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RR RUEHDU RUEHHM RUEHMR
DE RUEHJO #0202/01 1591247
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081247Z JUN 06
FM AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5092
INFO RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SADC COLLECTIVE
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 1726

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JOHANNESBURG 000202 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA: ROLE OF NEDLAC 
 
 
JOHANNESBU 00000202  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:   The National Economic Development and Labor 
Council (NEDLAC) celebrated its tenth anniversary last year, 
amid some questions about its utility in creating social 
consensus on government policy.  NEDLAC, established in 1995, is 
a forum designed to promote social dialogue and brings together 
government, business, labor and civil society to reach consensus 
on labor legislation and significant social and economic 
legislation through negotiation.  The three social partners 
(government, business, and organized labor) are represented in 
equal numbers in all NEDLAC's chambers and the Executive 
Council, while civil society is represented by NGOs, CBO's and 
other stakeholders.    NEDLAC has achieved a working compromise 
with Parliament, but has been unable to buy labor peace through 
its functioning.  Despite this inability, Labor Minister 
Mdladlana said on May 17 that the South African example of 
social dialogue exemplified by NEDLAC was the "envy of the 
world." End Summary. 
 
Background 
 
¶2.  NEDLAC's origins lie in the struggle against apartheid, 
against unilateral government decision making, and in the calls 
from civil society for government decisions to be taken in a 
more inclusive and transparent manner.  While many governments 
have a tripartite (government, business and labor) consultative 
structure, NEDLAC, according to its Chief Executive, Herbert 
Mkhize, is the only four-part organization in existence, since 
it includes civil society in addition to the more usual grouping 
of government, business and labor.  Under the act creating 
NEDLAC, the organization was given the mandate to review all 
labor legislation and all significant changes to social and 
economic policy before being implemented or introduced in 
parliament.   (Mkhize, however, noted that the government set 
the broad macroeconomic agenda, and that this was not/not 
subject to debate.) 
 
¶3.   NEDLAC's broader mandate as defined by the Act is to: 
--  strive to promote the goals of economic growth, 
participation in economic decision-making and social equity; 
--  seek to reach consensus and conclude agreements pertaining 
to economic and social policy; 
--  consider all proposed labor legislation relating to labor 
market policy before it is introduced in Parliament; 
--  consider all significant changes to social and economic 
policy before it is implemented or introduced to parliament, and 
--  encourage and promote the formulation of coordinated policy 
on social and economic matters. 
 
Structure and Funding 
 
¶4.  The Act also makes provision for three constitutional 
structures:  the Executive Council, the Management Committee, 
and the Four Chambers (the Labor Market Chamber, the Trade and 
Industry chamber, the Public Finance and Monetary Policy 
Chamber, and the Development Chamber).  The four chambers report 
to the Executive Council, in which agreements are concluded, 
before being sent on to Parliament. 
 
¶5.  NEDLAC's core activities are funded from the Department of 
Labor budget, and the Minister of Labor is the chief of the 
government delegation.  Mkhize said that NEDLAC obtains 
additional funding from other sources for specific projects. 
NEDLAC's budget was approximately R9 million in 2004/5.  Mkhize 
stressed that NEDLAC was set up as a non-profit organization and 
the government had "zero control" on how its funding could be 
used.   Funds were often made available to provide expertise and 
build capacity for one party or other:  labor, for example, 
might request the services of a consultant to help in analyze a 
proposal by business. 
 
¶6.  Agreements which were hammered out in NEDLAC include the 
Labor Relations Act of 1995, the Basic Conditions of Employment 
Act of 1996, and the Mine Safety Act of 1996. 
 
Representation 
 
¶7.  The government delegation is comprised of ministers, deputy 
ministers, and director-generals from several ministries and 
departments, including labor, finance, trade and industry, 
public works, mineral and energy affairs, with the Minister of 
Labor as the chief representative of government. Labor is 
represented by three federations, the Congress of South African 
Trade Unions (COSATU), the Federation of South African Labor 
Union (FEDUSA), and National Council of Trade Unions (NACTU). 
Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) was created by legislation to 
represent business interests and its membership is drawn from 
various industry and professional associations, chambers of 
commerce and employers' organizations.    The governor of the 
Reserve Bank is an ex-officio member of the Chamber on Public 
Finance and Monetary Policy, and one session a year is devoted 
to monetary policy. 
 
JOHANNESBU 00000202  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
Role of Civil Society 
 
¶8.  According to Mkhize, NEDLAC is unique in that it offers a 
place at the table to civil society.   Although government 
claims that by virtue of being democratically elected, it 
represents broader society, NEDLAC also makes space for 
community-based and non-governmental organizations.  Their 
representatives sit on the basis of mandates, which are 
sometimes hard to formulate among competing interests.   Mkhize 
noted that although the presence of civil society added to the 
"sense of accountability", the difficulty of formulating and 
revising mandates lead to coalitions, which in turn required 
"leadership from the front" in order to push items through. 
 
How NEDLAC Works in Practice 
 
¶9.  Government departments are supposed to bring draft 
legislation to be negotiated in NEDLAC.    The first draft, a 
"green paper" outlines the relevant ministry's conceptual 
approach and is discussed the appropriate chamber.   A second 
draft or "white paper" then incorporates the sometimes 
conflicting suggestions of various participants.    However any 
of the four constituencies (or subgroups thereof) can table 
issues for discussion.    After draft legislation has been 
discussed in the Chambers, it moves forward in sections:  1) 
areas of agreement; 2) areas of disagreement; and 3) areas for 
further discussion. 
 
¶10.  Mkhize noted that times when issues arise are either when a 
government department first tables its proposal cabinet, before 
going to NEDLAC or when the policy but not the legislation is 
brought to NEDLAC.   In the first instance, the government 
department generally has a very tight mandate to make changes -- 
 but NEDLAC's constituencies generally dislike "faits accomplis" 
giving rise to tension with in the organization and leading to 
delays in Parliament.  In the second instance, the details of 
the legislation may not correspond to the understanding of the 
policy as developed by one or more of the constituencies.   This 
can also arise when policy issues are put into legal language 
needed for draft legislation, and nuances in the negotiation are 
not understood by the legal drafters. 
 
¶11.  Mkhize said that the secretariat role was that of project 
management.   The secretariat had to fuse government timelines 
with the project plan.   Mkhize noted that "leadership from the 
front" was sometimes needed to reconcile a variety of 
viewpoints.  He said that often the secretariat would receive 
four distinct inputs on a subject with no semblance of 
convergence which they needed to synthesize and consolidate. 
 
Interaction with Parliament 
 
¶12.  In theory, the various constituencies have several means of 
continuing to influence the legislative process after draft 
legislation has been debated in NEDLAC.   Issues can be raised 
within the Portfolio Committee and also in the National Chamber. 
   Areas of draft legislation in which NEDLAC has reached 
agreement cannot however be reopened.  Mkhize said that he often 
attended parliamentary sessions to ensure that this agreement 
was respected by the constituencies and the portfolio committee 
chairs supported him in this. 
 
Labor Law Reform 
 
¶13.  Mkhize said that so far six papers had been commissioned on 
labor law reform, from a variety of sources.   He said that 
NEDLAC had received "mixed messages" on the reforms needed. 
Four of the six papers said that no reforms were needed with the 
law but only with its implementation.  According to Mkhize, the 
IMF representative, when asked directly what changes he would 
recommend, only noted that it was hard to dismiss workers. 
Mkhize also noted that labor was "not interested in reversing 
hard-fought gains." 
 
Future of NEDLAC 
 
¶14.  Mkhize noted that some critics said the institution had 
outlived its usefulness since all of the policies were now in 
place and implementation was the issue of the day.  He noted 
however that NEDLAC was the object of substantial interest from 
other countries, and thought it structure could be exported to 
other African countries.  Rwanda had sent a team to study 
NEDLAC, as both Kenya and Tanzania, as well as French-speaking 
Africa were interested.   The IMF had also expressed interest in 
using NEDLAC as a model to create a common vision and support 
for reform.   (Labor Minister Mdladlana, in his May 17 budget 
speech (septel), noted that NEDLAC was the "envy of the world." 
) 
 
¶15.  Within South Africa, Mkhize argued that the next step for 
 
JOHANNESBU 00000202  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
NEDLAC would be to establish social dialogue at the provincial 
and local level.  He noted that labor in particular was 
uncomfortable with this proposal, partly because of a fear that 
local leaders might not be sufficiently articulate to best 
represent them and partly because they resisted federalism. 
 
 
Comment 
 
¶16.   NEDLAC comes in for a fair share of criticism since it 
inevitably brakes the government's process of moving from 
establishing a policy to implementing legislation, while 
parliamentary groups see it as usurping their role.    It also 
exposes the government to criticism when departments don't send 
representatives at the policy-making level.   Nevertheless, it 
functions as a forum where stakeholders can make their points 
and where business and labor can unite to pressure government if 
need be, without the involvement of pricy lobbyists.    End 
Comment. 
COFFMAN