STRENGTHENING SOCIAL DIALOGUE
Introduction
Nedlac, in addition to negotiation and consultation, is engaged
in a range of activities to strengthen social dialogue.
Capacity building
In order to develop constituencies' capacity to engage in
Nedlac, and to take part in policy formulation, Nedlac devotes a
fairly substantial amount of its budget to supporting constituency
structures.
The National Labour Secretariat co-ordinates the three labour
federations in Nedlac. The funds for the staffing and operations of
the office comes out of the labour capacity fund allocated from
Nedlac's budget. Likewise, the Community Constituency office
co-ordinates the five community organisations in Nedlac, and is
funded from the community capacity fund. Business also receives a
grant from Nedlac to assist them in co-ordinating their inputs into
the Nedlac policy processes
The functioning of the Community Constituency in Nedlac was
reviewed during 1999\00 in order to strengthen their contribution
to policy debates within Nedlac. A number of workshops were held,
paid for out of the capacity fund. The process was resolved
successfully, with Khulu Mbongo appointed as new convenor, seconded
by the South African Youth Council.
Communications
Nedlac Publications
Nedlac has continued to produce two regular publications that
inform the public about issues on the Nedlac work programme. In the
year under review, three issues each of the Update and the
Dialogue were produced. The publications are distributed
to 7 000 recipients: 3 300 are posted, 700 are bulk-mailed to
Parliament, and about 3000 are emailed.
The regular column in the bi-monthly South African Labour
Bulletin has continued, and a new column in the quarterly
Indicator magazine has begun.
Various other informational brochures have been produced, such
as
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A pamphlet explaining Section 77 of the Labour Relations Act
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A flyer explaining the operations of the Fund for Research into
Industrial Development, Growth and Equity.
Website
The Nedlac website (www.nedlac.org.za) has continued to be a
popular means of accessing Nedlac information. It provides access
to all Nedlac agreements, as well as providing links to other
constituency websites, a research database and a projects
section.
All media releases are posted on the website, as are weekly
schedules of the meetings that are taking place at Nedlac that
week.
During 99/00 there were on average 25 000 visits to the website
per month.
Email service
Nedlac has established a partnership with the Trade and
Industrial Policy Secretariat (TIPS). TIPS will undertake synopses
of trade statistics for members of the Teselico subcommittee of the
Trade and Industry Chamber, which will be distributed via
e-mail.
Further a database of topic-based e-mail groups was established
through which the secretariat aims to distribute brief synopses of
current research findings on a range of topics. The following areas
will be covered:
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Synopses of labour market statistics/Research papers on the
labour market.
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Synopses of development indicators/Research papers on
development.
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Synopses of macro-economic data/Research papers on public
finance and monetary policy issues.
Annual Nedlac Summit
The 1999 Nedlac Annual Summit took place on 2 October 1999, and
was chaired by the Deputy President, Jacob Zuma. It was well
attended, and provided an opportunity for constituencies and
invited guests to interact and reflect on broader issues related to
socio-economic development. Commissions are held at the Summit to
encourage a free flow of ideas and discussion. At the 1999 Summit,
commissions were held on the following topics:
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The WTO and Trade Issues - addressed by the Minister of Trade
and Industry Alec Erwin and General Secretary of Sactwu, Ebrahim
Patel
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Challenges for Public Education - addressed by Minister Kader
Asmal
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Social Security - addressed by the Director-General of Welfare,
Lucy Abrahams
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HIV/Aids and the Constituencies
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Restructuring the South African Economy: a focus on Monetary
Policy and Interest Rates - addressed by the Minister of Finance,
Trevor Manuel
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South Africa and the ILO - addressed by Les Kettledas, Deputy
Director-General of Labour, and Vic van Vuuren, BSA.
Research
In addition to research that is undertaken in conjunction with
chamber task teams, Nedlac undertakes a number of other
projects.
Relationships with other research
institutions
Nedlac continually endeavors to build relationships with
institutions that undertake research in the areas of economic
growth and social equity. This informal network provides a valuable
resource to constituencies and members of the public, as the
secretariat is able to facilitate access to relevant research.
To strengthen this coordination role, Nedlac has begun
commissioning the compilation of bibliographies and directories.
The first bibliography of current labour market research and
directory of labour market researchers is now available on the
Nedlac website.
Nedlac continues to interact with Statistics South Africa, the
official statistics agency, to assist in ensuring constituency
contributions in the design of official statistical
instruments.
Research briefings
Nedlac convenes open briefings on research and topics for
constituencies and interested parties. In the year under review,
briefings were held on:
Briefing papers
Occasional briefing papers are written to appraise
constituencies of the latest developments in policy areas under
discussion. During 1999 / 2000, a briefing paper was completed for
the Public Finance and Monetary Chamber on the status of
negotiations on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment. Nedlac is
currently completing a briefing paper on "social security for those
in atypical employment" for members of the social security task
team.
Social Dialogue
Social dialogue is typically thought of as being the province of
Nedlac. However, the reality is that social dialogue occurs in a
variety of different institutional locations at national,
provincial, local and sector levels. Yet, there exists little
understanding of the scope and nature of that dialogue. Nedlac is
currently undertaking a review of all institutions of social
dialogue in South Africa with a view to understanding the:
Visits to Nedlac
The international community views Nedlac as an important
mechanism for policy development, accordingly the institution
receives numerous delegations from other countries. Among others,
Nedlac has hosted delegations from the International Monetary Fund,
Standard and Poors, the International Labour Organisation, the
Zimbabwean Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare,
the Korean government, the Swiss government, the Namibian High
Commission, the African Capacity Building Foundation, Credit Suisse
First Boston, the United States Department of Labour, FNV, and the
Tanzanian Chamber of Commerce.
Nedlac's multipartite structure means that we also receive
visits from the other socio-economic councils and constituency
organisations. During 1999/00 a tripartite delegation from Denmark,
the Guyana Private Sector Commission, representatives of the
European Economic and Social Council Committee, the Mauritian
socio-economic council and representatives of the Mozambican
government and private sector visited Nedlac. In September 1999,
Nedlac hosted a representative of the Flanders Socio-Economic
Council as part of efforts to strengthen international ties between
socio-economic councils.
Further, Nedlac's archives and information bases continue to
attract many researchers. Nedlac has assisted researchers from the
universities of Columbia, Sussex, Harvard, London, Witwatersrand,
Cape Town, Western Cape, Port Elizabeth and Bournemouth as well as
from the ILO and the UNSRI.
External Dialogue
Nedlac is often invited to speak on issues pertaining either to
social dialogue or on issues that have been negotiated within
Nedlac. During 1999/ 2000 Nedlac constituencies and secretariat
have made presentations at and participated in a variety of
external meetings, including, amongst others:
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The launch of the International Association of Economic and
Social councils and other similar institutions in Mauritius.
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ILO meetings on structural adjustment and social dialogue;
social dialogue in Africa and the state of the art of social
dialogue.
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Unido workshop on consultative mechanisms for industrial
development.
These meetings have provided a valuable opportunity for Nedlac
constituencies to share the knowledge and skills that they have
acquired in the development of social dialogue. Further they
provide an important reference point for constituencies on the
functioning and purposes of social dialogue in other countries and
regions.
International trends in social dialogue
In the course of the various meetings that Nedlac has attended
over the preceding year, the following points about international
trends in social dialogue have emerged.
A context of rapid change and complex problems creates an
environment in which social dialogue is essential and indeed is
occurring. In almost every country, some form of dialogue takes
place between the traditional social partners and new actors.
However, the increasing complexity of governance has meant that
national-level solutions do not always address the specific needs
of a particular environment. Accordingly, dialogue is increasingly
occurring at a supra and sub-national level. This has created
problems for the efficient flow of information between the
different levels at which dialogue is occurring. Part of the core
challenge facing social dialogue in this century is the
co-ordination of multiple levels of dialogue.
Many countries have gone through some process of constructing
social dialogue institutions. However, not all of the institutions
contribute meaningfully to national development. The common
characteristics of those that do succeed are that they:
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Have the political support of well-organised stakeholders
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Have a strong secretariat.
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Are able to react flexibly to issues of national importance.
Social dialogue is cyclical. There are points in a country's
history in which social dialogue assumes high prominence in
development processes and other points in which it plays a more
'behind-the-scenes' role. However in each instance strong social
dialogue plays a critical role in building the partnerships and
knowledge for social and economic development.
International Social Dialogue
In addition to the roles played by Nedlac constituencies in the
ILO, Nedlac became a member of the International Association of
Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions. At the
launch of the International Association in Mauritius, South Africa
was awarded a seat on the board of the Association.
Other Processes
On occasion some issues do not fall under the auspices of
chambers, but are nevertheless important for constituencies to
discuss. The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair
Discrimination Bill was one such instance. The purpose of the
"Equality Bill" is to give effect to the right to equality as
guaranteed by the Constitution; set out measures for the promotion
and achievement of substantive equality; prevent and eliminate any
unfair discrimination; and address and eliminate the imbalances and
inequities resulting from previous unfair discrimination,
particularly in regard to race and gender. Nedlac held two informal
meetings to allow constituencies an opportunity to input into this
process.