Countries Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Countries Analysis - Assignment Example SOUTH AFRICA LABOUR ISSUES Labor force in South Africa has increased since the days of Apartheid. During Apartheid, most of the Blacks were working in the informal sector and mostly provided unskilled labor. In 1994 and 1995, officials revised employment statistics to join into national accounts employment in the former black homelands which were home to almost one-half of the black South African population subject to the revisions, in mid 1995, the government estimated the national work force to 14.3 million people.1 Section 23 of the Constitution of South Africa2 provides for labor relations that everyone has the right to fair labor practices, right to join a trade union and the right to engage in collective bargaining. In 1997, the country3 adopted a new constitution which set out the regulations and basic conditions of employment and the labor laws were to comply with the Republic. The Act applies to all employees save for the members of the National Defense Force, the National I ntelligence Agency, the Secret Service and unpaid volunteers. Section 7 of the Act gives the proviso for regulation of working times. It goes ahead to provide for the allowed rest period to include a rest period of at least 12 hours between ending and recommencing works daily. WAGES An employee must provide written particulars of employment before commencing employment which include place of work; designation of job; the rate payable for overtime and the employee wages. An employer has a duty to pay an employee remuneration that is paid in form of money, the payment has to be calculated by reference to the several hours the employee works, that is 45 hours a week, or 9 hours a day. Notice of termination has to be given to the employee some months or days before an employee is dismissed, this is provided for in the Act. The state enacted Labor Relations Acti which has undergone numerous amendments to change the law governing labor relations and, to give effect to section 27 of the Co nstitution. The Act regulates the rights of the organization; it regulates the rights of the trade unions; it promotes and facilitates collective bargaining at the workplace and at the sector level. The Labor Act also provides for the legal effect of collective agreements, Disputes about collective agreements, Agency shop agreements, Closed shop agreements, Establishment of bargaining councils, Powers and functions of bargaining council, Registration of bargaining councils and the Constitution of bargaining council. LABOR AND POLITICS South African Industrial development had relied on an abundance of low-wage labor for centuries in order to ensure profits,4 but as time went by, economic and social problems associated with implementing apartheid emerged. The development of new technologies during the 1960s and 1970s made most industries to increase their capital stock so that they could invest in machinery and employ a few skilled technicians rather than adopt a labor intensive metho d that would need training and managing a large work force. The trend towards capital-intensive operations led to a lower labor costs and increased productivity. As a result, there was an increased rate of unemployment and poverty which fueled resentment and this made the government to raise the costs of preserving apartheid. Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) was establishment in 1985 by 1990ii more than