LETTER: Employment act needs a revamp for working remotely
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Thank you to Gideon Du Plessis for pointing out some of the pros and cons of working remotely (Benefits can outweigh drawbacks in new workplace reality (, August 16).
It is about time our nation looks at atypical employment. Before the pandemic our unemployment rate was statistically the worst in the world. During the pandemic, we’ve been forced to at least try to save some jobs by working from home. After the pandemic we are going to have to try to pick up the broken pieces of our economy to ensure we can start regaining the loss experienced over the past 20 years.
Unfortunately, our government is not open to exploring the best practices and procedures experienced around the world. We all know outsourcing and the gig economy has gained traction everywhere else. Our labour laws and regulations are so hidebound they do not allow for the sweeping away of the nine-to-five jobs in big business. The upshot of the harsh regulatory authority has been the constant shrinking of our workforce for at least the past 10 years.
For instance, our Basic Conditions of Employment Act specifically outlines hours of work and conditions of service. This will be impossible to monitor and implement when people are working at home. Likewise, our health and safety regulations need to be re-engineered to include home-based employees.
Even if employers want to embrace the flexibility seen around the world they will be running the risk of breaching our archaic regulations.
It can’t be business as usual and we need to ensure the current government gets moved aside to allow a more forward-thinking legislator.
Michael Bagraim, MP
DA shadow employment and labour minister
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an e-mail with your comments. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Send your letter by e-mail to letters@businesslive.co.za (mailto:letters@businesslive.co.za). Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
It is about time our nation looks at atypical employment. Before the pandemic our unemployment rate was statistically the worst in the world. During the pandemic, we’ve been forced to at least try to save some jobs by working from home. After the pandemic we are going to have to try to pick up the broken pieces of our economy to ensure we can start regaining the loss experienced over the past 20 years.
Unfortunately, our government is not open to exploring the best practices and procedures experienced around the world. We all know outsourcing and the gig economy has gained traction everywhere else. Our labour laws and regulations are so hidebound they do not allow for the sweeping away of the nine-to-five jobs in big business. The upshot of the harsh regulatory authority has been the constant shrinking of our workforce for at least the past 10 years.
For instance, our Basic Conditions of Employment Act specifically outlines hours of work and conditions of service. This will be impossible to monitor and implement when people are working at home. Likewise, our health and safety regulations need to be re-engineered to include home-based employees.
Even if employers want to embrace the flexibility seen around the world they will be running the risk of breaching our archaic regulations.
It can’t be business as usual and we need to ensure the current government gets moved aside to allow a more forward-thinking legislator.
Michael Bagraim, MP
DA shadow employment and labour minister
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an e-mail with your comments. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Send your letter by e-mail to letters@businesslive.co.za (mailto:letters@businesslive.co.za). Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
