Labour Deputy Minister Nkosi Phathekile Holomisa on Monday told the BRICS Labour and Employment Working Group (LEWG) meeting that member states need to strengthen research capacity in matters of labour market governance.
Holomisa was speaking at the opening of the BRICS LEWG meeting currently underway at the Fairmont Zimbali Resort in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal.
The meeting concludes on Wednesday and will be trailed by the Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
“We seem to be unable to tame the raging bull, which is unmanageable high levels of unemployment, especially amongst youths.
“This problem seems pervasive in all our countries, which means we have our work cut out for us as labour market practitioners,” the Deputy Minister said.
Holomisa reiterated the South African Presidency’s desires for the BRICS Labour and Employment Working Group.
First, South Africa would like to see the operationalisation of the BRICS Network of Labour Research Institutes initiative.
This will not only facilitate sharing of information but will also strengthen research capacity in matters of labour market governance.
Secondly, more Labour and Employment track deliberations on common interest beyond statutory meetings.
Holomisa says this “will result in the creation of specialised working groups that will focus on the different areas of labour market governance, such as public employment services and employment generation, labour inspections, collective bargaining and social security”.
The last desire, Holomisa said, is the linkage of Labour and Employment track with other work streams such as finance, education, economic development and trade, as well as science, technology and innovation.
“The idea is that we can learn from each other and also assist fellow Member Countries. This is, of course, not a standalone process but will seek to contribute to all our cooperation arrangements at bilateral and multilateral levels,” he said.
Holomisa also told the delegates that as developing countries, they still aspire to create a global environment that is capable of facilitating effective participation of all countries so as to ensure all that cooperation amongst states, whether in trade and commerce or politics, is commensurate with the needs of their economic development.
Holomisa urged the delegates to ensure that the work programme to be presented to the Ministers show not only decisiveness but also the team’s readiness to deliver concrete results.
“It is, therefore, our goal to see BRICS Member States continuing to advocate for an inclusive global economic system that promotes inclusive growth, integration of developing countries in the global economy and sustainable development,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
