For three days in February this year, training found itself top of the agenda when almost 100 delegates from across Numsa’s 9 regions discussed and debated training issues after hearing inputs from outsiders on training.
Delegates looked honestly at what was happening on the shopfloor. “There is no real training,” some said, “but we have a lot of people trained as fire-fighters and around HIV/Aids awareness.”
“Unemployed workers are trained in learnerships but then we do nothing to ensure that they still have a job and most of them are not even Numsa members,” others said. “There is no incentive for currently employed workers to do learnerships,” said another. “Once they complete the learnership, they are still stuck on the same grade with the same pay – there is no payment for skills acquired.”
Outside speakers from Cosatu, the Metal Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC), the Merseta and the Department of Labour, urged Numsa to use the legislation that the unions had fought for and won.
Bogoshi Tsehla who used to work for the Merseta and Cosatu, likened unions’ involvement in training to conceptualising a car but then being afraid to get into it and drive it. Speaker after speaker reminded delegates that training is not neutral. Tsehla charged that lack of capacity and involvement by trade unions was allowing employers to claim money for a workplace skills plan (WSP) that spelt out how the company planned to train, not what it actually trained. What was needed were annual training reports from companies that would detail actual training completed and if this varied from the WSP, then employers must answer to that. He went further and said that research had shown that the training plans of 99% of companies who had submitted had nothing to do with the priorities of the Merseta.
He urged more capacity building, strong training committees and clear objectives setting out what the training committees must achieve. “There must be something wrong with training delivery when Sasol says that it is going to import welders from India because there is a shortage here,” said Alistair Smith, CEO of the MEIBC. “We must address the disconnection between bargaining and skills,” he suggested to the delegates. He also warned of the diversity within the engineering industry and the difficulties of developing one skills strategy for the whole sector when each sub-sector was so different with different skills requirements.
A key part of Numsa’s three year bargaining strategy was recognition of prior learning (RPL) – workers should be recognised for the skills that they have acquired on the job. But representatives bemoaned the fact that many workers had not received RPL and numerous attempts to train Numsa staff and workers as RPL assessors had failed. Numsa president, Mtutuzeli Tom, was a lone voice in the conference disputing the negative voices. He described how he had been “RPLed” and was now paid on a higher grade.
The training conference resolved that training structures must be revived. Key to this was the active participation of shop stewards and the linking of training and employment equity committees at a plant level.
But this was just one of the 24 resolutions adopted (see box). How many of those that are relevant to workplaces, have you taken up in your workplace?
Resolutions adopted at National Training Conference, February 2005:
RPL all our workforce across all sectors against available qualifications;
3 year Bargaining strategy
Linking grades to NQF Levels
Portable training across all sectors
Compulsory ABET during working hours
Remove educational level as an entry requirement
Negotiate training demands at bargaining forums
Training reps in SETA must implement collective bargaining agreements;
We should demand progression target and skills audit at workplaces.
Re-train our retrenched members to re-integrate them back into the economy of our country;
Demand training of assessors, mentors and moderators of our own in all workplaces;
Demand training of MIC welders to take up jobs in SASOL with immediate effect.
Future job prospects to be communicated first to bargaining councils;
Demand affirmative action candidate to be prioritised when dealing with Employment Equity.
Demand acceleration of conversion of old trades to learnerships
Demand acceleration of development of higher qualifications i.e. from level 1 to the highest level of qualification
Demand acceleration of curriculum and courseware development.
Training should take place during working hours.
The allowance paid to an apprentice and someone in a learnership should be equal
The incentive to employers for both apprenticeship and learnership should be equal;
Employers should commit themselves to train and equip workers;
All employers must comply with the relevant Acts.
The Union will continue to negotiate work-place skills plans at plant level;
Training committees should be established in all plants.