Labor Issues at South Africa and Brazil - Assignment Example

Sur INTRODUCTION BRICS countries are a group of five large developing countries which are; Brazil, Russia, India China and South Africa. They are distinguished from other promising emerging competitors by their economic and demographic potential to be ranked among the world’s largest and influential economies in the 21st century. The BRICS are both the fastest growing and largest emerging markets economies. They have the largest population in the world of almost three billion people. Below is an analysis report of South Africa and Brazil, the report focuses on the countries labor issues, politics, wages and trading blocks. SOUTH AFRICA LABOUR ISSUES Labor force in South Africa has increased since the days of Apartheid. During Apartheid, most of the Blacks were working in the informal sector and mostly provided unskilled labor. In 1994 and 1995, officials revised employment statistics to join into national accounts employment in the former black homelands which were home to almost one-half of the black South African population subject to the revisions, in mid 1995, the government estimated the national work force to 14.3 million people.1 Section 23 of the Constitution of South Africa2 provides for labor relations that everyone has the right to fair labor practices, right to join a trade union and the right to engage in collective bargaining. In 1997, the country3 adopted a new constitution which set out the regulations and basic conditions of employment and the labor laws were to comply with the Republic. The Act applies to all employees save for the members of the National Defense Force, the National Intelligence Agency, the Secret Service and unpaid volunteers. Section 7 of the Act gives the proviso for regulation of working times. It goes ahead to provide for the allowed rest period to include a rest period of at least 12 hours between ending and recommencing works daily. WAGES An employee must provide written particulars of employment before commencing employment which include place of work; designation of job; the rate payable for overtime and the employee wages. An employer has a duty to pay an employee remuneration that is paid in form of money, the payment has to be calculated by reference to the several hours the employee works, that is 45 hours a week, or 9 hours a day. Notice of termination has to be given to the employee some months or days before an employee is dismissed, this is provided for in the Act. The state enacted Labor Relations Acti which has undergone numerous amendments to change the law governing labor relations and, to give effect to section 27 of the Constitution. The Act regulates the rights of the organization; it regulates the rights of the trade unions; it promotes and facilitates collective bargaining at the workplace and at the sector level. The Labor Act also provides for the legal effect of collective agreements, Disputes about collective agreements, Agency shop agreements, Closed shop agreements, Establishment of bargaining councils, Powers and functions of bargaining council, Registration of bargaining councils and the Constitution of bargaining council. LABOR AND POLITICS South African Industrial development had relied on an abundance of low-wage labor for centuries in order to ensure profits,4 but as time went by, economic and social problems associated with implementing apartheid emerged. The development of new technologies during the 1960s and 1970s made most industries to increase their capital stock so that they could invest in machinery and employ a few skilled technicians rather than adopt a labor intensive method that would need training and managing a large work force. The trend towards capital-intensive operations led to a lower labor costs and increased productivity. As a result, there was an increased rate of unemployment and poverty which fueled resentment and this made the government to raise the costs of preserving apartheid. Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) was establishment in 1985 by 1990ii more than a dozen unions with a total of 1.3 million members were in operation. In the early years, some employers used force to suppress labor militancy, and strikers often used violence against those who did not participate in the strike. In one of South Africa's most violent strikes at a gold mine, more than eighty miners died in clashes between strikers and those that did not strike. Like many other violent strikes, this clash initially concerned economic issues, but it escalated because of political, ethnic, and racial grievances. To date politics continue to affect labor in South Africa, and workers continue to engage in strikes which mostly leave some members dead due to the running battles with the police. iii TRADING BLOCKS The European Union (EU) is South Africa's largest trade bloc, exports to the EU has become more diverse. South Africa's primary exports to the EU are mining products, machinery and transport equipment. EU’s exports to South Africa are mainly chemicals, machinery5 and transport equipment. BRAZIL LABOUR ISSUES The Employment and labor practices in Brazil are governed by the Constitution which has the mandate to consolidate labor laws and collective labor agreements. Labor legislation in Brazil is perceived to be a public order and the rights granted by the same may not, as a general rule, be waived by an employee or denied by the employer. Subordination, exclusivity and regularity of personal services rendered by a person to another or a company in return of a wage are some of the elements of employment relationship. Brazilian and foreign employees alike must bear an annotation as to such employment status in their Work and Social Security Record. Brazil has ratified the ILO Convention on collective bargaining, but has not ratified the Convention on freedom of association. It has also ratified the core ILO Convention on Equal Remuneration as well as the Convention on Discrimination. The Afro-Brazilians have faced discriminations at their work places in low skilled wage jobs. The Brazilian economy is a large market economy - the largest in South America, and among the largest ones in the world. The Constitution and Labor Code allow workers to form trade unions, except for the military, uniformed police and firefighters. The central part of Brazilian labor legislation is the Compendium of Labor Laws of 1943. There is a general rule which stipulates that there can only be one trade union per economic or occupational group in each territorial area. This means that some federations and national trade union centers are illegal. The Brazilian consolidation of labor laws is the major legislation norm that regularizes labor activities in the country. The laws came into force in 1943 and were approved by the President. WAGES According to article 7 of the Federal Constitution6, working hours in Brazil should not exceed 44 hours a week and preferentially, 8 hours a day. Depending on the job, there are conventions between companies and Unions, and then employees will work more than 8 hours a day. That’s the case for nurses, guards and other professionals whose job is essential to society. If an employee is dismissed before taking his vacations, the employer has the duty to pay him 1/3 extra of the total vacations value. In addition to the amounts paid to employees as a salary, any other amounts paid on a regular basis are, for all legal purposes, considered as part of the employee's salary and are, in general, taken into account, at the time of payment, among others, of vacation remuneration. Monthly salaries should not be lower than the minimum amount established by applicable legislation. In Brazil, the minimum salary is equivalent to approximately US$ 112. A Brazilian worker may not be paid a lower wage than a foreign worker for performing the same work, except in special circumstances established by law. A contract for an indefinite term can only be broken upon prior notice to the other party. Failure by the employer to do so, without any of the legally recognized grounds for dismissal entitles the employee to legal suit for breach of rights. No indemnity is payable to an employee on termination of his employment after the end of a fixed-term contract. But if the employee is unfairly dismissed during the course of the contract, he would be entitled to indemnity of half of the salary due to him for the unexpired portion of the contract. On the other hand, if it is the employee who rescinds the contract, he is liable for any loss resulting from the breach of contract. LABOUR AND POLITICS The basis of the Brazilian Labor Relations systems came into force in 1943. The code previewed rights to the urban employees. The working class organization depended on state definition of the union framework, in a system that divided workers of a same enterprise into different professional categories.7 The collective bargaining rules were strictly controlled by the state. The collective bargaining process was to last for 60 days after which, if no solution is found, the matter was taken by the Labor Courts. Labor Relations Systems was amended in 1985 which led to the loosening of the main restrictions from union organization. The process ended in 1988 when the new constitution was adopted. In 2003, there was an attempt to reform the labor relations systems after the rise to power of President Lula. The Labor National Tripartite Forum was then installed and worked until 2005, resulting in a proposal of systematic reform. TRADING BLOCKS Brazil is a member of Mercado Comun Del Con Sul (MERCOSUR) - Southern Cone Common Market and the Andean Community Countries (ANDEAN). Work cited 1. Michael, Kittner., Marita, komer-dammann and Albert Schunk (1983). Labor under the apartheid regime: practical problems and legal framework of labor relations in south Africa. Denventer, Netherlands; Boston: Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers. 2. The Constitution of South Africa, No.108 of 1996. 3. Thiven, Reddy A. (2000). Hegemony and Resistance: Contesting Identities in South Africa. 4. Alex, Hepple. (1969). South Africa: Workers under Apartheid. Christian Action Publications 5. Federal Republic of Brazil Constitution, 1988, with 1996 reforms 6. Sebastian, Edwards and Nora Lustig. (1997), Labor Markets in Latin America: Combining Social protection with Market flexibility. Brookings Institution Press. 7. Vincent, Peloso C. (2003) Work, Protest, and Identity in Twentieth-Century Latin America. Scholarly Resources. 8. Leigh, Payne A (1991). Industrialists, Labor, Relations, and the Transition to democracy in Brazil. Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame. Read More