ILO and Productivity SA collaborate for employment creation
20 MARCH 2020

​​The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Productivity SA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on productivity and employment promotion in South Africa as pronounced in the mandate of the Department of Employment and Labour as well as to advance the Productivity Movement across Africa.

 With South Africa 's unemployment rate sitting perilously at 29%,  the ILO- Productivity SA partnership supports the fulfilment of the 2018 Presidential Job Summit commitment to build more inclusive and cooperative workplace engagements between workers and management in solving workplace problems.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Productivity SA, Mr Mothunye Mothiba, says the overall goal of this partnership is to work together in promoting a productivity and entrepreneurship culture and consciousness to create decent employment and sustainable enterprises. The MOU will result in interventions within a host of South African companies. The programmes will be implemented in these companies to enhance productivity and operational efficiency of enterprises with a focus on Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and Cooperatives to adopt world-class productivity enhancement practices.

Mr Mothiba says SMMEs are targeted because they have tremendous potential to make an impact on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the employment they create, the business practices they choose to adopt and the sectors in which they operate. SMMEs have an impact on innovation and diversification in the economy.

The ILO's global Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) programme will be implemented in the companies and through the signing of this MOU, workers who have been retrenched will be assisted to transit into other occupations and/or self-employment through re-skilling and up-skilling training.

The programmes will be implemented in key sectors that need productivity and competitiveness enhancement assistance  and in  key priority sectors such as the Industrial, Agriculture and Oceans Economy.

The ILO Director, Dr Joni Musabayana says that  the key pillars upon which the ILO-Productivity SA partnership rests are the support provided to the Bargaining Council on Textile and Manufacturing and under the auspices of the Pan African Productivity Association (PAPA) of which Productivity SA is the secretariat, the collaboration is expect to build on the experiences in South Africa on collaboration on productivity issues across Africa in the context of productivity related commitments of the 2015 African Union Declaration and Plan of Action on Employment, Poverty Eradication and Inclusive Development (Ouagadougou + 10) and African Union Agenda 2063.

The partnership will further provide support to the African Union and the Regional Economic Commissions (REC's) in promoting a culture of productivity, developing a productivity and competitiveness index for Africa or for selected RECs based on their interests and strengthen the institutional capacity of PAPA to assist national productivity organizations. A mapping exercise of productivity initiatives and institutions across Africa to better understand the productivity movement across Africa is also a key aspect of this partnership.

Productivity SA is a public entity of the Department of Employment and Labour which carries the responsibility to fulfil an economic or social mandate of government, which is to promote employment growth and productivity thereby contributing to South Africa's socio-economic development and competitiveness. The vision of Productivity SA is to lead and inspire a productive and competitive South Africa and its mission is to improve productivity by diagnosing, advising, implementing, monitoring and evaluating solutions aimed at improving South Africa's sustainable growth, development and employment through increased competitiveness.

The ILO, a United Nations(UN) agency whose mandate is to advance social justice and promote decent work by setting international labour standards  is devoted to promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights, pursuing its founding mission that social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace and brings together governments, employers and workers to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men, including in the area of productivity through improved work place cooperation..  ENDS

For more information, Contact the Productivity SA media liaison office, Maupi Monyemangene, on 011 848 5397/ 0824473232 or send an e mail: maupim@productivitysa.co.za.  Issued by: Productivity South Africa


No
No
 
 
No
No