KEY EVENTS FOR NEDLAC IN 2002
Nedlac's Management Committee today discussed a number of key
events that will be part of its programme for this year.
The Committee agreed that the World Summit on Sustainable
Development, taking place from 26 August to 4 September, would be a
milestone in terms of global events for years to come, and as such,
Nedlac should continue to devote significant resources in terms of
time and effort, to the preparations for the Summit. The Nedlac
WSSD task team has already been meeting two to three times per
week, and will continue to meet regularly. The Management Committee
was also pleased to note that the problems experienced in the Civil
Society Forum had been resolved.
The Committee noted that a date for the Information and
Communication Technologies Summit had been set for 28 May 2002.
This is a sector summit in line with the agreement at the
Presidential Jobs Summit to hold summits to look at retaining and
creating new jobs in specific sectors. The Management Committee
adopted a set of guidelines according to which sector summits
should be organised.
The Civil Society Summit, which has been on the agenda for some
time, has been set for 3-5 May 2002. This Summit will look at how
to strengthen the voice of civil society in economic
decision-making, and specifically, in the implementation of the
Cotonou agreement between the ACP (African-Caribbean-Pacific
countries) and the European Union.
Preparations for a summit on the transformation of the Financial
Sector are underway. As part of the run-up to the Summit, there
will be an international workshop on 5-6 April. Topics identified
for discussion at this workshop include: lending to SMMEs;
discrimination in the financial sector; development of third-tier
and co-operative financial institutions; credit bureaus; lifeline
services; savings and the regulatory environment.
The parties discussed the proposed Growth Summit, for which a
date has not yet been finalized, and expressed their desire to
ensure that there be proper discussion between the parties on the
aims and objectives of the Summit, the role of Nedlac and how to
ensure that there is optimal co-ordination of processes.
Nedlac is will be discussing the revised Industrial Strategy
policy document that should be tabled by the Department of Trade
and Industry within the coming weeks. A round-table on industrial
strategy will be held on 28 March. It is anticipated that these
discussions would feed into the preparations for a Growth
Summit.
On the Labour Law amendments, which were negotiated at Nedlac
last year, the Management Committee noted that the Amendments had
been passed through Parliament, and would be gazetted in the near
future. A date for promulgation has not yet been set, but a task
team consisting of Nedlac, the CCMA and the Employment Conditions
Commission is working on the regulations and the implementation of
the legislation.
Issued in Jhb
7 March 2002
Contact:
Jennifer Wilson
011 328 4200
083 652 8524