Addressing the Department's Strategic Planning Session on its second and last day, today, 23 January 2026, Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth told her officials that the 2026/27 is going to be different.

Meth said: “It is a moment to consolidate the gains made since the disruption of the pandemic, confront the structural weaknesses that persist in our labour market, and

decisively reposition the Department as a strategic centre of government capability".

Minister Nomakhosazana Meth also declared the year 2026/27, as the year of “putting young South Africans to work, in honour of the Youth of 1976.

This, according to Minister Meth, is in response to the Department carrying one of the heaviest responsibilities in the state. “We sit at the intersection of economic policy, social stability, and constitutional rights. Employment, labour relations, occupational safety, social protection, and skills development are not peripheral matters. They define whether the economy functions, whether households survive, and whether the future feels credible to all South Africans", she said.

Minister Meth said South Africa is operating in a constrained but consequential economic moment where growth is modest, fiscal space tight, labour market continuing to absorb people too slowly.

Minister Meth said: “Geopolitics, trade and labour implications require us to be clear-eyed about the world we are operating in. The global environment is becoming more fragmented and more assertive".

She told the officials that for the Department, geopolitics translate into responsibility and that the department's regulatory systems, inspection regimes, and labour institutions must meet global standards. “Weak enforcement or outdated systems are no longer neutral, they become economic liabilities", she said.

In response to the challenges faced, Minister meth reiterated the importance of the seven priorities.

The Seven Strategic Priorities are:

Strategic Priority 1: Strengthen Regulatory Capabilities -Deals with inspection, enforcement, compliance monitoring, dispute resolution, and adjudication.

Strategic Priority 2: Coordinate Employment Interventions -addresses coordination of employment interventions across government, partners, and programmes.

Strategic Priority 3: Good Corporate Governance: talks to accountability and service delivery outcomes, regulatory certainty, faster turnaround times, and public trust

Strategic Priority 4: Improve Service Delivery: Deals with efficiency -whether UIF claims, Compensation Fund benefits inspections, referrals, or dispute resolution.

Strategic Priority 5: Strengthen Institutional Capacity: invest in human resources, systems, and leadership.

Strategic Priority 6: Massify Marketing of Services: presentation and availability of DEL services to the citizenry.

Strategic Priority 7: Advance the New Employment Mandate through Partnerships: Facilitation and engagement with stakeholders for the creation of employment.

Minister Meth also highlighted the progress made on the number of Unemployment insurance Fund claims processed and the amount paid, the work by Public Employment Services on registration and career counselling as well as progress made on the recruitment of 20k Project Inspector Interns of which so far 5 200 of the 10 000 for 2025/26 have been recruited.

“The moment to lead is now. The responsibility is ours. Let us act with urgency, with courage, and with unity of purpose. South Africans expect nothing less and we will deliver", Minister Meth concluded.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Petunia Lessing

Director: Media Liaison

066 301 4645/ petunia.lessing@labour.gov.za

-ENDS-

Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour

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