The University of Pretoria is hosting the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Centenary Conference from 4 to 5 October 2019 at the Future Africa campus of the University of Pretoria.  Judge President of the Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court, Judge Basheer Waglay, will conduct the opening address, whilst Minister of Employment and Labour, Minister Thulas Nxesi, will deliver the keynote address. 

Other stakeholders and invited dignitaries that will participate in the conference include the Director of  ILO (Southern Africa), the Director of the CCMA, as well as academics and practitioners from across the country and other parts of the world and the continent.

The Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria is well-represented by Professor Monray Marsellus Botha (Head of the Department of Mercantile Law) who will deliver a paper on “Employees and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): The Yellow Brick Road to where exactly? Can employees actively obtain voice and participation rights in CSR initiatives in South Africa?”.  Professor Stefan van Eck and Dr Kamalesh Newaj, also from the Department of Mercantile Law, will deliver a joint paper on “Rights of minority trade unions: perspectives from the ILO and CC”. Mrs Yolande Springveldt from the same Department will act as chair for a number of sessions. 

On 26 September 2019, StatsSA revealed that formal sector jobs in South Africa have have declined: '[T]he June 2019 Quaterly Employment Survey, released by Statistics South Africa, showed that an estimated 10 172k people were employed in the formal non-agricultural sector of the South African economy, which is down by 2k from the 10 174k recorded in the previous quarter.  Full-time employment decreased by 26k to 9 103k, and part-time employment increased by 24k to 1 069k.'