22 NOVEMBER 2021
MEDIA STATEMENT
ATTENTION: MEDIA HOUSES AND EDITORS
SUBJECT: CCMA PRESENTS ITS 2020/21 PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS AT THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE OF EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR ON 17 NOVEMBER 2021
On Wednesday, 17 November 2021, the CCMA appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour to account on the CCMA’s non – financial and financial performance for the 2020/21 period. The below are the key highlights of the CCMA’s performance for the year under review against the 2020/21 Annual Performance Plan (APP).
The CCMA’s overall 2020/21 performance
The CCMA achieved an overall performance of 84%, emanating from its delivery on twenty-seven (27) of the thirty-two (32) targets set in the 2020/21 APP.
Section 189A Facilitations & The CCMA’s Job Savings strategy
Section 189A of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) No 66 of 1995 enables the CCMA to facilitate and assist parties reach consensus on alternatives that can be considered to avoid or minimize retrenchments to mitigate any adverse effects brought on by retrenchments on the labour market’s stability. As submitted by the CCMA Director, Adv. Cameron Sello Morajane, the CCMA recorded a high number in large-scale retrenchment (Section 189A) referrals in the 2020/21 financial year which were recorded at 1 124, representing a 54% increase as compared to the referrals in the 2019/20 financial year, which amounted to 729.
Morajane further stated that “he was encouraged by the CCMA’s job-saving efforts that saw 58 165 jobs saved from the138 816 likely to have been retrenched in the 2020/21 financial year. “The figure (58 165) translates to 42% jobs saved as per cases referred to the CCMA, against a set target of 20%,” said Morajane.
Jobs saved by Sector
The CCMA’s dedicated focus to job-saving has consistently yielded commendable job-saving successes. The CCMA was able to save 9 242 (35%) jobs from 26 160 employees likely to be retrenched in the mining sector, in the retail sector, 11 423 (56%) jobs were saved from 20 574 employees to be retrenched, 6 728 (58%) jobs were saved from 11 514 employees likely to be retrenched in the transport (private) sector and Metal sector with 4 119 (37%) jobs saved from 11 000 employees likely to be retrenched. Arising from the CCMA’s intervention, only 74 747 actual retrenchments were recorded in the same period.
The CCMA’s success in this area is largely attributed to the commendable and dedicated efforts of CCMA facilitators as well as vested parties who were open to exploring meaningful alternatives to avoid job losses, such as Productivity SA, Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), Department of Trade Industry and Competition (DTIC) and other relevant ministries. The CCMA Director submitted that the 2020/21 financial year marked the first year of the CCMA’s implementation of its new 2020/21- 2024/25 five (5) year Imvuselelo – The Revival Strategy. Despite the challenges brought about by the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and budgetary constraints stemming from government fiscal challenges, the CCMA continued to make meaningful contributions towards sustaining labour market stability.
During the 2020/21 financial year a total of 154 143 referrals were recorded with the Business/Professional Services sector being the highest referring sector accounting for 20% of the total referrals, followed by the Safety and Security sector at 14% and the Retail sector at 12%. In attending to these referred matters, the CCMA took twenty-three (23) days instead of the statutory stipulated timeframe of thirty (30) days to conciliate.
Collective Bargaining and Mediation
In efforts of promoting orderly collective bargaining and healthy labour relations, the CCMA continued to provide guidance and support to strategically identified Users pre-during and post negotiations periods. The CCMA also intervened and facilitated wage negotiations in the Sugar Milling Industry; Grain Industry; Pick ‘n Pay distribution centres involving NUFBWSAW, RSC Consulting and Adcorp. The latter, as per the Director’s submissions, was commendable considering that workers embarked on an unlawful strike on the eve of the lockdown, on 27 March 2020. The above and including others are part of Collective Bargaining Support Processes which include pre-during and post wage facilitations, balloting and verification exercises to minimise the risk of industrial actions. Through the 19 918 outreach services conducted in the 2020/21 financial year, the CCMA was able to capacitate 44 891 954 people to better understand the law and their rights.
Digital initiatives to ensure efficient and effective service delivery
To ensure the efficacy and accessibility to its services as well as in a bid to safeguard the health of its Users and staff amidst the Covid-19, the CCMA launched its case referral and application platform; known as the e-Referral. on 8 June 2020 and conducted web-based hearings, including using employer premises and state-owned offices for hearings at the convenience of the parties and for the speedy resolution of disputes. For the 2020/2021 financial year, a total of 2 397 matters were heard online, which translates into 1% of the total matters heard by the CCMA during this period.
A total 12 084 referrals were received via the e-Referral platform, which was designed to provide an alternative to physical User walk-ins into CCMA offices for the processing of case referrals and applications, is accessible on the CCMA’s website (www.ccma.org.za ), the CCMA’s mobile application and across its social media platforms. “The CCMA will continue to invest in its Information Communication Technology infrastructure with the aim to leverage from technological advancements with a gradual transition towards paperless based processes in order to improve efficiencies and provide quality services at a low cost to the public,” said Morajane.
CCMA’s Financial Performance
Despite the budget constraints, the CCMA maintained its going concern status through sound financial management, efficient accounting systems and through its reliance on best practices. In the presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Ms Kedibone Mashaakgomo, submitted that the CCMA is financially stable with the cash and cash equivalent of R 69.4 million as of 31 March 2021. The CCMA achieved an unqualified audit opinion from the audit conducted by the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) covering the 2020/2021 period.
“I have serious gratitude to the entire CCMA staff for having achieved what we set out to achieve under the trying circumstances brought on by the Covid-19 Pandemic and budget cuts”, said Morajane. Mr. Thobile Lamati, the Director-General of Employment and Labour, submitted that the Department was equally concerned about the impact of the budget cuts on CCMA’s ability to deliver expeditious dispute resolution. “The Department of Employment and Labour is committing to peruse their own departmental budget to identify savings that could be transferred to the CCMA to increase its budget. Also, engagements with National Treasury are ongoing to see how best they can increase funding for the CCMA”, said Lamati.
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ENDS
