As we all know the amendment bills for the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) have been submitted to the Cabinet Committee by The Minister of Labour. Next Up is the Public hearings and it is of interest to note that the public briefings planned by Department of Labour are intended to strictly inform and are not an input gathering session. One way traffic it seems.
“We are going to have briefings in all the provinces. In 2010 after publishing the new bills for amendment, we went on a national public hearings campaign, where we solicited comments from the public and various organisations. So, we feel it is also important, that we should go back and report to public what we propose. We want to educate interested stakeholders what these changes mean. Our duty now is to provide clarification,” DoL Chief Director: Collective Bargaining Thembinkosi Mkalipi (27 March 2012)
The schedule for the public briefings is as follows:
Johannesburg, Orion Devonshire Hotel on 04/04/2012;
Cape Town, Fountains Hotel 05/04/2012;
Polokwane, Meropa Casino 09/04/2012. (Thats Easter Monday! Someone tell the Minister)
(Polokwane changed to 02/05/2012 CHANGES HERE)
Durban, Tropicana Hotel 12/04/2012; (Durban changed to 18/04/2012) (CHANGES HERE)
Port Elizabeth; Eastern Cape Training Centre 17/04/2012;
Bloemfontein, President Hotel 23/04/2012;
Kimberley, ICC Kimberley 24/04/2012;
Rustenburg, Hunters Rest 25/04/2012; (Rustenburg changed to 20 April 2012) (CHANGES HERE)
Witbank Protea Hotel 26/04/2012;
NB All public briefings will be held from 10:00 to 13:00
It will be interesting to see how organised labour will react to this and whether they will call in the masses they bused in last time tso they can hear their feedback. Or will they let it to their employers, including us to inform them.