Overview of Nedlac

What is Nedlac?

The formation of Nedlac

On 18 February 1995, the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) waslaunched, ushering in a new era of inclusive decision-making and consensus-seeking in theeconomic arena.

Nedlac's origins lie in the struggle against apartheid, against unilateraldecision-making and in calls from all sectors of society for decisions to be taken in amore inclusive and transparent manner.

It emerges out of a recognition of the importance of seeking consensus on majoreconomic, social and development policies to ensure their success, and out of anawareness, as President Mandela remarked at its launch, that "our democratic gainswill be shallow and persistently threatened if they do not find expression in food andshelter, in well-paying jobs and rising living standards".

Nedlac draws on international experience in tripartite decision-making, as well as onthe experience of its predecessors, the National Economic Forum (NEF) and the NationalManpower Commission. But it also has unique features aimed at meeting the particular needsof the South African situation: it includes not only the traditional socialpartners-government, business and labour-but also organisations which represent communityinterests in our country.

Nedlac is a representative and consensus-seeking body, and the parties to it seek toreach agreement through negotiation and discussion based on proper mandates. Accordingly,it is an agreement-making body rather than an advisory body, and serves as an instrumentfor ongoing "accord-making".

Scope of activity

The Nedlac Act, passed with unanimous support in Parliament in 1994, provides forNedlac to:

• Strive to promote the goals of economic growth, participation in economic decision-making and social equity.
• Seek to reach consensus and conclude agreements pertaining to social and economic policy.
• Consider all proposed labour legislation relating to labour market policy before it is introduced in Parliament.
• Consider all significant changes to social and economic policy before it is implemented or introduced in Parliament.
• Encourage and promote the formulation of coordinated policy on social and economic matters.

Although Nedlac has a broad scope of activity, its agenda has been mainly driven bygovernment's legislative and policy transformation process. The other social partners arefree to table additional issues for consideration at any time and have done so from timeto time.

The Nedlac structures and operations

The Nedlac structures have been strengthened by proposals adopted by the February 1997Executive Council dealing with the Nedlac process and agenda. In addition to the formalstructures, various ad hoc subcommittees are established when necessary.

The Executive Council is Nedlac's highest decision-making structure. It meets on aquarterly basis to receive and consider reports on the general progress of Nedlac and onthe work of the chambers. The Executive Council considers recommendations from thechambers for agreement-making. From the beginning of 1997, each Executive Council meetingalso has a special focus session on a key subject. For example, in February 1997 theExecutive Council considered President Mandela's state-of-the-nation address to Parliamentand also held discussions on monetary policy, following a presentation by the Governor ofthe South African Reserve Bank, Dr Chris Stals.

The Management Committee meets monthly and its task is to oversee and coordinate thework of Nedlac and, in particular, the four Nedlac chambers. The Management Committeeplays a strategic role in guiding the work of Nedlac.

The Nedlac chambers are in many ways the engine-room of the institution. They meet atleast once a month.

The chairing of all Nedlac structures rotates between constituencies, mostly on aquarterly basis.

Nedlac's constituencies

Ultimately, it is Nedlac's four constituencies who face the challenge to make theinstitution work, and to produce agreements which can be acted on to improve the country'sperformance and the quality of life of its citizens. This requires that representativesobtain realistic mandates, negotiate in the best interests of their constituents and canbind their constituencies to participate meaningfully in the Nedlac process.

During Nedlac's first two years, the capacity of all parties has grown andconsolidated. Constituencies have developed structured mechanisms to enhance their inputsinto Nedlac, including constituency workshops and seminars, regular formal caucuses, and,in the case of labour and community, coordinating offices have been set up to manage theirinvolvement in Nedlac.

Government, organised business and organised labour are represented in equal numbers inall Nedlac's chambers and the Executive Council. Organised business and labour decidethemselves how their seats are allocated among the various union and employerorganisations. This is done according to criteria and procedures which are tabled fornoting and are publicly available. Organisations representing community interests arerepresented in the Development Chamber, Management Committee and Executive Council. Eachconstituency decides on its own representatives and alternates, and how they are allocatedto the chambers and other Nedlac structures. Constituencies can recall theirrepresentatives.

The government delegation in Nedlac includes ministers, deputy ministers,directors-general and senior officials from several ministries and departments, includingLabour, Finance, Trade and Industry and Public Works. The Minister of Labour coordinatesgovernment's involvement in Nedlac.

The organised business constituency in Nedlac is represented by Business SouthAfrica (BSA) and the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc).

Organised labour in Nedlac is represented by the Congress of South African TradeUnions (Cosatu), the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) and the Federation of Unionsof South Africa (Fedusa). (On 24 March 1997 Fedsal, which has been represented in Nedlac,merged with the Federation of Organisations Representing Civil Employees to form a newfederation called Fedusa.)

The community constituency in Nedlac currently comprises the Women's NationalCoalition, which represents women; the National Rural Development Forum, which representsrural communities; the Disabled People of South Africa, which represents disabled people;and the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco), which represents the civics. Anational council of youth organisations is being established to take the place of theNational Youth Development Forum, which had previously represented the youth.

Immediately after Nedlac's launch, a careful selection process took place to constitutethe community constituency. Organisations representing the community had to meet thecriteria stipulated in the Nedlac Act, namely, that they represent a significant communityinterest on a national basis, have a direct interest in reconstruction and development andare constituted democratically.

Funding

Nedlac's activities are funded by government through the Department of Labour's budget.

Secretariat

Nedlac's activities are managed and serviced by the secretariat.