Insiders ‘should not bar entry to Nedlac’

The admission of stakeholders to Nedlac cannot depend on those inside the council, employment & labour minister Thulas Nxesi says.

According to Nedlac protocols, organisations seeking affiliation to the council must be admitted by the relevant constituency. This means that Business Unity SA will have to accept or reject the membership of the Black Business Council and the SA Federation of Trade Unions would have to be accepted or rejected by the represented labour federations, Cosatu, Fedusa and Nactu.

The admittance of stakeholders has been a thorny issue, with some not being admitted to Nedlac despite representing significant constituencies.

In an interview with Business Day, Nxesi said he had spoken about certain amendments to the Nedlac framework. He said “the admission of other stakeholders or social partners cannot depend on those inside”.

Nxesi said there must be clear criteria for dealing with the admittance of stakeholders.

In his budget vote address, Nxesi announced that the department would consult with all social partners to review Nedlac’s constitution to promote “greater inclusivity”.

Another issue is the work done by the labour registrar, Lehlohonolo Molefe, who has recently come under fire from unions. He has been seen to be cracking down on some unions.

The labour relations registrar threatened the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, one of the largest unions in the platinum mining industry, with deregistration in April for ceasing to function in terms of its constitution.

In May, Molefe wrote to the National Union of Metalworkers SA stating that its audit reports from 2009 to 2015 had failed to comply with the Labour Relations Act.

Nxesi said last week “the labour registrar must do his or her work. If people do not comply, they do not comply.”