‘Labour broker issue must be addressed’

The issue of labour brokers is a hot topic in the industry and one that won’t be going away any time soon. “Discussions around Temporary Employment Services (TES) or ‘labour brokers’ started in the mid 2000s, with the debate entering the public domain just ahead of the 2009 national elections,” says Jill Morris of Lee Botti & Associates. “Unions like Cosatu have been vociferous in their call for the banning of labour brokers while the government has reiterated the need to rather regulate,” says Morris. “The feeling is that this is not a TES issue but rather an employer issue as the proposed amendments will fundamentally affect all employers irrespective of whether they make use of TES or not. The frequency of atypical employment (or non-standard employment such as temp, contract, flexi-time work) is a growing trend across the world, not just in South Africa. This, as companies seek to maintain global competitiveness by increasing flexibility in order to respond to cyclical or project-related staffing requirements by outsourcing non-core functions to increase efficiency.” Morris points out that the government has put together some proposals to amend the Labour Relations Act, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Employment Equity Legislation. “Some of these changes are far-reaching and could affect business as a whole quite radically,” she said. “The more objections and suggestions made by business owners to government, the more seriously our concerns will be taken.” She believes a study of the new proposals needs to take place as soon as possible. “As members of APSO (Association of Personnel Service Organisations of South Africa) we are working in conjunction with fellow recruitment companies and our industry body to make these concerns known to government,” she said.