Democratic Alliance

1. The system of apartheid, which involved the legislated denial of opportunity to black South Africans - to assets, jobs, proper education, and even citizenship - left an economic legacy of racially determined disenfranchisement, marginalisation, and exclusion, which confined our nation's talent and wounded our psyche.

2. South Africa's insider/outsider economy is no accident...The transition to democracy in 1994 brought with it the promise of redress, reconciliation, and a better life for all. However, the policies pursued by successive national administrations have not fixed the legacy of poverty and inequalities left by apartheid. Instead, they have created new barriers and new inequalities that protect established insiders in both the private and public sectors at the expense of poor South Africans who continue to lack access to economic opportunities. [Working for Growth, p.11]

3. ...this policy document seeks to do by accelerating economic growth by breaking down the insider-outsider structure of our economy to help outsiders participate in the economy. These outsiders includeunemployed South Africans locked out of the labour market by Cosatu's influence on our labour policies, and small businesses denied access to markets by private and public monopolies and cartels. [Working for Jobs, p.53]

4. Vested interests that seek to monopolise access to opportunity for the privileged few at the expense of the majority - whether in the form ofclosed business networks, patronage politics, or protected employment for members of labour unionCOSATU and its affiliates-needs to be met with bold and decisive action. [Working for Growth, p.85].

5. Economic growth is a prerequisite for overcoming the inequalities inherited from our past and opening up opportunities for all, but it needs to be inclusive if it is to make a difference to peoples' lives. [Working for Growth, p.49]

6. Our Vision- the opportunity society: In an opportunity society, your path in life is not determined by the circumstances of your birth, including both your material and "demographic" circumstances, but rather by your talents and by your efforts. That is why, in an opportunity society, a child born in poverty should nevertheless be able to become a brain surgeon, provided he or she has the talent and puts in the effort required to succeed. [DA Website, Our Vision,"Creating Economic Opportunities For All"-DA Policy Document, 2009].

7. If we are to open up opportunities for all and create a prosperous, inclusive society, the ‘pie' needs get bigger so there is more to share [DA Diagnosis, p.11].

National Development Plan

1. The social, psychological and geographic elements of apartheid; continue to shape the lives and outlook of many South Africans, even though apartheid no longer exists on the statute books. This systemic racism must be confronted by society as otherwise it will be reproduced and reinforce itself across generations. It is thisinherited psyche of racial prejudice, breakdown in values, inequality of opportunity and massive poverty, as well as competition for scarce resources, which helps fuel racism and, more recently, xenophobia.

2. South Africa's labour market is highly segmented, with a core (especially public servants and well-organised sectors), a larger periphery of vulnerable unorganised and low-paid workers in the formal and informal sectors, and a marginalised group of unemployed [Diagnostic, p.12].

3. In addition to the historical inequities that reduced opportunities for black people, the way in which the labour market has evolved, locking out new entrants,adds to the lack of opportunities. [NDP-Our Future, p.459]

4. South Africa's labour market is often characterised by contestation between profitable firms and reasonably well-paid employees. Outcomes determined in bargaining processes leave little room for new entrants to enter the workplace. To address high levels of unemployment, particularly among youth,extraordinary measures will be required....[NDP 2030-Our Future, p.58]

5. The longer-term solution to skewed ownership and control of the economy is togrow the economy rapidly enough and focus on spreading opportunities for black people as it grows [NDP-Vision 2030, p.102].

6. Creating equal opportunity: Equal opportunity is about nullifying factors such as gender, ethnicity, place of birth, and family background, so that these do not influence life chances. Success in life should depend on people's choices, effort and talents, not their circumstances at birth. The discrimination suffered by black people crucially influences their life chances. [NDP-Vision 2030, p.415]

7. Only by reducing poverty and inequality through broadening opportunity can the country achieve real unity...The country has much more to gain if a win-lose debate shifts to a win-win debate, focusingsimultaneously on growing the cake and redistributing it. [NDP-Vision 2030, p.416].

COSATU

COSATU is a class-oriented trade-union federation whose strategic objective is to achieve socialism through the National Democratic Revolution. The minimum programme of the National Democratic Revolution, a programme that is the basis of ANC-led Alliance, is the Freedom Charter.

Democratic Alliance-GEAR

1. Providing an environment conducive to growth, including theprovision of critical infrastructure; [Working for Change, p.13, p.29]

2. A DA government will apply a policy framework that ensuresmacroeconomic stability, policy continuity and the pursuit of appropriate microeconomic interventions.[Creating Equal Opportunities, p.5]

3. Correcting market failures; [Working for Change, Working for Jobs, p.13, p.29]

4. Ensuring fairness bypromoting broad-based ownership and participation;

5. Speed up the process needed to approve private public partnerships...The DA will look urgently at the constraints affecting PPPsand take specific steps to resolve them. (Creating Equal Opportunities, p.19).

6. Government is committed to the application of public private sector partnerships based on cost recovery pricing where this can practically and fairly be effected [GEAR, p.17].

7. Across the world, governments are giving concessions to private sector port operators to manage their harbours. We should do the same.

8. Rationalise State Owned Enterprises: Begin a process of rationalising South Africa's portfolio of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This will begin with a comprehensive review of their core mandates, strategic importance, corporate structure, current financial position, and commercial viability. Based on this assessment, an SOE consolidation programme will be rolled out that will see either:

(i) The full or partial sale of SOE assets to interested investors;

(ii) The listing of SOE assets on the JSE; or

(iii) The retention of state ownership where this is deemed strategically desirable or in the public interest. In the case of scenarios (i) and (ii) the sale of these assets will assist with deficit reduction;...[Working for Change, p.74].

National Development Plan Proposals

1. Provide appropriate public infrastructure and services and help in lowering the transaction costs across the economy [NDP-Vision 2030, p.134].

2. The state not only has a role in setting theappropriate macroeconomic framework, it must also provide the rightmicroeconomic conditions...[NDP-Vision 2030, p.134]

3. Identify and resolvemarket failures [NDP-Vision 2030, p.134].

4. The state mustenhance regulation of market participation [NDP-Vision 2030, p.134]

5. Urgently address constraints to public-private partnerships-including institutional arrangements for regulation and execution of such partnerships as well as relevant capacity in government departments and spheres [NDP-Vision 2030, p.133].

6. Private sector partnerships (primarily with Transnet and SANRAL) are essential to upgrade corridors. Where SOEs are unable to meet demand for freight services, the state should vigorously encourage private sector involvement.

7. Given the amount of investment needed, as well as Eskom's stressed balance sheet-and limited fiscal resources-private investment will need to be accelerated

8. The National Ports Act (2005), which stipulates thatall new developments should be concessioned, needs to be stringently enforced so that all operators (public and private) perform or are replaced

9. See p.393-398 for more details, NDP-Vision 2030. Mandates of SOEs must be reviewed periodically, how it is fulfilling the public interest mandate, renewal, refinement or revocation of public interest mandate will enable a clear consensus about what constitutes success...new enterprises may need to be created to attend to unmet public interests...

COSATU Proposals

1. Decisively intervene in the economy to redistribute resources in order to address: divisions resulting from our Apartheid past, unemployment, inequality and poverty, and the rural-urban development divide. [Growth Path, p.30].

2. Take direct responsibility and must rely less on the private sector and market forces through:nationalization of strategic sectors and ownership of productive resources...[Growth Path, p.30].

3. The popular classescannot simply rely on regulation, because the probability of failure and evasion always exists [Growth Path, p.112].

4. Eliminate the profit motive from the delivery of infrastructure, by directly delivering infrastructure, basic goods and services to the economy and communities-this means building internal skills...[Growth Path, p.36]; In the expansion and upgrading of infrastructure, the state should minimize and where possible eliminate the profit motive, build internal capacity and should reverse reliance on Private-Public Partnerships [Growth Path, p.90].

5. The privatisation of infrastructure provision and the supply of other basic goods meant that labour-intensity was subordinated to the dictates of profit-making...This meant thatprivate-sector-driven infrastructure delivery could not deliver as many jobs as anticipated, let alone the requirements of skills development and decent wages. Without a state-driven infrastructure programme, it will be impossible to dent structural unemploymentwhilst increasing the skills base of the labour force. [Growth Path, p.20]

6. The state should minimize and where possible eliminate the profit motive, build internal capacity and should reverse reliance on Private-Public Partnerships[Growth Path, p.90].

Democratic Alliance-GEAR

1. Growth creates wealth, and with more wealth, there is more to share: enough, for all, forever (p.18).

2. Providing redress byassisting poor South Africans to access capital is a high priority for the DA. Proposals include financial incentives to enhance Broad-Based BEE, and changes to the tax code to encourage wealthy South Africans to give more (p.15).

3. A pragmatic view, ensuring transparency andenforcement of ownership rights, creating a stable and predictable regulatory environment (p.29).

4. Introduce tax deductions to create strong incentives for the creation ofemployee share ownership schemes (p.15)

National Development Plan Proposals

1. The longer-term solution to skewed ownership and control of the economy is to grow the economy rapidly enough and focus on spreading opportunities for black people as it grows(p.102).

2. BEE is flawed largely because black people in general lack capital which raises the cost of capital for other participants thereby undermining investment in capacity and production, policy has to remain true to its intent to broaden ownership and control of production to black people and women without undermining overall levels of investment (p.418).

3. Address uncertainties over ownership, tax treatment and allocation of mineral rights (p.30), ensure certainty in respect of property rights, pass amendments to the MPRDA to ensure predictable competitive and stable mining regulatory framework (p.126).

4. Transforming the economy also means changing patterns of ownership and control. To date, efforts to transfer ownership of productive assets have not yielded the desired results, with employee share ownership schemes playing a less significant role.

COSATU Proposals

1. Collective and public forms of ownership: Our society suffers from a history of dispossession...The new growth path will progressively support the emergence and expansion of collective forms of ownership. Some strategic inputs to industrial development e.g. the mines, steel production and petro-chemicals should be in the hands of the state in order to build state power to direct industrialisation... Such an initiative will lead to redistribution of power in the economy and break the stranglehold of a few conglomerates [Growth Path, p.24, see also p.110].

2. Congress notes the promotion of privatization of state assets as a way to promote black enterprise...and resolves to strengthen the role of the state to resolve the historic marginalization of the majority and to reverse the privatization of state assets, which is being justified in the name of black economic empowerment", [Growth Path, p.31, Footnote 44].

3. In relation to the growth path, the concept ofredistribution of power and resources was linked to building workers' power: which is made up of worker control and democracy, and social ownership, of which nationalization is seen as a component. [Growth Path, p.111]. 

4.

Democratic Alliance-GEAR

1. On Monetary Policy: The DA supports the inflation-targeting framework implemented by a strong, independent Reserve Bank operating a flexible exchange rate regime. In considering the official task of the Reserve Bank, we believe that it should be responsible for maintaining macroeconomic stability, with the primary objective being price stability.[Working for Growth, p.37].

2. On Exchange Rate Management: The bank should act in a flexible exchange rate regime, with active participation in currency markets only to build the country's foreign exchange reserves, with no objective of influencing exchange rates (p.37).

3. On Capital Controls: A DA government would fully dismantle South Africa's out-dated exchange control regime in order to eliminate the many restrictions and administrative burdens it imposes.

4. Fiscal Policy Stance: A DA government would hold the fiscal line in the face of populist pressure and run a counter-cyclical fiscal policyto lessen the impact of downturns. The long term objective will be two-fold: First, to reduce the participation of the state in the economy and to ensure that fiscal spending does not affect price levels, or crowd-out household and corporate expenditure....Second...we would entrench limits on fiscal expansion, using mechanisms such as the Swiss and Germanconstitutional limitations on structural deficits, which link the government's ability to expand expenditure with key debt-to-output measures [Working for Growth, p.36].

5. Reduce corporate tax rate: Reduce the corporate tax rate to 27% with a view to reducing it to 25% in the medium term. By making South Africa a more attractive place for both local and international businesses, this proposal aims to make is cheaper and easier for people to start run successful enterprises, and ultimately stimulate private sector growth, both of which are central to job creation [Working for Growth, p.62].

6. On financing infrastructure: Increase infrastructure investment to10% of GDP... Financing the infrastructure development programme will require a mix of (i) direct state expenditure; (ii) listing SOEs themselves and/ or selling existing SOE assets; and (iii) private investment.

National Development Plan Proposals

1. On Monetary Policy: Macroeconomic policy ensures relative stability in prices and critical variables such as interest rates and the exchange rate (p.120).

2. On Exchange Rate Management: A stable and enabling macroeconomic will underpin sustainable growth and employment creation. Within a framework of a floating exchange rate, approaches to protecting firms from Rand volatility will be explored (p.120). The present approach of a floating exchange rate is the most sensible instrument to protect the economy from external shocks (p.121).

3. On Capital Controls: No proposals, current trajectory of gradual dismantling of capital controls remains.

4. Countercyclical Fiscal Policy Stance: Government needs to build in macro-policy cushions to enable South Africa to counteract the effect of the global crisis. Continued fiscal discipline is important, though a more expansionary stance might be necessary if the EU contracts (p.101).

5. On Tax Policy: No proposals on tax policy, status quo remains. A number of tax incentives are mentioned: skills development tax incentive, youth wage tax incentive, export tax on minerals could be considered, carbon taxes.

6. On financing infrastructure: Public infrastructure investment at10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP),financed through tariffs, public-private partnerships, taxes and loans and focused on transport, energy and water [Electronic version, p.34].

COSATU Proposals

1. Employment will be the primary target of monetary policy, whilst price stability plays a subordinate role. Monetary policy will support industrial development.[Growth Path, p.79]

2. The Reserve Bank mustresist pressures on the real exchange rate to appreciate. It must follow a strategy that imposes capital controls to manage sharp depreciations, accumulate foreign exchange reserves more aggressively, administer a tax on capital flows and impose frictions on foreign exchange transactions. [Growth Path, 80]

3. A critical element of the financial policies in this growth path is to reverse the relaxation of capital controls...Foreign exchange control measures will be anessential part of monetary policy. [Growth path, p.67, p.79]

4. Stabilize employmentover the business cycle, and increase employment over the long term, influence changes in income distribution over the business cycle, and set target share of workers in national income over the long term, influence thestructure of the economythrough activist tax and expenditure policies, in line with the requirements of the new growth path... In an employment-based fiscal policy framework, it is the cycle in employment that takes precedence. Fiscal policy is directed towards stabilizing the employment cycle. This means that, even if the goods market may rapidly recover, it is the recovery in the labour market that should inform the fiscal policy stance. [Growth path, p.71, 73-74] 

5. Redistributive tax interventions can be implemented through a progressive tax system, with an introduction of a tax category of the "super-rich", solidarity tax, whose aim is to cap the growth of earnings of the top 10% and to accelerate the earnings of the bottom 10%, tax on both domestically produced and imported luxury items...Transformative taxes must be used to support industrial development...closing the apartheid wage gap...[Growth Path, 72-73].

6. Reverse relaxation of capital controls, prescribed assets, redistributive and transformative taxes, asset-based requirements on commercial banks, etc...[Growth Path p.67-74]

Democratic Alliance-GEAR

1. Replace the current Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP2) with a simpler, streamlined Industrial Development and Growth Strategy (IDGS), the twin aims of which will be to correct market failures resulting from information constraints and coordination constraints.

2. Establish Jobs Zones: Establish Jobs Zones in close proximity to each of South Africa's ports and airports to attract and retain investment in key labour-absorbing industries in order to stimulate employment creation in these job-rich sectors [Working for Growth, p.41].

a) Generous exemptions from labour legislation.

b) All investors operating in Jobs Zones will be exempt from restrictive aspects of South African labour legislation in order to enhance flexibility, productivity and competitiveness with regard to labour input costs.

c) Amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Labour Relations Act will be made accordingly;

d) Strong tax and trade incentives for investors operating in Jobs Zones.

e) Prioritise Jobs Zone investors for preferential loans through the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to fund and support industrial development projects.

3. Conduct acomprehensive analytical review of the current state of South Africa's independent infrastructure regulators. The review process will (i) clarify their respective roles; (ii) strengthen accountability; (iii) update relevant legislation and regulations; and (iv) make recommendations regarding institutional design reform. The Regulatory Impact Assessment Unit, located in the Presidency (see previous chapter) will conduct regular reviews of the impact of the independent regulators on economic growth, while also providing advice and support to these bodies [Working for Change, p.74].

4. Renew Freight Rail Fleet: Initiate a process of renewing the country's entire freight rail fleet to expand capacity and enhance the efficiency, reliability and competitiveness of transporting goods around the country and to our trading partners abroad. This will take the form of a region-by-region shift (beginning in areas facing immediate capacity constraints) to new generation high-capacity rolling stock, and will be augmented by station upgrades and improved facilities to enhance the interface between rail and road-based services [Working for Change, p.75].

5. Decentralise power production: Move Eskom's current system operator, planning, power procurement, power purchasing and power contracting functions to an independent system and market operator. Eskom's transmission assets may, over time, also be transferred to this separate entity, whilecapacity will be enhancedthrough the development of dynamic, frequently updated indicative power and transmission plans and the expedited procurement from and contracting of independent power producers (IPPs) [Working for Change, p.82].

6. Develop a National Coal Strategy: Develop a long-term coal policy and country investment strategy based on a thorough scientific assessment of South Africa's coal reserves, the sustainable supply of domestic coal needs to power high rates of economic growth and rapid industrial development, and the sustainable expansion of coal export markets with the intention of gradually reducing carbon intensity in the long-term [Working for Change, p.82].

7. Revise National Electrification Plan: Revise the national electrification plan to ensure 95% coverage by 2020 and 100% coverage by 2030 through an appropriate combination of on-grid and off-grid technologies.[Working for Change, p.82].

8. Ring-fence the electricity distributionbusinesses of the 12 largest municipalities, resolve maintenance and refurbishment backlogs and develop a financing plan, with a complimentary programme investing in human capital in the energy sector. [Working for Change, p.82].

9. Conduct a feasibility study for a large-scale desalination plant to augment the water needs of the City of Cape Town, which currently stands at 511 million cubic meters per year. The terms of reference will include all projected costs, the plant's broader environmental impact, its estimated water supply capability as well its energy needs. Wastewater purification alternatives will also be considered.

10. Develop a National Water Resources Management Plan (NWRMP) that will identify and guide the implementation of interventions to identify and prioritise the reconciliation of water requirements with available water resources across South Africa. This will include a detailed investment programme for water resource development(including alternative sources such desalinated seawater and purified wastewater), bulk water supply, and wastewater management. The plan will, in addition, provide details on:

(i) A National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA) [which] will be established to provide assistance to the relevant authorities by helping to plan, develop and manage large-scale water infrastructure systems.

(ii) A programme to develop water resource management, research and technical capacity; and

(iii) A dedicated conservation and demand-management programme,with sub-programmes focussed on municipalities, industry and agriculture.[Working for Change, p.81].

11.

National Development Plan Proposals

1. Public and private procurement will be leveraged to promote localisation and industrial diversification, R&D support for product development, innovation and commercialisation will be intensified, approaches to buffering manufacturers from the effects of currency volatility will be explored, strengthening network infrastructure skills supply and bringing administered prices under control;

2. Special intervention areas. These areas require particular forms of state support for specified periods. They include Job Intervention Zones, Growth Management Zones, and Green Economy Zones [NDP-Vision 2030, p.250].

The institutional arrangements for supporting these zones need further consideration, and may involve public-private partnerships and support from national government....

3. Institute far-reaching review of current infrastructure regulators to clarify roles, strengthen accountability, update legislation and regulations, and reform institutional design, establish a unit in the Presidency (Monitoring and Evaluation) to undertake periodic regulatory impact reviews, and to provide advice and support to regulatory authorities [NDP-Vision 2030, p.139].

4. Renew the commuter rail fleet, with a region-by-region shift to current generation high-capacity rolling stock, supported bystation upgrades and improved facilities to enhance links with road-based services [NDP-Vision 2030, p.169].

5. The Independent System and Market Operator Act will be passed, following which, Eskom's system operator, planning, power procurement, purchasing and contracting functions will be transferred to an independent SOE. Plans will be established to transfer Eskom's transmission assets into this entity. Capacity will be built to support the development of dynamic, frequently updated, indicative power and transmission expansion plans and the effective procurement and contracting of independent power producers (including those able to provide renewable energy technologies) [NDP-Vision 2030, p.152].

6. Develop a national coal policy and investment strategy based on a thorough scientific assessment of South Africa's coal reserves, the sustainable supply of domestic coal needs to power high rates of economic growth and rapid industrial development, and the sustainable expansion of coal export markets within the context of diminishing carbon intensity [NDP-Vision 2030, p.151].

7. Develop a new and sustainable national electrification plan (NDP-Vision 2030, p.152]...Revise national electrification plan and ensure 90 percent grid access by 2030 (with balance met through off-grid technologies). [NDP-Our Future, p.66].

8. Ring-fence the electricity distribution businesses of the 12 largest municipalities (which account for 80 percent of supply), resolve maintenance and refurbishment backlogs and develop a financing plan, alongside investment in human capital. [NDP-Our Future, p.66].

9. Investigate water reuse and desalination. There is already extensive indirect reuse of water in inland areas, where municipal and industrial wastewater is reintroduced into rivers after treatment. However, there is considerable scope for further water reuse. Many municipalities lack the technical capacity to build and manage theirwastewater treatment systems. As a result, a regional approach to wastewater management may be required in certain areas. [NDP-Our Future, p.180]

10. The national water resource strategy should be reviewed by mid-2012, and approved as a roadmap to guide the development of the sector. It should then be reviewed, along with the water resource investment programme...[NDP-Vision 2030, p.160]. Future institutional arrangements for water resource management must be defined by the end of 2012, with implementation by 2015 at the latest...The institutional arrangements could include:

(i) A national water-resource infrastructure agency that will develop and manage large economic infrastructure systems. Catchment management agencies to undertake resource management on a decentralised basis, with the involvement of local stakeholders.

(ii) National capacity to support research, development and operation of water reuse and desalination facilities.

(iii) A dedicated national water-conservation and demand-management programme, with clear national and local targets for 2017 and 2022, and sub-programmes focused on municipalities, industry and agriculture. [NDP-Our Future, p.183, NDP-Vision 2030, p.160].

11. Expanding capacity of the coal, iron-ore and Manganese lines, with considerations given toconcessioning parts of this network [NDP-Vision 2030, p.32].

12. Expand capacity for mineral exports through targeted focus on metal ores and coal, and strategic freight corridors for Southern African and international trade. Strengthen rail infrastructure for the central coal basin and the coal line to Richards Bay. Government will broker a partnership between Transnet and the private sector for these projects (NDP-Our Future, p.175]

13. Policy and planning priorities need to be informed by actual experience and the performance of Transnet's capacity expansion programmes, which have failed to deliver capacity...a new approach is required to co-ordinate the efforts and interests of multiple role-players. Essentially, this means building partnerships between the public and private sector [NDP-Vision 2030, p.166].

14. Develop, deepen and enhance linkages with other sections of the economy. This includes; linkages with both manufacturers of inputs (capital goods and consumables) and suppliers of mining related services; downstream producers, especially for Platinum Group Metals and Chrome Ore. In this regard, an export tax could be considered. [NDP-Vision 2030, p.126].

COSATU Proposals

1. Industrial policy interventions must necessarily include:

Regulation of exports of:

• raw mineral, including agricultural raw produce and unprocessed wood
• metals
• petro-chemicals

Ban the export of scrap metal, and encourage local recycling

·     Promote targetedindustrial financing at generous terms

Promote state investment in the capacity of the targeted sectors

Link state support with local procurement and job creation

The wholesale and retail sector must carry at least 75% local content

·     Develop codes and targets for SMME and co-operative support and procurement that apply throughout the economy, not just the public sector 

2. The Competition Commission will be focusing on:

Pricing of certainstrategic inputs in manufacturing and other productive processes, making these inputs affordable to downstream industries. This will include combating import-parity pricing in the economy as a whole

Pricing of wage goods and other products purchased largely by poor and working class households

Cost-effectiveness of the public infrastructureprogramme

Furthermore, we propose that the Commission must balance the need for competition with the need for decent work and employment protection.

We further proposecriminalization, beyond fines, should be taken against CEO's whose companies are found to be guilty of anti-competitive behaviour

[See Growth Path for more details, p.37-57]

Democratic Alliance-GEAR

1. Creating incentivesthat encourage businesses to hire more people, introduce a targeted wagesubsidy for young and low skill people [Working for Change, p.15, p.46]

2. Around 48 countriesaround the world have used some variation of a youth wage subsidy, [DA website, Youth Wage Subsidy Now Campaign].

3. Introduce an opportunity voucher scheme, to provide funding to young adults who would like to start their own businesses or further their education and skills development [Working for Change, p.41]

4. Injecting greater flexibility into the labour market: [Working for Change, p. 43]

a) Reforming Nedlac so that members representing organised community and development interests shall be appointed by the Minister on nominations made by any registered charity, NGO, or community organisation. [Working for Change, p.43].

b) Remove extension of collective bargaining to non-parties to the collective agreement that are within its registered scope and are identified at a meeting of the bargaining council. [Working for Change, p.43]

c) Introducing a six-month probationary period during which firms will face no punitive penalty for dismissing underperforming workers. [DA Manifesto 2009, p.12]

d) Improve ease of hiring and firing, amend Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, Act 66 of 1996, which imposes severe restrictions on employers wishing to dismiss employees based on operational requirements.[Working for Change, p.43].

e) Amend Schedule 8 of the LRA, This will involve removing Section 2a, which concerns dismissals for poor work performance, and places the onus on employers to take steps to improve employee performance prior to dismissal and Section 9b (i) which implies that a dismissal for poor work performance could be unfair if the employee claims to be unaware of the required work standard. [Working for Change, p.43]

f) Amend definition of big employer, in the Labour Relations Act so that it only applies to entities that employ more than 250 persons, to reduce the administrative burdens faced by SMMEs, and encourage them to employ more people. [Working for Change p.43].

g) Enhance temporary employment, recognise the importance of temporary employment agencies in transitioning people into the formal job market and support the formal temporary employment agency sector in supplanting illegal and exploitative temporary employment agents. [Working for Change, p.43].

h) Enable businesses to access required skills,remove quota limitations and significantly reduce the heavy regulatory burdenfaced by entities employing skilled foreign nationals, visa reforms for skilled immigrants

4. Progressively up-scale the expanded public works programme (EPWP) to employ 2.5 million people on a contract basis by 2025. [Working for Change, p.42]. EPWP [to be undertaken by] contracted employers, private companies tendering for provincial projects, private public partners...[Creating Economic Opportunities, p.12].

5. Regulation of the labour market in a manner that allows for flexible collective bargaining structures, variable application of employment standards and voice regulation [GEAR, p.18].

National Development Plan Proposals

1. Offer a tax subsidy to employers to reduce the initial cost of hiring young labour market entrants [NDP-Vision 2030, p.113].

2. Employment incentives have been used in many countries and it is clear that they are a critical policy instrument. There are both positive and negative aspects of the instrument. The critical issue is to design the programmes in such a way that the negative aspects are minimized. It is also important to note thatthere is no single model of subsidized employmentprogramme. [NDP-Our Future, p.381]

3. Expand learnerships and make training vouchersavailable to work seekers [NDP-Vision 2030, p.113].

4. A responsive labour market:

a)

b)

c) Clarifying dismissal and retrenchments provisions in the Labour Relations Act (1995) Code of Good Practice and its management, ordinary unfair dismissal protections should not apply to those on probation for up to 6 months, private mediation or the courts, not CCMA, to administer labour laws for senior managers (p.113)

d) To ease entry into formal work opportunities, ordinaryunfair dismissal protections should not apply to employees on probation, up to a limit of six months of service. [NDP-Our Future, p.134]

e) On dismissals: misconduct or poor performance, reduce the regulatory burden by revisiting the pre-dismissal procedures, any appeal or reversal of a dismissal should be ruled on substantive and not procedural grounds, except in the case of constructive dismissal [NDP-2030 Vision, p.114].

f) Review regulation and standards for small and medium enterprises, reduce the regulatory burden for SMMEs, the Code of Good Practice must clearly lay out procedures appropriate to small businesses, simplify EE compliance and skills development requirements and reporting for small firms [NDP-Vision 2030, p.114]

g) Give a subsidy to the placement sector to place matric graduates, effective regulation of the private labour placement sector andtemporary employment services.[NDP-Vision 2030, p.113].

h) Adopt a more open approach to skilled immigration to enable expansion of high skill supply in the short term, in a manner that obviates the displacement of South Africans [NDP-Vision 2030, p.113]

4. Extend non-state sector Expanded Public Works in non-profit organisations [NDP-Vision 2030, p.113]...It should always be recognised that the emphasis should be placed on generatingmarket-based opportunities where possible. [NDP-Vision 2030, p.132]

5. Worker leadership must allow for a greater access to the labour market for those not active in the economy and ensuring that those currently withoutappropriate voice are adequately catered for [NDP-Vision 2030, p.135].

COSATU Proposals

1. The wage subsidy will be a form of fundraising for business interests to boost their profitability, whilst at the same time creating a three-tier labour market system that further worsens [Growth Path, p.64].

2. The international literature that is marshalled by the National Treasury (and the Democratic Alliance), far from supporting their proposal on the youth wage subsidy, actually casts serious doubt on it. In some instances theliterature is flatly opposed to a youth wage subsidywhile in other cases the literature reports that wage subsidies have delivered mildly positive results under extremely limited and sometimes irrelevant conditions compared to our South African situation. [COSATU Response to Youth Wage Subsidy, p.6]

3. The COSATU proposal uses the National Skills Development Strategy III as a point of departure, by calling forexpansion of the FET sector to accept 1 million learners per annum by 2014, compared to the current 400 000 per annum. This will in turn reduce the youth labour force, by extending their stay in the education and training system, so that they acquire basic and high-level cognitive skills (as the Germans and now the Australians are doing). Then state-owned enterprises, agencies and departments must stand ready to absorb these young people into practical training and provide work experience, especially given the massive infrastructure backlogs and maintenance that has to be done. The private sector can do the same, without being given wage subsidies, but policies to support industrialisation and agriculture must be vigorously pursued. The state must have capacity to plan and forecast for the numbers of young people who enter the post-school system and exit it, and ensure that no one falls through the cracks. [COSATU Response to the Youth Wage Subsidy, p.20].

4. In order to achieve full employment we propose that the state reconceptualises the Expanded Public Works Programme in such a way that it acts as an"employer-of-last-resort" (ELR). [Growth Path, p.58]. (The state must directly employ people, build internal capacity and eliminate tenders in the delivery of basic services) 

Democratic Alliance-GEAR

1. Ensuring a fairer relationship between work and pay

2. A structuredflexibility within the collective bargaining system to support a competitive and more labour-intensive growth path [GEAR, p.5].

3. Greater sensitivity in wage determination to varying capital intensity, skills, regional circumstances and firm size [GEAR, p.5];

4. Reduced minimum wage schedules for young trainees, reducing indirect wage costs; and increasing the incentives for more shifts, job sharing and greater employment flexibility (GEAR, p.5);

5. Decisions aboutexecutive pay in a market economy rest with the shareholders of the company concerned and the board of directors that shareholders elect to serve their interests, improve transparency and shareholder activism to hold executives accountable [Working for Change, p.53-55].

National Development Plan Proposals

1. Ensure a fair divisionof earnings in a context of extreme inequality

2. Determiningaffordable wages that support economic expansion

3. Ensuring that earnings are responsive to industrial demands, [NDP-Our Future, p.123]

4. Measures such asentry-level wage flexibilityshould be encouraged, but should not be exploited to displace experienced workers (p.112), facilitate agreements between employers and unions on entry-level wages (p.113).

5. There is a fairly standard approach to social contracts internationally. In its simplest form, workers agree to accept lower wage increases than their productivity gains would dictate...In return, business agrees that the resulting increase in profits would not be taken out of the country or consumed in the form of higher executive remuneration or luxuries, but rather reinvested in ways that generate employment as well as growth....Excessive executive remuneration does little to build a more inclusive society where everyone feels that they share in the fruits of development. Whilelegislating salaries is impractical, leadership is required to ensure that businesses act more responsibly.[ NDP-Our Future, p.58]

COSATU Proposals

We propose the followingwage policy:

·     In every collective bargaining cycle, there should be amandatory base drift to close the apartheid wage gap. There should be a Tripartite agreement on the pace and target of closing the apartheid wage gap.

·     Wage solidarity measures must characterize wage-setting in the labour market in every bargaining cycle, wherethe wages of the lowest paid inflate faster and the remuneration of top management inflates the lowest

·     The pay-ratio of the top 10% highly paid managers in companies to the bottom 10% lowest paid must converge to 16:1 over time. Targets for reducing the wage gap need to be contained in plans submitted in terms of a strengthened Employment Equity Act.

Democratic Alliance-GEAR

1. The state needs to be able to enter the market as an effective market participant which can compete directly with other buyers and does not place unreasonable demands on sellers...The cost of land is the biggest expense of the land reform process. However,undermining the willing buyer/willing seller approach is unacceptable. The DA believes that expropriations, where they can be justified in terms of the Bill of Rights, should only be used as a last resort [Land of Opportunity, p.4-5].

2. The DA will draw up a policy framework on mentorship schemes, involving advice and assistance by existing commercial farmers to new farmers, and put in place measures to encourage these schemes. Measures might include, for example, offering rebates on loans for farmers taking part in mentorship schemes [Land of Opportunity, p.10].

3. Privatising land acquisition: Devolve the job of finding and acquiring land to the private sector, with the state being responsible only for setting out requirements and acting as regulator. [Land of Opportunity, p.8].

National Development Plan Proposals

1. Enable a more rapid transfer of agricultural land to black beneficiarieswithout distorting land markets and business confidence in the agri-business sector [NDP-Vision 2030, p.206].

2. Offer white commercial farmers and organised industry bodies the opportunity to significantly contribute tothe success of black farmers through mentorships, chain integration, preferential procurement and the meaningful skills transfer (p.206)

3. [Establish] the district lands committee with all agricultural landowners in the district, including key stakeholders such as the private sector..., government..., and government agencies. This committee will beresponsible for identifying 20 percent of the commercial agricultural land in the district, and giving the commercial farmers the option of assisting in its transfer to black farmers. [NDP-Vision 2030, p.207].

4. Bring land transfer targets in line with fiscal and economic realities to ensure that land is successfully transferred.

COSATU Perspectives

1. As COSATU we are now escalating our resolutions on land ownership to call for state ownership of all the land in this country. This will empower the democratic state to break the power of white capital, strengthen the capacity of the state to regulate land use and to abolish speculation. Once the state owns the land, then it can decide on a lease basis as to who should use it and for what purposes. Land should be the heritage of all South Africans, owned by the democratic state and shared in use, not in ownership, among those who work it. This is the best way in which the state can secure food security and reduce land under-utilisation. Thus the question of defining property rights to land ownership falls away. What remains is the administration of land use and allocation, including the determination of rent that should be paid to the state for land-use. [COSATU Socio-economic Report, 11^th Congress 2012, p.25]

For more details on COSAU Perspectives on Land Reform, Rural Development and Agricultural Transformation, see COSATU Growth Path p.52-56, COSATU Socio-Economic Report p.24-27, COSATU Response to the Green Paper on Land Reform 2012].