Fear and loathing at the labour office
Esaleone Molaodi | Friday January 30, 2015 15:18
Kabo Nkoloso says he will never lose hope. The struggling house-kwasa musician is among a throng of people at the Selebi Phikwe labour office. He reveals that he is hoping to secure a part-time job, as music is still his first love.
Towards the end of the year in the Botshabelo area, Nkoloso was among youths who attended a workshop where they were educated on how to fill the Youth Development Fund forms.
“We were told to come up with ideas and I came up with a music-related one,” he says.
“One youth officer advised me to design business cards and submit them to their office so that they could help me find customers.
“However, the cards are still on soft copy at the moment.” The northeastern mining town has generally battled an unemployment rate higher than the national average of 17.8 percent, due mainly to its over-reliance on BCL Mine.
Over the decades, the town has fought to attract investment and innovation in order to diversify its economy, but has suffered successive failures such as in textiles, pharmaceuticals and an array of SME initiatives.
The result has been that the steady output of learners from the secondary and tertiary level institutes in and around the town have failed to procure employment, while rural migrants have further exacerbated the situation. That academic reasoning, however, is far from the minds of the scores congregated at the labour office, simply wanting to be picked for the job.
Procedurally, the jobseekers are required to register for any available opportunity, but human nature being what it is, many linger around the labour office hoping against hope.
The crowd features native Selebi Phikweans, as well as those originating from the hinterlands of the copper and nickel mining town.
A young man, speaking on condition of anonymity, recounts how he walks approximately 10 kilometres everyday from Botshabelo location, across town, to the labour office. “I’m already registered, but you never know. A job could arise while you are still waiting at home,” he says.
“I just need a part-time job.”
Lesang Toteng, 32, started his pilgrimage to the labour office at the beginning of the year and the Junior Certificate holder says he often spends the whole day there without any results.
“Even though we choose to be in the vicinity, we are not allowed to get in the premises regardless of the weather,” he says. “We are also not even allowed to drink water to the extent that the knob for the tap has been disconnected.” This seemingly random move became larger than life for 26-year-old Matshidiso, who debuted at the labour office recently. Having travelled from a nearby village, she grew thirsty while waiting in the throng.
“It was my first time to visit the office. I walked to Botshabelo to drink some water at a relative’s place only to find that registration had occurred during my absence. “I had to go back home frustrated.” Unlike Matshidiso, Shingani Batisani is a veteran of the labour office. Next month will mark a full year since he began looking for employment with the office’s assistance.
“The office works by calling out names, but up to now I have not yet been called up,” he says.
The desperation pregnant at the labour office has provided room for the unscrupulous to prosper. Jobseekers report that some workers offer to help them with jobs on the basis of monthly ‘cuts’ or ‘kick-backs’ from wages earned.
Other risks come from employers who pitch up at the office and offer quick jobs to the unemployed. Some of these employers later fail to pay the agreed wage for the labour.
Toteng also has words of wisdom on such opportunities. “Random pick ups cannot be trusted. People who intend to employ should register with the labour office first to avoid issues of being tricked.
“BCL Mine is the most trusted and they frequently offer longer duration jobs that sometimes result in permanent positions.”
In fact, BCL is the main player at the labour office, being seen as an oasis of sorts for the parched.
Labour Assistant Officer, Robert Leonard says the Mine offers jobseekers surface jobs such as bush-clearing and unloading salt from the wagons. “In most cases these are part-time engagements lasting a few days or up to three months,” he explains.
“These part-time jobs may later become permanent depending on the performance of the candidate.” The labour office has instituted safety mechanisms to protect jobseekers from exploitation by unscrupulous employers.
“A company or individual who happens to be a potential employer must contact us at least a day in advance so that we can organise the papers that the jobseekers will pick up,” he says.
January has been busy at the labour office as many companies flood the labour market recruiting for the year ahead.
However, fortunes are never guaranteed at the labour office and jobseekers know lean times are always around the corner.