Balancing act for business as workers’ rights increase
THE changing face of the workforce in Nelson Mandela Bay has meant more rights over the past 20 years – but these are met with new challenges to the region’s economy.
Volkswagen Group South Africa communications manager Matt Gennrich said the demographics of the workforce at VWSA had certainly changed over the past 20 years.
“Looking at salaried staff, around 30% were black then, today well over 60% are black. Our board was 100% white, today one-third of our board is made up of black directors. Similar trends are to be found in management.
“At shop-floor level, where the majority of employees were black, we now see more whites in some areas.”
Gennrich said new legislation had been passed which gave employees more rights, including the Labour Relations Act, the Temporary Service Employee Act and the Skills Development Act. “Workers have a much better understanding of their rights and most have a better level of education today.
“Since 2002, we only employ people with a matric with maths and science. This includes shop-floor employees.”
He said unions had always played an important role at VWSA. “[We] first recognised trade unions when it was still illegal to do so under the apartheid government. We believe a strong union which understands its mandate has a role to play in business.”
General Motors South Africa (GMSA) vice-president of operations Ian Nichols said workers’ rights were more protected today than 20 years ago, and that South African labour unions had always been active in the workplace.
“There have been some positive developments on the business front which have seen the introduction of new technology in our plants and operations, dramatically changing the way and speed at which we assemble, distribute and sell vehicles,” Nichols said, adding that the business environment had become much more competitive over the past 20 years.
“Companies in South Africa are now competing with businesses based in Thailand, China, India. This requires that we continue to step up our own performance and at the same time improvements are required in the local environment, incorporating areas such as road infrastructure and business input costs like electricity and water.”
Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber chief executive Kevin Hustler said the cost of doing business in the region had significantly increased over the past 20 years, affecting all business.
“A key issue is the high electricity tariffs, which have seen companies struggling to compete globally. Current and projected electricity tariffs have a significant adverse economic impact on the continued survival of the manufacturing industry and commercial sector in this region. The electricity cost to industry in the Bay is among the highest in the world.”
Hustler also said that with the introduction of trade unions, workers had more rights nowadays. “The chamber accepts trade unions are necessary for effective collective bargaining. We do not condone the ever-increasing number of strikes which pose threats to production and delivery in the region.”
The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and the Food and Allied Workers’ Union (Fawu) say 20 years of democracy have done very little to improve workers’ conditions.
Fawu provincial secretary Luyanda Matuntuta said while they were happy about the country’s labour laws, there was little transformation in the boardrooms. “There’s a lot that still needs to be done because in some companies you can see there is resistance in implementing [the laws]. The first 20 years of democracy have not benefited the workers. We are still crying.”
Matuntuta applauded multinational companies for adhering to safety regulations. “But those small and privately owned companies are the most troublesome. The middle class has gained from democracy, but when it comes to the lower class, it is a shame, really.”
Numsa regional secretary Phumzile Nodingwe echoed Matuntuta’s words.
“There have been slight changes with some of our black people occupying high positions in companies, but they don’t have the final say. It's like a lace curtain thing. Some companies see affirmative action and the Employment Equity Act as reversed apartheid. In some other companies there are no health and safety reps,” he said.
Numsa’s biggest concern was workers employed on a temporary basis, Nodongwe said. “The new technology being used by companies will end up displacing workers . . . People don’t enjoy the fruits of democracy because they are not permanently employed and they don’t have benefits.”