THE Department of Labour’s October deadline for finalisation of amendments bills to SA’s labour legislation has passed with no discernible progress.

The bills were the first proposed amendments to SA’s labour laws in years and the parties involved — the government, business and labour — have described them as delicate due to their far-reaching implications for the labour market.

Last month Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant said she wanted the bills to be finalised by discussion groups at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) by the end of the month.

She wanted the bills enacted into law by the end of May.

The bills, which include a proposal to criminalise labour broking and another to limit temporary employment, were brought up last December.

Their definition of temporary work, employment equity rules and other ambiguities upset business, and resulted in disagreements.

By end-September, the parties to the discussions had agreed on only one of six principal issues, according to the Democratic Alliance’s spokesman on labour, Ian Ollis.

He has been critical of the bills, saying they were initially poorly drafted and this has slowed the process of making the first amendments in SA’ s labour laws in more than a decade.

"Minister Oliphant was wrong to set a deadline for the Nedlac process to be finalised by the end of October. There is too much work to be done," Mr Ollis said.

But yesterday, Business Unity SA’s executive director of social policy, Vikki Harbhajan, said regardless of the number of outstanding policy clashes between labour, business and the government, progress was being made. "The October deadline has passed. There are a number of issues sitting on the table. The engagements are complicated and the issues need more time.

"There are a number of challenges. The biggest challenge is the bills’ job impact. We are hoping that the final result of each bill will have the maximum positive effect on job creation," she said.

The controversial bills include three that amend existing legislation and one set of new proposals.

The Labour Relations Amendment Bill says "an employee must be employed permanently unless the employer can establish a justification for employment on a fixed term". This limits temporary work.

The Basic Conditions of Employment Bill makes it a crime for employers not to pay wages and overtime.

The Employment Equity Amendment Bill requires that equal pay be paid for equal value, with contraventions being subject to penalties of 2%-10% of turnover.

Business feels this penalty would bankrupt many small businesses.

The Public Employment Services Bill is new legislation and not an amendment. It seeks to make it illegal for agents to be responsible for workers they have placed with a third-party company.

Ms Harbhajan said Nedlac met yesterday to discuss how the bills deal with labour broking.