
Khanya Mjiyako, a former teacher herself, to act as a channel of
communication between the two.
NEDLAC -
FOCUS ON POVERTY
The eradication of poverty is an issue of critical importance to
all Nedlac constituencies. A session on poverty was held at the
Nedlac Executive Council of 11 September 1998 towards initiating
discussions in Nedlac on this issue and informing the Nedlac work
programme. The session comprised briefings on the main findings of
the Poverty and Inequality Report prepared for the Deputy
President's office, and on the findings of the South African NGO
Coalition (SANGOCO) Speak out on Poverty hearings that
were held around the country.
DEMARCATION
APPLICATION
The Labour Relations Act gives Nedlac the task of recommending to
the Registrar whether to register new bargaining and statutory
councils or to change the scope of existing ones. The Executive
Council recommended the registration of the South African road
passenger bargaining council (SARPBAC). However, in the case of the
application for the registration of a statutory council of the
printing, newspaper and packaging industry of South Africa, the
parties in the sector could not agree, and so the matter has now
been referred to the Minister of Labour.
ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT
The Trade and Industry Chamber began deliberations on this Bill on
August 4th, having set up a task team, comprising four
representatives from each constituency. The time constraints it had
were immense - the Bill was due to be discussed in Parliament by
the end of August. Long and intense meetings were held - some of
them deep into the night. Maud Dlomo, co-ordinator of the Trade and
Industry Chamber in Nedlac points out some of the ways in which
business and labour were able to add to the Bill.