Cut down on unnecessary spending

Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana says the Department of Labour is not doing enough to cut down on unnecessary spending and over- reliance on consultants.

In his opening remarks of the two-day midterm review in Vanderbijlpark, attended by the top brass of the Department, Minister Mdladlana said it was unacceptable that the Department continued to spend large sums on consultants in the midst of abundant skills internally.

?This obsessive use of consultancies by our officials for even duties that they themselves qualify for and can perform, is unacceptable as it costs the government millions of rands which could instead be used to empower staff members with skills.

?The main objective of this gathering is to check whether resolutions taken in our previous review have been implemented and where they have not been what the problems are.

?We cannot afford to go on spending unnecessarily, where external companies are hired even for menial jobs. We should instead make use of our own staff who in any case have been employed on the basis of them qualifying for those duties,? the Minister said.

Regarding observations by labour expert Patrick Deale about deficiencies in the Commission for Conciliation  Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) which he said were contributing negatively in the labour market?s dispute resolution, Minister Mdladlana said the Ministry was working hard to ensure these were addressed properly by next year.

?Most of the points raised by Deale are things we have been saying in the Department,? the Minister said.

Deale said the main problem with the CCMA?s dispute resolution lay in the practice and not in the structure of the law.

?It?s in the manner in which we apply the law. For instance, there is a high referral rate of cases, poor administration at the CCMA and there is abuse of the system by unions and employers,? Deale said.