Address by Judica Amri-Makhetha, Director, ILO Pretoria at the
11th NEDLAC Annual Summit - Gallagher Estate, Midrand,
Johannesburg
09 September 2006
Programme Director;
Minister of Labour, the Honourable Membathisi Mdladlana;
Ministers of Public Works and Home Affairs Hon. Thoko Didiza and
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Ngaqula;
DGs and DDGs;
Overall Convenors and Convenors of Nedlac;
Distinguished Representatives of Business, Labour and
Community;
Executive Director of Nedlac,
Invited Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a pleasure to be with you today at this important occasion
where key stakeholders of Nedlac have once again gathered to review
the performance of this indispensable social dialogue institution.
I would like to convey to you the warm greetings of the Director
General of the ILO, Mr. Juan Somavia, who has not been able to
honour the invitation to attend this Summit. I would also like to
convey warm greetings of the ILO Regional Director for Africa Ms
Regina Amadi-Njoku, who after travelling all the way from Addis
Ababa to deliver this speech on behalf of the ILO Director General,
was unable to join you due to circumstances beyond her control. She
has therefore requested me to pass her highest regards and to
convey both hers and the Director General's best wishes to you
during your deliberations.
Nedlac was born out of difficult times in the history of your
country. The post-apartheid Government had inherited a political
environment and legacy of an acrimonious relationship full of
mistrust between the State on one hand and labour and the community
on the other. The establishment of Nedlac has therefore been an
important milestone which marked the ushering in of an era of
inclusive decision making, transparency and consensus building on
major economic, social and development policies in South
Africa.
Progress and achievements made by Nedlac during the past eleven
years are remarkable. They include several landmark world class
legislations such as the Labour Relations Act and the Employment
Equity Act as well as the conclusion of important Agreements which
have had significant impact on rights at work, industrial peace,
productivity, global competitiveness, economic growth and
employment creation. These successes are a source of inspiration
and have been emulated in many parts of the world. We in the ILO
also acknowledge Nedlac's contribution to social and labour peace
and the overall national development process in South Africa.
Within the context of our advisory and technical work in Africa and
elsewhere, we often single out Nedlac as a point of reference for a
model social dialogue institution.
It is against this background that we feel honoured as ILO to be
in active partnership with Nedlac in the all important exercise of
appraising Nedlac's performance for the past ten years with a view
to identifying, inter alia, the contribution that the institution
has made towards a successful development of socio-economic
policies, and particularly whether it has been able to fulfil its
objectives and to stand to challenges facing it as the main
institution of social dialogue. In doing so, I believe this is the
opportunity for the ILO to harness and share its international
experience with Nedlac and with South Africa in general. I would
like to pledge the continued support of the ILO at all levels
particularly the Regional Office for Africa and the field offices
in Harare and Pretoria in this endeavour and would like to assure
you that we will be with you until the task of review has been
successfully completed.
Honourable Ministers,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.
The organizers of this Summit have asked me to give an overview
of the status of social dialogue in the African continent today. It
will be recalled that strengthening of mechanisms and institutions
of consultation and social dialogue as a means of realizing
participatory democracy involving social partners and the civil
society in policy making, evaluation and monitoring was endorsed by
the African Heads of State and Government during the Extraordinary
Summit on Employment and Poverty Alleviation which was held in
Ouagadougou in September 2004. This endorsement is an expression of
acknowledgement by our leaders in Africa of the benefits of social
dialogue and its ability to bring about social peace and prosperity
in our continent.
The use of social dialogue widely varies in different countries
and regions depending on the economic and political situation, and
also tradition. However, it is encouraging to note that during the
last decade, Africa has witnessed an increased use of dialogue in
the resolution of serious conflicts and war situations which had
the potential of causing untold suffering to the populations
involved. The resolution of conflicts in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo and the Great Lakes region and the on-going peace
initiatives in Cote d' Ivoire and the Darfur region in Sudan are
some of the notable examples.
However, in the field of social and economic policy, we have
regrettably noticed a different pattern. In a number of countries,
social partners have not been adequately consulted in the
development, formulation and implementation of national development
frameworks such as the Poverty Reduction Strategies. Based on our
observation, it is most often the case that the frameworks which
have been developed in this manner did not adequately address
issues of employment creation, unemployment and underemployment,
all of which have a direct bearing on the reduction of poverty.
In addition, Ministries of Labour in some countries have
continued to be marginalized in these processes, as a result of
which the decent work agenda has not adequately found its place in
national development policies. Consequently, most countries
continue realizing a jobless growth characterized by ever growing
disparity between the rich and the poor.
The capacity of social partners to effectively represent the
interests of their members is also an issue. In most countries,
there has been a rapid growth of the informal economy and the
micro, small and medium enterprises. Their contribution to the
economy of our respective countries has been substantial in the
form of employment creation, foreign currency earnings and
provision of production inputs into large scale enterprises. In
many cases, the interests of these groups have not found their way
to the national social dialogue table which mostly deals with
interests of the ever shrinking formal economy. The coverage of
social dialogue has therefore been limited in scope.
In reference to the Extra-ordinary Summit that was held in
Ouagadougou, the African Heads of State and Government resolved
that Regional Economic Communities should embark on regional
programmes aimed at promoting employment and alleviating poverty.
For this to be realized, it is imperative to have an institutional
arrangement that will provide a framework of consultation between
governments and social partners at national and regional levels.
Such arrangements exist in some regions and are functional,
including here in Southern Africa, under SADC, although this
mechanism had been discontinued.
It is against the background of these challenges that the ILO
has come up with Decent Work Country Programmes which are an
embodiment of identified key national priorities in various
countries. It is encouraging to note that the vast majority of
countries that have finalized the process of the development of
their Decent Work Programmes across Africa have identified
strengthening of social dialogue as one of the key priorities. Out
of the nine countries that are covered by the three ILO Offices in
the southern African sub-region, six have mainstreamed social
dialogue in their Programmes. For example, in Botswana and Namibia
the focus is on capacity building of the national federation of
workers and employers' federation, respectively. In Lesotho and
Zimbabwe the focus is on institutional capacity building and the
removal of impediments in the way of effective social dialogue in
addressing economic challenges in those countries; while in
Mozambique emphasis is on strengthened legal and institutional
framework and enhancement of implementation of decision of the
tripartite social dialogue structure. In Swaziland, focus is on the
creation of a climate conducive to the establishment of a framework
for dialogue.
At the sub-regional level, we have been encouraged by a decision
of Ministers of Labour of the SADC countries, led by Honourable
Mdladlana, to revive a regional framework of consultation at the
level of SADC. This will provide an opportunity for governments and
social partners to discuss socio-economic policies of the Regional
Economic Community. The ILO has already renewed contacts with the
SADC Executive Secretary with a view to exploring areas of possible
ILO assistance and collaboration for the success of this noble
goal.
Honourable Minister
Distinguished Social Partners.
The Regional Director has asked me to announce that the ILO
African Regional Meeting for Africa which happens every four years,
will take place in April 2007 in Addis Ababa. The meeting will
reflect on progress made and challenges facing the Decent Work
Agenda in Africa, and chart the way towards the implementation of
the Plan of Action as agreed by Heads of State and Governments in
Ouagadougou.
Allow me to conclude my remarks by once again reaffirming the
ILO commitment to you as the constituents of our organization and
express our readiness to be of service to you upon your request. As
was mentioned by the Deputy President in her address to you
earlier, South Africa occupies a very important position in the
ILO. The rejoining of South Africa back into ILO in 1994 boosted
the position of the African Group. And in addition to the social
partners and the Government of South Africa being members of the
Governing Body, the Honourable Minister Mdladlana is the Chair of
this highest decision making body of the ILO for one year since
June 2006.
I wish this noble institution, Nedlac, more years of good
service to the people of South Africa. I also hope that Nedlac will
continue to serve as a model social dialogue institution in the
sub-region and beyond. I wish you fruitful deliberations during
this Summit.
I thank you.