Human Capital

The publication of the Draft Broad-based Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter for the Mining and Minerals Industry, 2018 (Draft Mining Charter 2018) on Friday, 15 June 2018 came in the wake of the widely-criticised Reviewed Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Charter for the South African Mining and Minerals Industry on 15 June 2017 (Mining Charter 2017).

South Africa’s Employment Equity Act (EEA) contains a number of anti-discrimination provisions, as well as mechanisms for employers to collect, analyse, plan and report on employment equity information. The mechanisms however, do not cater for those employees who do not identify with being either male or female.

Technological advancement is a main driver of economic growth, productivity, and operational efficiencies. Today, these technological advancements are largely in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (a subset of AI) – the ability of machines, through the use of algorithms, to interpret data, predict outcomes and learn from successes and failures. This technological development, known as the 4th Industrial Revolution, is going to bring enormous change to how we live and work.

The future Chartered Accountant [CA(SA)] will look a lot different from the CA(SA) of the past, according to Professor Gary Swartz, founder of the Institute of Accounting Science (IAS), but if numbers remain numbers, and formulas remain formulas, what must change for the evolution of the CA(SA)?

Do Men get paid more than Women? On the 9th August 1956, thousands of women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria (Tshwane), protesting against the Urban Areas Act of 1950, or as more commonly known, the pass laws. This historic moment brought to the fore the fight for a non-racist and non-sexist South Africa, and today we celebrate National Women’s Day on this date annually.

Is South Africa headed down a road of jobless growth where a capital-intensive economy is incompatible with a labour-intensive need? According to an International Labour Organisation (ILO) report reviewed in Forbes Magazine, 11 August 2017, there are about 71 million unemployed 15 to 24-year-olds around the globe, many of them facing long-term unemployment. This is close to a historic peak of 13%.

In order to optomise the corrective effect of discipline it needs to be implemented as swiftly as possible. This does not mean that the disciplinary process must be carried out hastily. It does mean that, psychologically and legally, unnecessary delays must be avoided.

Read our exclusive cover story entitled THE FUTURE OF JOBS? | ...OR UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE BASIC GLOBAL WAGE by Dr Ivor Blumenthal, CEO, ArkKonsult, as well a host of other topical management articles written by professionals, consultants and academics in the June/July 2018 edition of BusinessBrief.

In the real world of economic consequences, the NMW is set to harm a great many unfortunates who currently earn incomes that are well below the NMW. The NMW will cause many to lose their jobs and make it even more difficult for the 9.48 million unemployed to access jobs.

South African labour laws are constantly evolving as the government seeks to balance stronger protections for employees with the need to create a business-friendly investment climate.