As the Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the world of work, South African organised business, government, community, labour and civil society have been urged to be proactive in transitioning to remote working which is enabled by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
This was the main theme at the 27th National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) Annual National Summit on Friday in Johannesburg.
Nedlac is the vehicle by which the government, labour, business and community organisations seek to co-operate, through problem-solving and negotiation, on economic, labour and development issues and related challenges facing the country.
Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi said the Nedlac Council needed to be proactive, taking up and leading on the major challenges the country was facing – a just transition, sustainability, digitisation and the changing world of work.
The Covid-19 pandemic forced the government to impose strict lockdown restrictions, forcing some professions to allow workers to work remotely, changing the landscape of traditional office-based work.
Reflecting on the rapid changes taking place in the workplace and the jobs of the future, Nxesi said there was a need to focus on sustainability, just transitions from the old to the new, technological changes and the reorganisation of work.
“I think we would have to say that recent events – particularly the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic – have speeded up these trends and point to the need for research which is focused on solutions,” Nxesi said.
“Most obviously we now have the widespread work-from-home phenomenon – and we still await findings on the long-term effects of this, although I know it has led to major reprioritisation in government and private sector budgets.”
Nxesi reiterated his support of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Global Commission on the Future of Work report that calls for “a human-centred agenda for the future of work”, by placing the people and the work they do at the centre of economic and social policy and business practice.
The report calls for a human-centred agenda that is forward-looking and focuses on developing the human capabilities needed to thrive in a carbon-neutral, digital age economies.
The ILO report further calls on stakeholders to take responsibility for building a just and equitable future of work.
Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) parliamentary co-ordinator Matthew Parks said the challenges of remote work and the 4IR required the government and social partners to work together to ensure the transition was a just one.
“Remote work and the 4IR are here. Denying and ignoring it exposes workers and society to unnecessary risks,” Parks said.
“We need to plan and guide the transition, exploit its opportunities, invest in workers, create transition paths, and society will reap the benefits.”
At the summit, the government recommitted itself in finding a new social compact and speeding up on the difficult issues such as labour law reform, the Employment Services Amendment Bill and migration policy.
Organised Business Convenor and Business Unity South Africa (Busa) chief executive, Cas Coovadia, said there was a critical need to relook at Nedlac, revisit its mandate and ask if it was still “fit for purpose“.
Coovadia said Nedlac has historically played a constructive role in dealing with socio-economic challenges including Covid-19.
“The question we need to ask is whether we are representative and is our mandate enough,” Coovadia said
“It is, however, encouraging that these are an issue we are discussing at governing structures.”
BUSINESS REPORT