IT IS OFTEN said that an organisation’s true competitive advantage is its human capital. This is also true for a national brand. A country may have many positive elements – mineral wealth, diverse natural and cultural assets, but its most enduring strength will be its people.
As a 20-year-old democracy, South Africa has taken some bold decisions on how to grow its economy so it can deliver on its social commitments to the people of our country.
Economic growth for our country must necessarily translate into jobs for our people, which will in turn lead to improvements in our societies on many levels. While South Africa is committed to and looking towards diversifying and growing the economy through beneficiation and industrialisation, the upliftment in the skills and education levels of our people is critical to this vision.
Our people will ultimately drive the development of our economy.
However, looking at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) Global Competitiveness Index 2014/15, we must be filled with concern about our competitiveness and standing in terms of labour issues.
When compared with our counterparts in the Brics, South Africa fares badly in the areas of co-operation in labour-employer relations, flexibility of wage determination, and hiring and firing practices.
Not only do we do badly in relation to Brazil, Russia, India and China, but we are almost at the bottom of the global pile. In the WEF index, 144 countries were surveyed, and South Africa ranks 144th, 139th and 143rd, respectively, on these areas of the labour market.
What is more concerning about these figures is that they show the state of relations between stakeholders in the labour environment – employees, labour unions and employers. The second concern is our performance in the area of pay and productivity, in which we rank 136th of 144. On the bright side, South Africa outperforms its Brics counterparts in some areas.
Productivity SA, speaking at the inaugural South African Competitiveness Forum in November last year, referred to our productivity challenges. It was also mentioned that part of this resulted from South Africa’s execution deficit. We have lots of policies and good legislation to which we continue to add without implementing the basics.
However, what this analysis of South Africa’s performance in terms of labour issues implies is that we have strengths and we have some dire challenges. The challenges will have a negative impact and indeed compromise our ability to meet our developmental imperatives or position our country as an investment destination of choice. Therefore, we need to have some difficult conversations about how we balance the needs and objectives of capital with those of the worker.
At this year’s SA Competitiveness Forum (November 4-5 ) a workshop with the theme “South Africa @ Work” will interrogate these unique challenges, but also the strengths inherent in the country and how this contributes to changing the national brand reality for the better.
The age old questions remain. However, the stakes are higher than ever, especially since South Africa exists in a global marketplace and is competing for the same share of market and investment. We must navigate these challenges if we are to achieve our growth and development goals.
Bongani Coka is the chief executive of Productivity SA. Join the Brand South Africa/Business Report Dialogue at the Radisson Hotel in Port Elizabeth on Monday, September 29. These issues will also be deliberated at the second annual South African Competitiveness Forum from November 4 to 5. Follow the conversation at @Brand_SA#CompetitiveSA