Maintaining a sustainable balance between workers’ rights and creating employment opportunities or jobs will have to be government’s main focus in the coming months of 2015. This is in view of recent reports that indicate that the government’s clampdown on labour brokers is backfiring.
The amended Labour Relations Act now “deems” a brokered worker to be a normal employee after three months and bans indefinite “temporary” employment, unless there is some solid justification for it.
An expert from the think tank, Free Market Foundation, Loane Sharp, is arguing that, practically, the Act’s hardline stance is not benefiting the exploited workers, and fears the situation could get worse.
The amended Labour Relations Act has forced a third of labour brokers to close shop, leading to the loss of of 245 000 jobs, according to Sharp.
The general view amongst employers is that the crackdown on labour brokers is in contrast with the government’s objective of creating an ideal atmosphere for employment opportunities. They see a grey area in the legislation and are considering legal action.
Experts fear government could be making a mistake of killing the goose that lays the golden age by introducing anti-job creation laws.
The government situation was best encapsulated by a caller to a phone-in business programme on 702: “Government cannot be claiming to champion employment creation opportunities, on one hand, and on the other, throw obstacles in the way. This does not make any sense.
