Millennium Labour Council

Millennium Agreement
Eire and Holland visits
Labour Law Amendments

The following agreement was signed by Zwelinzima Vavi representing labour, and Leslie Boyd representing business:

South African business and labour, following visits to Eire and Holland, and after numerous discussions, agree to establish a bilateral structure known as the Millennium Labour Council.
They agree:
1. The current unemployment, job losses and lack of job creation constitute a deepening crisis in South Africa that requires urgent action.
2. Current levels of poverty and inequality are unacceptable and new initiatives are needed to promote improved quality of life and decent work for all.
3. The Millennium Labour Council is to comprise twelve members each from the business and trade union constituencies.
4. The Millennium Labour Council will be associated with NEDLAC as a bilateral council and will operate with full policy autonomy.
5. The objective of the Council is to develop a shared analysis of the crisis and potential solutions to be pursued with government and NEDLAC, as appropriate.

Representing LABOUR
Zwelinzima Vavi Representing BUSINESS
Leslie Boyd

7 July 2000, Johannesburg

The Millennium Labour Agreement between South African business and labour was signed on 7 July 2000. Click on the icons below to read the speeches from this landmark event:

Zwelinzima Vavi

Leslie Boyd

President Thabo Mbeki

The Inaugural meeting of the Millennium Labour Council was held at Gallagher Estate, Midrand on 7 July 2000.

1. Structure and Operation

1.1 The Council will consist of twelve a side, with joint chairs - one on each side.

By the date of the launch of the Council, the composition of each consitutency will have been finalised.

1.2 Discussions in the Council will be confidential and agreements will be made public.

1.3 The Council will meet at least once per quarter.

2. Administration and Finance

2.1 The Council will consitute sub-committees and will employ administrative and research staff as required.

In the initial period the International Labour Organisation will be requested to provide administrative and technical support.

2.2 The parties to the Council will seek a regular subsidy from NEDLAC to help defray the cost of its operation. This builds on the precedent in NEDLAC of providing funding to associated institutions, such as the National Labour Secretariat, and through the NEDLAC capacity building fund.

July 2000

The following is a press statement written by the MLC Co-Chairs in March, which clearly highlights the MLC's purpose, areas of focus and work programmes for 2003:

At its first meeting in 2003, the Millennium Labour Council reviewed both the purpose of this body, and its work programme for 2003. The results of this review are set out in the following joint statement issued by the Council’s Co-Chairs, Zwelinzima Vavi, representing Labour, and Bobby Godsell, who has assumed the Business chair from Leslie Boyd.

The meeting reaffirmed the MLC’s founding vision: that it “will strive to make South Africa the leading emerging market and the destination of choice for domestic and foreign investment, where investments are secure and can earn a competitive return measured over an appropriate term. To achieve this, it is necessary to create a society with decent employment opportunities, committed to equity, fairness and human dignity in which people will have the opportunity to develop to their fullest potential, and with fair labour standards where workers can earn a living wage.”

Labour and business leaders created the Millennium Labour Council to discuss and explore areas and issues where business and labour co-operation could advance this shared vision. The MLC is not constituted as a negotiating forum. Instead, it is hoped that the results of its activities will assist in reaching bold, constructive agreements in the negotiating institutions where labour, business, government and other constituency organizations meet, pre-eminently NEDLAC.

During 2003 the MLC will focus its attention on the following six areas: poverty relief; savings and investment; job creation; housing; education; and HIV/AIDS. In at least some of these areas it is hoped to produce reports which will assist debate in other structures such as NEDLAC.

Further, many potential foreign investors have an ill-formed and ill-founded sense of the investment risks present in South Africa. During 2003, MLC teams will seek to engage foreign investors, and other important foreign social actors such as the trade union movement and NGOs about the prospects for both value-creating and nation-building investment in our country.

MLC teams will also visit innovative and successful community projects in South Africa in the focus areas identified as well as areas inflicted by poverty, unemployment and HIV/AIDS to better inform the Council of how further progress can be made.