Department of Employment and Labour

The Department of Employment and Labour is the department of the South African government responsible for matters related to employment, including industrial relations, job creation, unemployment insurance and occupational health and safety. Through a range of initiatives developed in collaboration with social partners, the Department of Employment and Labour makes a substantial contribution to the decline in inequality, poverty, and unemployment. These programs aim to reduce workplace poverty, promote positive labor relations, increase economic efficiency and productivity, eliminate workplace discrimination and inequality.
the Minister of Employment and Labour is Nomakhosazana Meth. In the 2011/12 budget the department had a budget of R1,981 million and a staff complement of 3,490 civil servants.

History

Prior to the creation of the Department of Labour in 1924, labour issues in the country were the responsibility of the Department of Mines and in that year, the latter was stripped of the function and given to the new department. In April 1935 the department was renamed the Department of Labour and Social Welfare. Then on 1 October 1937, its original name was reused as the Department of Labour and a new department created for the other, the Department of Social Welfare.