Unemployment leads to lockout
In recent weeks, Eskom Camden was also affected when members of the MCC stopped workers contracted to them from going to work in an attempt to voice their grievances
Members of Msukaligwa Community Committee (MCC) staged a lockout at the Department of Labour (DOL) offices in Ermelo recently.
According to the committee’s spokesman, Dumisani Mahayi, the current system where work-seekers register their CV)s for employment is not working for them.
Dumisani added that people have been on the so-called database for years, but have never been called for a single interview; instead people from outside Ermelo are employed almost every month.
“We understand that outside people should be considered for specialised skills if there are no candidates locally, but not for general labour positions as well,” said Dumisani.
The Highvelder visited the DOL offices and interviewed some of the patrons.
Sboniso Hleza from Warburton has four years’ plumbing experience.
Just like everyone else crowding the DOL offices, he has never received a single phone call since he registered his CV on the database and does not believe that there has never been a need locally for experienced plumbers.
He added that he had exchanged contact details with many of the people he met at the DOL just to keep in touch and see if any of them actually received a call. No one has.
In recent weeks, Eskom Camden was also affected when members of the MCC stopped workers contracted to them from going to work in an attempt to voice their grievances.
Thandiwe Mzoyi, spokesman for Eskom Camden, informed the Highvelder that they indeed recruit through the DOL and an interim decision was taken at their last meeting with the committee that Msukaligwa Municipality’s office for Local Economic Development (LED) would be part of the employment process.
She explained that they would keep engaging the community leaders, government departments and municipality, both local and in the district.
Since 2007, the DOL has been using a computerised system called Employment Service for South Africa (ESSA), on which work-seekers are registered in order to have an opportunity to access available job opportunities. Work-seekers are registered according to their skills, abilities and experience, among others.
This system is not limited only to job seekers; employers can also register their placement and skills development and job opportunities on the ESSA system.
Once an opportunity is registered on ESSA, the system would automatically match it with qualifying work-seekers.
According to the DOL communications office, this system captures a national database.
However, a prospective employer can indicate to the DOL to identify registered work-seekers within a specific area and the system would then run a match only for people registered in that specific area.
An enquiry was sent to the Msukaligwa Municipality Communications Office on how the LED would assist in resolving the matter.
Municipal spokesman Mr Mandla Zwane said according to the Assistant Director LED, their role is to create a conducive environment for business enterprises (mines, Eskom, Transnet, taxi Associations, etc) and the community representatives to engage in issues that are of interest to both.
The municipality has an obligation in terms of their Social Labour Plans as per legislation.
When asked about the protest on 12 February by MCC members where Eskom employees were stopped from going to work, he said after the protests, a meeting was held with the responsible parties and the following decisions were taken:
l The contractors have to subject their newly recruited employees to vetting that will be done through the LED and Community Development Workers (CDW) offices;
l Contractors should source CVs from the LED office until the DOL resolves or corrects its database;
l New contractors serving Eskom should in future consider making use of the Local Taxi Association to transport their employees.
