The Congress of South African Trade Unions is pleased that the new Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi has highlighted plans to address many of COSATU and its members’ key concerns and expectations, with regards to the performance and functioning of the Department.  These include:

·         Tabling the Compensation of Injury on Duty Amendment Bill at Parliament. 

o   Amongst other progressive clauses, it will provide injury on duty cover for domestic workers.

·         Tabling the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Bill at Parliament.

o   It will help expand protection for workers who frequently have to work under extremely dangerous and unacceptable conditions and increase penalties for offending employers.

·         Overhauling the Department’s Labour Inspectorate to ensure that it enforces all labour laws across the nation.

o   This will include employing an additional 500 labour inspectors and 200 occupational health and safety inspectors.

o   There have been too many reports about labour inspectors being bought off for recalcitrant employers and not intervening to ensure workers’ rights are enforced.

o   Ensuring the inspectors crack down on employers who continue to pay workers less than the national minimum wage.

Other key campaigns COSATU will be driving and expecting the Department and Parliament to deliver to workers include:

·         Amending the Basic Conditions of Employment Act to provide a 40-hour limit to the working week.

·         Amending the BCEA and the Public Holidays Act for key public holidays to be declared non-trading holidays.

·         Ensuring that employers abide by the Labour Relations Act and that workers are made permanent and not outsourced to labour brokers.

For further information please contact: Cde Matthew Parks- COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator

Cell: 082 785 0687

Email: matthew@cosatu.org.za