2687.Mr D.A. Kganare (COPE) to ask the Minister of Labour:
What steps does her department intend to take to ensure greater employment
opportunities by making the economy attractive for capital investment?
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Minister of Labour reply:
The Department of Labour is aware that making the economy attractive for
capital investment through labour market stability is one of the many
critical issues for sustainable growth.
The Honourable Member will appreciate that Government through the Deputy
President has taken a number of initiatives on issues relating to the
labour market stability. Government has also facilitated a Peace &
Stability Framework agreement in the mining sector which seeks to restore
stability in the sector with a view to safeguard the existing and future
employment opportunities.
I have raised the issue of violent strikes with labour on several
occasions, the Department would like to meet with the trade union
leadership to discuss the âadversarial natureâ of the countryâs industrial
relations and explore ways to arrest the âpotential threatâ to the system
of collective bargaining.
Furthermore, the Department has, as part of its efforts to address the
labour market industrial relations climate, planned to host a labour
relations indaba. The purpose of the Indaba will be to identify the root-
causes of the recent spate of labour unrests and craft interventions to
remedy the situation.
END