Vision: Introduction
Over the past nineteen years, business and organised labour have engaged each other to find solutions to some of the critical social and economic challenges facing the country. This engagement, involving senior leaders from both constituents, started with a joint study tour to Holland, Ireland and later to the International Labour Organisation in Geneva. Regular and intense discussions were held to reflect on experiences elsewhere and on local challenges, including on unemployment, economic growth and social inequities.
These discussions led to the formation of the MLC and the Millennium Agreement in 2000.
The Millennium Labour Council furthermore agreed to contribute to the creation of an environment that will promote the growth of the South African economy and the raising of living standards for all.
Histrory and Objectives
In July 2000, an agreement was signed by Zwelinzima Vavi representing labour, and Leslie Boyd representing business:
The Inaugural meeting of the Millennium Labour Council was held at Gallagher Estate, Midrand on 7 July 2000. The Millennium Labour Agreement between South African business and labour was signed on that day, and speeches were delivered by Zwelinzima Vavi, Leslie Boyd and President Thabo Mbeki.
The MLC's founding vision is that it "will strive to make South Africa the leading emerging market and the destination of choice for domestic and foreign investment, where investments are secure and can earn a competitive return measured over an appropriate term. To achieve this, it is necessary to create a society with decent employment opportunities, committed to equity, fairness and human dignity in which people will have the opportunity to develop to their fullest potential, and with fair labour standards where workers can earn a living wage."
Additional information
The Co-Chairs of the MLC are Godfrey Selematsela (representing labour) and Bobby Godsell (representing business). The MLC is not constituted as a negotiating forum, nor are its members required to carry formal mandates for their discussions. Rather, its purpose is to provide a forum for open and frank social dialogue, which can be later fed into discussions in more structured organisations, such as NEDLAC.
The Council normally meets over dinner approximately three/four times per year (or as necessary) in Johannesburg. We are registered as a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO). Until approximately ten years ago we were getting funding from the ILO in Geneva. Since then we have been asking our members for annual financial contribution just to help cover the basic costs of the meetings, secretariat and so on.
The Co-Chairs of the Millennium Labour Council have allocated resource persons to write discussion documents on behalf of the MLC. This task team currently consists of two people. There is only one employee of the MLC and that is the Director, Michal Baruch Kay. The resource persons are: Alan Fine, Riefdah Ajam and Miriam Altman.
Since its inception, the MLC focused its attention on the following areas: public employment programmes, HIV/AIDS, education and training, healthcare, investment and savings, public works programmes, the Rand, poverty relief, job creation, issues in the mining sector, and so on.
We have had some interactions with the Reserve Bank and certain Ministers. In past years, we worked on a Development Bond, and we were also involved in a research project from the HSRC which focused on employment and growth. This proposal aimed to gel research networks and decision makers and this initiative was about constructing a vision and giving guidance to policy - with the focal point being on employment in South Africa's growth strategy. The issues of poverty and joblessness continue to be discussed. The MLC also investigated, a few years back, the power crisis and the food crisis. Furthermore, it examined the international crisis with the aim of better understanding it as well as looked at real issues at an economic level plus labour-related issues.
In addition, members of the Council visited the United States in April 2008. Representatives of the MLC traveled to New York in April to speak to potential foreign investors and encourage investment in South Africa. An MLC delegation traveled to London in May 2004 to talk to foreign investors for a similar mission, where we aimed to engage with foreign investors and other important foreign social actors about the prospects for both value-creating and nation-building investment in our country.
In June 2012, the director of the MLC and resource persons representing labour and business traveled to Brazil with the main aim to learn about social security reforms and bring back lessons and ideas that can be relevant to South Africa. It is hoped that a bigger MLC delegation which includes the Co-Chairs will travel to Brazil to follow up and gather more information relating to poverty relief and other useful lessons which can be learnt from the Brazilians. The MLC also organized schools visits in May 2012 whereby business and labour representatives visited three schools in Soweto and participated in a well-planned tour which focused on challenges as well as achievements in the sphere of education, and ways to help such schools. Other items which have been on our agenda of late include debates on the Basic Education Accord, state of the nation and most recently the instability in the platinum sector and the long strike which has negatively affected our economy and the country as a whole.
Other items which have been on our agenda in past years include debates on the Basic Education Accord, state of the nation, instability in the platinum sector and the long strike which affected the economy and the country as a whole. We have also debated the issues around wage inequality and a national minimum wage, as well as employment and labour market stability. We have been determined to assist in the discussions around these important topics, and matters specifically arising from the NEDLAC Labour Indaba which was held in November 2014. In 2015 we discussed xenophobia proposed solutions, and in the second half we held several meetings with Eskom CEO to discuss the electricity crisis, loadshedding and its effects on the South African economy.
In 2016 we continued to follow the progress of the Deputy President's NMW and labour relations task teams at NEDLAC. We also started discussing university fees increase and student protests, and more accessible education.
There has been a lot of talk recently about the need for an economic CODESA, and a CODESA on land. Also much focus on the phrases rapid economic transformation and inclusive growth. What role should social dialogue play in taking these ideas forward? On the bid issues of a national minimum wage and labour relations reform NEDLAC, using the COP structure, has demonstrated its ability to reach agreements of substance. Could NEDLAC be tasked with preparing for a national dialogue on economic justice? What role should the MLC play in advancing this idea and preparing for it to happen?
In 2017 we started focusing on steps to productivity, growth and employment. We held a workshop in June where we identified four areas namely: transformation, growth, gender and race violence and governance and leadership (SOEs). We started this year focusing on growth turnaround, economic revitalisation and vision 2030 which also centers around the top three NDP goals of addressing employment, poverty and equity. We have also been talking about corruption and revitalising state institutions, as a matter of aligning our thoughts so that we can find co-operation.
A workshop was held in April 2018 at NEDLAC House. It's purpose was to further develop thinking on those issues which need to be both discussed and agreed in national structures as part of our country's "new dawn". This workshop further developed ideas about achieving higher levels of inclusive growth.
In addition to the further development of these ideas, we set up a meeting with the Minister of Tourism to help refine a national tourism strategy in July 2018.
This year, we plan to have roundtable discussions with education stakeholders to address issues relating to the quality of basic education, higher education and training, and also explore progress on the issues of early childhood development and the vital first 1,000 days of a new child's life.
We strongly believe that the MLC is needed for robust dialogue between business and labour and that we need to use this structure wisely in order to make progress, and we are determined to do so going forward.
We recognize that it will take time and efforts to forge a consensus on the practical steps required to achieve the goals outlined above. We are nevertheless committed to an effective dialogue and engagement that will explore solutions that will enable South Africa to achieve our common vision and be a better place for all.