Deputy Chair, Minister, the staff from the department and hon members. Thank you for allowing me share some thoughts with you today.
This is the 25-year review of the performance of government conducted by the Presidency, reflects that the ANC-led government has safeguarded and entrenched the hard-won rights of workers, including trade union workplace organising, collective bargaining, equal pay for work of equal value, health and safety, affirmative action, skills development, minimum wages for workers in vulnerable sectors, the right to strike and the right of peaceful protest.
These views find expression in Outcome 4 of the Medium-Term Strategic Framework, MTSF, which speaks to decent employment through inclusive growth. This in an effort towards the realisation of the National Development Plan, NDP, in terms of resolving workplace disputes, improving labour relations, enhancing occupational health and safety and the facilitation of job creation.
The 2017 ANC NEC Lekgotla resolved that the minimum wage should be subjected to reviews to determine the impact on households and on workers. The Labour Policy and Industrial Relations programme receives an amount of R114,1 million to enable the National Minimum Wage Commission responsible for reviewing and monitoring the social impact of the minimum wage. It is to carry out its mandated work and the R20 per hour remains the minimum amount an employer must pay any worker.
The commission will be responsible for reviewing and monitoring the economic impact under the programme of the Labour Policy and Industrial Relations.
As a member of the International Labour Organization, ILO, South Africa has been offered a chance to co-host the 2019 summit on the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
I think we need to bear in mind that the agricultural revolution create the jobs, the industrial revolution create the jobs and gave rise to trade unions, the technological revolution has made unemployment systemic throughout the world. Look at occupy London, occupy Washington, the yellow vest movement in Paris, all of those have got to do with that particular issue and we need to look at how we look at those policies and take that forward on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, not only in South Africa but internationally.
As part of this Summit, the changing patterns of labour globally, and the future of work, will become part of that process at that particular summit.
The ANC Manifesto calls on government to take steps to strengthen existing laws to ensure faster change in employment equity in all workplaces by enforcing an accelerated implementation of employment equity targets.
The ANC stands for a safe working environment. The amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act enables health inspectors to issue fines immediately and increases the penalties to employers for violations.
South Africa is a signatory to conventions of a number of international bodies. There is, therefore, a legitimate expectation that we shall uphold these agreements and implement the spirit and intent thereof. Pressure will naturally come from stakeholders to review policy positions. What we do as a governing party is to listen to all and evaluate the balance of evidence prior to coming to any decision.
Unilaterally withdrawing from international agreements and protocols is something we cannot do. We are signatories of World Trade Organization, WTO, ILO, to mention but a few. It is with this understanding that we have opted to strictly regulate labour brokers and to put a stringent bare minimum of three months employment under the Labour Brokers Act.
I want to rush forward to deal with some other ...
The regulation of the labour market has received a fair criticism by certain organisations. The ANC-led government subscribes to a state that is an enabler, regulator and a distributor. The State as a custodian of our Constitution and adheres to the Bill of Rights. It enshrines the rights of all people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom.
The President has called for a social compact between government, labour and private enterprise to forge a partnership to take forward the economic growth path.
The labour vote enables the crystallization of Outcome 4 of the Medium-Term Strategic Framework which calls for decent employment through inclusive growth.
Madam Deputy Chair, I want to talk about an experience in 1994. In 1994 a social compact was brought together wherein all of us, inter party and those of us that were in civil society, the trade union movement, the business community, the faith community, had all come together to actually become active in promoting South Africa and the national interest of South Africa. And there were liberals like Brian Gudo, who at that particular time would not talk down the currency. What happens today is that the opposition sometimes sounds like the enemy and not the opposition, because, in fact, they talk down the currency. The currency is actually based upon more perception than the facts. If you are outside the country and you are representing this country outside, you have to actually present those kinds of positions.
What happens there is that if the country is continuously portrayed as corrupt, inefficient, as nonfunctional, then the currency will go one way, the way the people would want it, and in whose interest is that? It may be in the interest of the miners and in the interest ...
I will not take any question now, I'll take it at the end of the speech.